Letter: Irish funding will help to complete the A5 road upgrade - at last

This significant funding commitment for the A5 from the Irish government is hugely welcome and follows on from the conversations I have been having behind the scenes with ministers for some time.

Now that this funding has been secured we need to see the Stormont Executive and the Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd follow suit with approval for this long-awaited project so that we can get work started before the end of the year.

I would like to pay tribute to the campaigners, many of them who have lost loved ones on this road, who have worked so hard in recent years, battering down the doors of governments right across this island to make the case for the A5. They know more than anyone the need for this redevelopment, but channelled their own grief into positive action so that nobody else would suffer the loss that they have felt.

We have been a long time getting to this stage and what we need now from the minister is urgent clarity on the next steps. The findings of the public inquiry must be published as soon as possible and approval granted so that we can get on with delivering this for people in Tyrone, Derry, Donegal and everyone who travels on it.

Throughout my political career seeing this project realised has been one of my main priorities, now we are within touching distance we can’t let it slip. This road will not only save lives, but improve the economic prospects for people living right across this region with improved transport links attracting investment, jobs and opportunities.

I believe yesterday is a watershed moment in seeing the A5 delivered and look forward to seeing this project completed at last.

Daniel McCrossan, SDLP MLA, West Tyrone