Liz Kimmins has said no budget decision has yet been taken on the long-awaited A2 Buncrana Road upgrade but the critical project must ‘tie in with the North West Transport Plan’.
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00:00Major road schemes are an important part of the work that is delivered by my department
00:03as we seek to reduce journey times, increase reliability and improve road safety. The A2
00:08Buncranagh road scheme will be considered as part of the North West transport plan,
00:12which has been subject to a public consultation process. Views from the public were sought
00:16to help shape the vision and objectives for the transport plan, as well as identifying
00:20local transport concerns in the district through public engagement, which commenced on 27 August
00:252024 and concluded on 5 November last year. My department has been operating in a very
00:30difficult financial environment, as the Member will be aware, and any decision to proceed
00:34with the A2 Buncranagh road project can only be made when I am confident there is budget
00:38certainty for the scheme and its delivery is in line with the North West transport plan.
00:42I thank the Minister for her answer. This issue pre-dates not just the Minister but
00:49institutions. The Minister referred to the A2 Buncranagh road scheme in the North West
00:55transport plan, but given that it appears in the investment strategy for future years,
01:02can she confirm that her department is bidding for the money to carry out this overdue work?
01:09At this stage, we have not made any decisions in the incoming year on the budget and
01:15prioritisation of the project. I suppose it is one that we are aware of. As I said,
01:20it also has to tie in with the transport plan, so I hope to have further updates on that very soon.