IN Brief:
- Major construction on A5 project land will not begin before 1 January 2027, the Department for Infrastructure says.
- More than 300 landowners are affected by vesting arrangements for the first authorised construction phase.
- The department still requires a formal Court of Appeal order, governance checks and agreement on contractor costs.
Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure has confirmed that major A5 Western Transport Corridor construction will not begin on affected land before the end of 2026. More than 300 landowners are involved in the vesting arrangements for the first authorised construction phase, and officials are waiting for the formal order implementing the Court of Appeal’s 6 October decision before taking substantive action on the land.
The Court of Appeal found in favour of the department on the legal grounds considered, allowing the programme to move towards delivery after earlier legal setbacks. Its judgment has not, however, completed land acquisition procedures, released contractors to begin major earthworks or fixed a start date. Surveys and other essential preparation can continue before 31 December, while the remaining legal, commercial and governance approvals are addressed.
The A5 Western Transport Corridor is planned to run for about 85 kilometres from New Buildings to the border at Aughnacloy, including approximately 82 kilometres of dual carriageway. The first authorised construction phase covers roughly 55 kilometres between south of Strabane and Ballygawley, incorporating Section 2 and Section 3 Phase 1B. Contractors have been appointed across the wider three-section programme, although mobilisation for the authorised works has not been confirmed.
Vesting allows land required for public infrastructure to be acquired through statutory procedures, subject to the legal rights and compensation arrangements that apply. Road construction needs access not only to the finished carriageway corridor but also to working areas, drainage routes, structures and plant movements. Disputed title or unresolved occupation rights can therefore prevent physical work on specific parcels even where route design, archaeological investigations and construction procurement are substantially advanced.
The High Court quashed vesting orders in June 2025, disrupting the normal compensation process for affected farmers and other owners. Although the department succeeded in its appeal this month, the status of the vested land remains unchanged until the court makes the formal order giving effect to that judgment. Officials will then clarify the consequences for ownership, possession and the timetable with individual landowners and professional representatives.
Every affected landowner has been offered a meeting with the project team, and officials have maintained contact with appointed agents and the Ulster Farmers’ Union. Claims supported by evidence relating to financial effects are to be assessed by Land & Property Services under the statutory compensation framework. The handling of those claims is separate from negotiating current construction prices and conditions with the road contractors, another step required before mobilisation.
Farmers can continue using the affected land until 31 December 2026, subject to any agreed individual arrangements. The Minister’s assurance means that construction crews cannot treat the beginning of winter as clearance for substantial earthmoving, structures or road pavement work on those parcels. Surveying and essential preparatory activity remain possible during the period, allowing project information to be maintained while access and other approvals are settled.
Approval of the Full Business Case, agreement of costs with existing contractors and completion of outstanding environmental and governance requirements must still be addressed. Mobilising a road project of this length involves setting out work fronts, coordinating traffic management and securing access for plant and materials, but those operations follow the necessary permissions. A further application for permission to appeal could also create uncertainty for the construction timetable.
The emerging October 2024 cost estimate was approximately £2.1bn for the full A5 corridor, including about £1.2bn for the 55-kilometre authorised section. Subsequent delays and changes in market prices have led to a review of those estimates. They are historical planning values, not a newly approved final contract price or confirmation that the sums have been spent on construction.
Expenditure from the programme’s inception to the end of 2025/26 totalled £192.5m, of which £38.8m was recorded in 2025/26 and remains subject to audit. The expenditure accumulated over around two decades of development, environmental assessment, archaeological investigation and ground surveys. Such preparatory work can reduce unknowns ahead of construction, but does not eliminate the land, financing and the need for agreements with contractors required to deploy the main works teams.
Further litigation remains possible if a party seeks permission to appeal, and the department has not supplied a definitive mobilisation timetable. Even without another challenge, the formal court order must be received and the remaining approvals completed. The commitment to defer major work until after 31 December sets the earliest permitted period for that activity; it does not establish that excavators will begin roadbuilding on 1 January 2027.
The project aims to improve safety and connectivity between Strabane, Newtownstewart, Omagh, Ballygawley and Aughnacloy. For the authorised section, the next confirmed steps are receipt of the court’s formal order, resolution of affected land arrangements, completion of business-case and environmental checks, and renewed agreement with contractors. A construction start will depend on those steps and a subsequent confirmed mobilisation programme.
