Work to begin on £3.4m Omagh road

WORK is set to begin next month on a £3.4 million road upgrade in Omagh to accommodate a major rise in traffic ahead of the opening of the long-awaited Strule Shared Education Campus.

The new four-lane stretch will be built along the Gortin Road, from its junction with the Old Mountfield Road to the junction with Strathroy Road.

The scheme is being delivered to manage the expected increase in traffic as around 4,000 students begin attending the new campus in 2028.

Construction on the site of the former Lisanelly Army barracks began this spring, more than a decade after the campus was first proposed.

In response to a Stormont Assembly question from West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins confirmed that work on the road will begin in August.

“The scheme includes road widening, to allow for two lanes of traffic in each direction and provision of a shared use footway and cycleway,” she said.

“It will also address the anticipated increase in pedestrian, public transport and vehicle traffic and movement in relation to the operation of the Strule Shared Education Campus.”

active travel

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) is also considering new active travel schemes – primarily focused on cycling and walking – on Old Mountfield Road, Farmhill Road and Dublin Road to further support access to the new campus.

Earlier this year, local concern was raised after historic trees near Grange Park were cut down as part of preparatory works for the road upgrade.

Once completed, the Strule campus will bring together six schools: Arvalee School, Omagh CBS, Sacred Heart College, Omagh High School, Omagh Academy and Loreto Grammar.

The project was originally expected to open in 2020, but the first students are now due to move in by September 2028.