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Northern Ireland
Roads Service, Scott Wilson & Ferguson McIlveen,
and Whitemountain Quarries:
A5 Newtownstewart Bypass |
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Following the Good Friday Agreement the Chancellor
announced a package of new road schemes for Northern
Ireland. As part of the implementation of this package,
the Department for Regional Development - Roads Service,
appointed Scott Wilson (Scotland) Ltd. / Ferguson McIlveen
LLP in Joint Venture as Consultants for the Newtownstewart
Bypass at the end of 1998.
Working closely with Roads Service (Western Division),
the team progressed the scheme through the statutory
procedures in accordance with the primary legislation
for Trunk Road schemes in Northern Ireland, The Roads
(NI) Order. This has included the production and publication
of an Environmental Statement, Direction Order and Vesting
Order which were all subject to Statutory and Public
consultation.
The bypass crosses the scenic and environmentally sensitive
Strule River valley and significant measures were adopted
to integrate the road into the landscape and to mitigate
environmental impacts both during construction and when
the road is in service. With a fish farm a short distance
downstream and as an important fishing river in its
own right, protection of water quality in the Strule
was a major factor from the design viewpoint.
The Roads Service procured the works through a Design
& Build Contract, awarded to Whitemountain Quarries
and their designers, Parkman, in June 2001.
The £7 million project involved 2.6km of single
carriageway trunk road bypass, some 900m of side roads,
two composite bridges over the River Strule, construction
of a reinforced concrete box culvert beneath the new
bypass to to form a grade separated junction, and construction
of 200m of retaining walls and a reinforced concrete
pedestrian underpass. The scheme also incoporated the
innovative use of a Sustainable Urban Drainage System
(SUDS), which has no kerbs, an open stone filter with
perforated pipe at its base being installed along both
sides of the road. Surface water is led from these drains
to five detention basins. These are planted with reeds
which can neutralise contaminants in normal flows. Water
from the basins is discharged to the river via penstocks
which can be closed in the event of a serious spillage.
The Newtownstewart bypass not only features many civil
engineering techniques, but was also the first contract
in Northern Ireland to be carried out with an integrated
management system for quality, environmental and safety
standards.
The bypass opened in December 2003, two months ahead
of schedule.
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