Dozens of bereaved family members of people killed in road crashes on the A5 have addressed a public inquiry into a much delayed upgrade of the road.
The public inquiry into the £1.6billion major road upgrade resumed on Tuesday at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh, where road safety concerns were addressed.
A packed auditorium in the venue heard emotional accounts from the families of some of the 47 people killed on the road since the project was first approved by the Executive in 2007.
READ MORE: A5: Roads expert confident scheme will proceed as public inquiry resumes
The death of talented Killyclogher GAA player John Rafferty aged 21 last October prompted the setting up of the A5 Enough is Enough campaign group by fellow clubman Niall McKenna.
Speaking at the inquiry, John’s father Felix said his family was ‘broken’ and called on the road to be progressed urgently.
“We got the knock on the door that every parent dreads,” Felix said.
“We were a very happy, close knit unit with our three children being the centre of our universe.
“John’s death has rocked us to the very core of our being. We are broken. In fact, works cannot adequately describe the impact of John’s loss on our lives.
“We feel that had the new A5 been built when it was meant to, John would still be with us. The current road is not fit for purpose, it is a death trap.
“It is a matter of urgency that the scheme to build a new road gets underway without delay, so that no other family has to go through the endless pain and suffering that we and other families that have lost loved ones on the A5 have had to endure every single day.”
The most recent and one of the most devastating crashes happened on the road near Aughnacloy earlier this year, in which three members of the one family lost their lives.
Teresa Finlay, a relative of Julia McSorley and brother and sister Dan and Christine McKane who died in the crash in April, said she worked as a local nurse and has seen personally and professionally the impact of the delayed road upgrade.
“It’s disheartening to sit here today and to understand that this was passed in 2007 and I’m saddened that I wouldn’t even be having to speak today had this been resolved.
“The reality is if we don’t move forward with this A5, I can tell you that I can sleep in my bed at night because I have personally done everything I can.
Addressing the objectors to the project, she added: “But can you honestly say you can sleep in bed at night after listening to this evidence? I don’t want to be that nurse at anybody else’s bedside.
READ MORE: Alternative A5 Alliance: ‘We are not bogey men, we are a reflection of society’
“I don’t want to be that nurse at the end of the bed telling somebody their loved one has died because the roads aren’t fit for purpose.”
Ahead of addressing the inquiry on Tuesday, Sinn Féin MLA and the former Infrastructure Minister who signed off the project in 2006, Conor Murphy said lives have been lost as a result of the delays.
“It is hugely frustrating that over this period of time we have had multiple deaths on this road,” Murphy said.
“This road should have been built when the contracts were signed 16 years ago. It needs to move on and it needs to move on quickly.”
The public inquiry into the road will conclude this week, with the Planning Appeals Commission to produce a final report on whether to recommend the project proceed.
Counsel for the main group objecting to the proposed scheme, the Alternative A5 Alliance, expressed sympathies to the families who have been bereaved by crashes on the current road, but insisted that building dual carriageway for the entire length of the road was ‘overprovision’.
“The Alternative A5 Alliance’s position has been that this is overprovision, representing a disproportionate impact on the livelihood of landowners, with significant, long-lasting and irreversible environmental harm,” solicitor Conor Fegan said.
“The Alternative A5 Alliance accepts that road safety is a factor which the Planning Appeals Commission and the minister in due course will have to weigh off.
“This factor must be weighed up along with other important material considerations.
“The first week of the inquiry showed that many individuals from different perspectives have very serious and deeply held concerns about the environmental aspects of this scheme and these must be given appropriate weight in any decision.”
The inquiry resumes at Omagh Enterprise Centre on Wednesday 31 May.
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