Serious accidents on the road between Belfast and the Border are occurring so frequently that residents and police North and South have joined forces to tackle the problem. Paul T. Colgan reports
Border county residents of all political persuasions have united to campaign for one of Northern Ireland's deadliest stretches of road to be upgraded to a motorway.
In the past year, nine people have died in road collisions on the A1 which links Belfast to Newry. The N1, which runs through Louth and Meath, has itself claimed seven lives in the past year and is regarded as one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the Republic.
The North's Department of Regional Development recently decided to upgrade several sections of the A1 between Banbridge and the Border.
The road passes throughfarming communities, and residents claim a dual carriageway would not alleviate the dangers posed by slow-moving farm traffic.
Locals first called for an upgrading in the plans for a dual carriageway last year after a number of serious accidents on the road between Newry and Banbridge.
With estimates that traffic volume on the A1 will increase from 20,000 vehicles a day to 35,000 by 2021, those living on the route are concerned that traffic accidents will increase at an equivalent rate.
A delegation of politicians from the area met the Northern Ireland Minister for Regional Development, Ms Angela Smith, earlier this year.
They called on her to implement a series of road safety measures to reduce the dangers of travelling on the road.
An SDLP Assembly member, Mr P.J. Bradley, led a delegation that brought together members of the SDLP, Sinn Féin, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
"A friend of mine was killed on the A1 last October, the 10th person I knew to have died on the road, so I thought I should do something about it," said Mr Bradley.
"While the road is to be upgraded to a dual carriageway in the next number of years, in the meantime, with its continuing growth in traffic volume, it will still have problems.
"The land acquisition needed for the work will be a long- drawn-out process. The bureaucracy and red tape have come 30 years too late for this area, unfortunately," he added.
The Northern Ireland Department of Regional Development responded to representations from the parties by offering a £80,000 financial package that would see safety measures such as better signage implemented on the road.
However, a residents' spokeswoman, Mrs Kathleen Conlon, says locals feel that only a motorway would significantly reduce accidents.
"To construct a motorway would be in keeping with our European counterparts. We fear that if this opportunity is lost there will be never be a motorway here," she said.
However, Mrs Conlon is not optimistic. "The DRD's plans for a dual carriageway appear to be so far advanced that they don't want to turn back now," she said.
The DRD rejected the motorway option, despite the support of the local Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) traffic branch.
Ms Smith said a motorway would be unlikely to meet the economic criteria "considering the traffic levels and today's land and construction costs."
Residents elsewhere on the route have also clashed with the DRD in recent weeks. People in Cloghogue in south Armagh recently forced the DRD to drop plans to redirect A1 traffic through the area while road works were carried out on the road just south of Newry.
Two people were killed in an accident in Cloughoge last Sunday on the road that links the A1 to the N1. Father Sean McCartan (64) died when a stolen car driven by 20-year old Martin James Kelly collided with his car. Kelly was also killed in the incident.
Citing a lack of consultation and a series of minor accidents in the area, they mounted protests last month to try and force the DRD to restrict its diversion plan.
Both the PSNI and the Garda increased the presence of traffic officers on the main Dublin- Belfast route in an attempt to reduce accidents.
According to the PSNI, co-operation with the Garda will continue to form a central part of its road safety strategy.
"Our objective is to reduce injury and death," said Chief Supt Jonathan McIvor. "What we need to do is continue co-operation in targeting particular hot-spots. This momentum will continue throughout the year."