By Conor Sharkey
STRABANE 2000 are set to launch a major lobbying campaign, aimed at securing the £600,000 needed to complete the Bridges Project.
A public consultation meeting held last Thursday offered the public the opportunity to view designs for two pedestrian and cycle bridges, which it is hoped will be located on either side of Strabane bridge.
Funding has already been secured for a bridge linking John Wesley Street with Bridge Street, providing access to the new bus station. However, it has emerged that a funding shortfall of £600,000 is hampering progress on a second bridge, which aims to link Melvin Park with Meeting House Street.
A further spanner was thrown in the works when Roads Service announced it would not be able to act as project sponsor for the upstream bridge as had been hoped.
Strabane 2000 had hoped that Roads Service would take over management of the entire project, however it was recently confirmed that due to resources already commited to the downstream footbridge, this would not be possible. DRD Minister Connor Murphy did confirm however that Roads Service would consider adopting the upstream bridge and possibly fund a technical study for both sites.
Despite the funding shortfall however, a Strabane 2000 spokesperson said yesterday (Wednesday) she remains confident that the financial gap can be overcome and that Strabane will get its two bridges.
Chairman of Strabane 2000 Jarlath McNulty said, "The situation is that we need a sponsor and it was understood that Roads Service could have been that sponsor. So we are seeking clarification on the situation and are keeping our powder dry to see what develops."
"We have secured £600,000 and we need another £600,000. But it is nothing when you consider the wider development and Minister Murphy has given his personal support to this project. So we will wait and see what he does next, but there are very few projects that have secured half the funding and have been unable to find the rest. At the end of the day, this isn't just linkage between two sides of the town, it is about bringing communities together."
