Ardboe Battery Road resurfacing: every closure phase to 23 December

A 3.2km project affecting several communities

The Department for Infrastructure has announced a £750,000 resurfacing scheme for approximately 3.2 kilometres of B73 Battery Road, running from number 44 Battery Road to the Ardboe Road junction at Moortown. Work is scheduled to start on Monday 19 October 2026 and to be substantially completed by Wednesday 23 December, weather permitting.

This is not one uninterrupted closure with one simple diversion. It is a staged programme involving drainage, two stretches of carriageway and a staggered junction. Road users travelling between Coagh, Ardboe, Moortown and Ballinderry need to identify which section is affected on the date they intend to travel.

Stage one: drainage, 19 October–6 November

Drainage works are scheduled from Monday 19 October until Friday 6 November on the Drumconvis Road to Drumenny Road section. DfI says traffic will be diverted in Coagh along Ballinderry Road and Drumenny Road, in both directions.

Unlike a generic resurfacing notice, this first stage expressly covers drainage. Drivers should not assume the road will reopen to normal traffic between trenching or preparatory activities; the Department says full closures will be used during the staged works. Property-specific access arrangements are not itemised in the announcement.

Stage two: resurfacing, 9–27 November

From Monday 9 November to Friday 27 November, resurfacing is planned on Drumenny Road to Ardboe Road. DfI specifies weekday working restrictions between 9.30am and 4.30pm for this phase. The route from Coagh towards Moortown is diverted via Drumenny Road, Mullanahoe Road, Kilmascally Road and Ardboe Road.

The Department lists a separate route for traffic from Ballinderry towards Moortown: Mullan Road, Kinturk Road, Anneter Road and Battery Road. For traffic approaching Ardboe from the south towards Moortown, the diversion is Kilmascally Road then Ardboe Road. For traffic from Moortown towards Ardboe or Coagh, the listed route is Ardboe Road, Kilmascally Road, Mullanahoe Road and Drumenny Road. Drivers should follow directional signs for their approach rather than treating all these lists as interchangeable.

Three Sundays at Drumenny staggered junction

The staggered junction at Drumenny Road will undergo a separate phase on Sunday 15, Sunday 22 and Sunday 29 November. DfI warns that the junction’s complexity means multiple diversions will be necessary. The announcement names Urbal Road, Ballynargan Road, Coagh Road, Ballymaguire Road, Mullanahoe Road, Kinrush Road, Annaghmore Road, Kinturk Road and Mullan Road among the roads involved.

Those nine road names are not a single continuous diversion in the order printed here. The Department does not supply a universal turn-by-turn route for every possible approach in its release. Anyone travelling through the area on those three Sundays should check the specific signed detour for their direction of travel.

Final stretch, 30 November–23 December

The final stated resurfacing phase runs from Drumconvis Road to Drumenny Road between Monday 30 November and Wednesday 23 December. The stated diversion again uses Ballinderry Road and Drumenny Road in Coagh and vice versa.

The end date is a target subject to weather conditions, not a guarantee that every restriction will vanish by the evening of 23 December. DfI says local access has been considered, but the announcement still warns that delays may occur. This matters for pre-Christmas deliveries and family travel as well as weekday commuting.

What makes this a different story from the usual roadworks

The combination of drainage work, a long resurfacing section and staggered-junction operations explains why the project extends across more than two months. It also means a route that works in October might be wrong in November. A useful roadworks update must preserve dates alongside named sections, not just report that Battery Road is closed.

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins described the spending as an investment in connections between local communities and businesses. The announcement does not set out a permanent new road design or provide an engineering assessment of the existing road defects. Those conclusions cannot be inferred from the contract value alone.

Travel checklist

Before any trip, identify the exact part of B73 required, match it to the stage dates, check TrafficwatchNI and follow temporary signs. Allow extra time for school transport, work commitments and medical appointments. Be especially cautious when deciding whether a short local road is an appropriate diversion for larger vehicles.

This report is based on the Department for Infrastructure announcement dated 14 October 2026. It describes a future programme at the time of publication. Weather-related changes, emergency-access arrangements and any new diversion instructions should be verified from live traffic notices rather than assumed from the original announcement.