Northern Ireland Transport Minister Danny Kennedy has announced the commencement of advanced works on the £65m Glarryford to Drones Road section of the A26 dualling project.

Scheduled to begin on 27 January, the advance works will include site clearance, the removal of vegetation, the setting up of the site boundary fence as well as archaeological investigations.

The contract to carry out the works was to Patrick Bradley & Sons.

"These advanced site clearance works are vitally important for the progression of the A26 dualling."

The minister said: "These advanced site clearance works are vitally important for the progression of the A26 dualling as they will allow the Department to secure the scheme’s site boundary and carry out archaeological investigations along the scheme prior to contract award."

At the time of execution of the advanced works, a 40mph speed restriction will be in place along the Glarryford to Drones Road stretch of the A26.

The main work involved in the construction of the 7km dual carriageway is slated begin at the end of the year.

On 19 November, the minister decided to proceed with the A26 dualling Glarryford to Drones Road programme, and has appointed Roads Service to progress the project.

The A26 is a part of the Northern Key Transport Corridor which connects Belfast to Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Limavady and Londonderry.

Glarryford to Drones Road section of the A26 is considered to be one of several schemes that have been identified for the northern corridor in the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan 2015 (RSTN TP) and is included in the Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) for Roads.