The Irish Government is this week expected to commit hundreds of millions of euro to help fund the construction of the new A5 dual-carriageway in the North.
The road runs through counties Derry and Tyrone and links Donegal and the northwest to Dublin, and is considered one of the most dangerous roads in Ireland.
Forty-eight people have been killed in collisions along the 93 km road since plans for an upgrade were approved by the Stormont Executive 17 years ago.
The A5 Western Transport Corridor would upgrade the road to a dual carriageway running from Aughnacloy, just across the border from Co Monaghan, to Newbuildings in Co Derry.
A number of Shared Island funding announcements are due to be made over the next week, and campaigners who have met the Taoiseach to discuss the planned upgrade say they are confident the funding level will increase.
“Just last week there was a Shared Island forum meeting and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar offered much more, greater financial support to the scheme,” Niall McKenna, Chair of the A5 Enough is Enough campaign group, told RTE News.
“The Irish Government has always said in the last number of years that they are more than willing to offer greater financial support to the scheme going ahead.
“That is strategically important to everyone in the north west of the island, particularly the residents of Donegal.”
The plan is backed by all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, but has been delayed by a series of legal challenges by an opposition group which includes farmers and landowners along the planned route whose land would be compulsorily purchased for the road.
The estimated cost has soared from more than €900m to around €1.9 billion.
The Irish Government initially pledged almost €600m towards the A5 and another major roads project in Co Antrim, but that was later reduced to around €85m.
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