Stormont ministers are expected to approve the long-awaited A5 road project on Wednesday, BBC News NI understands.

An official announcement from Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd is expected after an Executive meeting.

It is understood he will confirm that work on the project will start and will be completed on a phased basis.

It is understood the upgrade will include a full dual carriageway.

The first phase will be nearly two-thirds of the scheme’s full length.

This part of the scheme will be between Strabane and Ballygawley in County Tyrone.

The 58-mile (85km) road project was first announced in 2007 but it has been beset by funding and legal challenges.

Last week, O’Dowd confirmed that the preparatory work had been completed and he was awaiting Executive approval before publishing the plan.

Speaking in Coleraine, Economy Minister Conor Murphy confirmed the project is up for discussion among ministers on Wednesday.

“I know it’s on the Executive agenda,” he said.

“This is a project which is long overdue.

“It’s a critical piece of infrastructure, but it’s also a critical piece of road safety for people in Tyrone, and so if there’s news to be announced today then that will be very welcome indeed.”

Last week, O’Dowd said his recommendation to approve the project was based on improving safety for all those who travel along the route.

Campaigners have lobbied for the new road for some time and have pointed to the fact that 54 lives have been lost on the A5 since 2007.

One of them was for Kamile Vaicikonyte, a year 13 pupil, who died in a crash earlier this year.

The A5 is a vital artery of the Northern Ireland road network, with more than 200 side roads connected to it.

The road is a single carriageway for most of its length, with overtaking lanes in some sections.

It links Londonderry with Aughnacloy in County Tyrone and passes through towns like Sion Mills, Omagh and Strabane.

It connects with the A4 road, linking to Belfast via the M1.

It is also the main north-south route in the west of Northern Ireland, providing a link between County Donegal and Dublin, via the N2 in County Monaghan.

The road has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, with the exception of some town bypasses, but there has been a huge rise in the number of cars, lorries and agricultural vehicles using it since it was first built.

Official statistics show there has been about a 10% increase in traffic on the road in the last 10 years alone.

An increase of about 30% is forecast over the next 25 years.

The proposed dual carriageway has faced opposition since it was first announced.

It has been criticised by the campaign group, the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A).

Comprised of farmers, landowners and others with an interest in the County Tyrone area, the group was launched in 2009 to oppose the compulsory purchase of land to construct the road.

It has also raised environmental issues around the project.

The group argued that safety improvements can be made to the current road, such as widening sections to allow for safer overtaking.

And it raised a number of planning objections and legal challenges over the years.