1.6m trees have now been planted along the route of the A6

The minister said a huge effort had been made to increase biodiversity along the multi-million pound road project.

"Just on the A6, I always like to raise this figure. We have planted somewhere in the region of 1·6 million trees along the route. For a Department that is often scoffed at — ‘All you do is build roads’ — I am not sure whether any other agency or Department that can boast that.

"The biodiversity benefit is unbelievably huge,” he told a recent meeting of the Stormont Infrastructure Committee.

Back in 2021 Mr. O’Dowd’s predecessor Nichola Mallon said DfI was taking steps to enhance wildlife habits along roadways in the north, indicating that the A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe Dualling scheme would include 200,000m2 of wildflower seeding over a number of locations.