An online petition to voice concerns about the new Magherafelt bypass has attracted top literary names.
Anger has been expressed that the road will cut through the landscape which inspired Seamus Heaney.
Several names associated with the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University have signed the petition. Others include author Colm Toibin and actor Stephen Rea.
Friends of the Earth, meanwhile, say the bypass will have a detrimental impact on swans' habitats near Toome.
There is possibility of a legal challenge too - contractors have already begun exploratory work.
Stephen Rea helped found the Field Day Theatre Company with Seamus Heaney in 1980.
He says Heaney made the landscape 'holy' through his work.
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