13 November 2006
£1.2 MILLION INVESTED IN CARRICKFERGUS AREA
£1.2 million is being invested in capital schemes and maintenance works in the Carrickfergus Borough Council area this year.
Speaking to Carrickfergus Borough Council as he delivered the Autumn Report, Tom McCourt, from Roads Service's Eastern Division said: "The Belfast Metropolitan Transport Plan 2015 has identified a traffic bottleneck on the Greenisland section of the A2. The congestion primarily arises between Ravenhill and Silverstream at peak traffic times.
"We propose to address this by widening the existing carriageway to provide two lanes in each direction. Following a comprehensive review, the preferred option involves dualling between Jordanstown and Seapark.
"This would culminate in the provision of a continuous four lane road between Carrickfergus and the M5 at Whiteabbey. Subject to road design refinement, availability of appropriate funding and landowner consultations, it is hoped to commence the necessary statutory processes during the forthcoming financial year.
"In this year's programme of works, the replacement of the Barnhalt Road Bridge over the railway is almost complete and work is underway to provide a right turn pocket for traffic turning right from Middle Road into Prospect Road. This year's resurfacing work has included Northland and a stretch of the B90 Upper Road.
"Roads Service has made every effort to keep disruption to a minimum during these works and has completed as many schemes as possible during the summer months, when there is generally less traffic. However, most road users appreciate that road improvements cannot be achieved without some disruption to traffic," he said.
"In the last three years, some £735 million has been spent on developing and maintaining the road network across Northern Ireland - £495 million on road maintenance and £240 million on improvement schemes. This represents a huge investment in Northern Ireland's infrastructure."
Looking to the future, Mr McCourt said: "The Division is continuing to identify opportunities for road safety and traffic flow enhancement through a series of route management studies. In this year's programme we hope to include a study of Troopers Lane, from its junction with the A2 Shore Road, to the B90 Old Carrick Road."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Media queries to: Emma Flynn Davies, Department for Regional Development, Press Office, Tel: 028 9054 0372.
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