M1 to Newry - completion date?

Skyhater · 03-08-2007 5:13pm

LFCFan wrote:

As for the road. All that will happen until the M1 is completed to Belfast is that the bottleneck will continue to move ever closer to Belfast. Right now, all the time you make up on the motorway is lost as you come to that roundabout.

As far as the current plans are concerned, The M1 is completed..... It runs from Dublin to Dundalk.
Then you have the N1 section (could be reclassified motorway, but i doubt it.... They have destroyed the alternative route)
Then you have the A1...... Even if the NI authorities do upgrade this to Motorway, it probably won't be called the M1.... NI have their own M1 which runs from Belfast to Dungannon.
We won't go into the reasons why the M1 classification wasn't used for the main north south route or why it probably won't change :-)
They might call the road the A1(M).

Victor · 03-08-2007 7:43pm

In the NI scheme of things, the Lisburn-Newry motorway was to be the M11.

DerekP11 · 04-08-2007 12:14am

Hit the approach to Newry at lunch time today. Approx 3km tail back, plus further delays on the Newry bypass. I didn't feel aggrieved as I was in another country governed by a different administration. Its their problem.

I had to laugh at the following quote from an article posted;

ONE of the most important road schemes in Irish history opens today, linking both sides of the border on the Belfast to Dublin route – a road which even unionists are now

describing as the key corridor in the island.

Ha! It wasn't the key corridor in the late 60s when they rolled the M1 to Dungannon and wanted to single the rail line as far as the border.

The crown abandoned them and they can't see it yet.:D

Mayo Exile · 06-08-2007 2:09pm

There's just been a piece on the lunchtime edition of BBC NI's Newsline programme highlighting the continuing problems at this roundabout. Tailbacks on the northbound DC especially severe yesterday (Sunday). According to the report the Roads Service NI has admitted the problem and is looking to see if it can change the layout at Clohogue to improve the situation.

spacetweek · 09-08-2007 2:41pm

Victor wrote:

In the NI scheme of things, the Lisburn-Newry motorway was to be the M11.

That's true, but since all the old motorway plans for NI are now scrapped, that number is probably obsolete. It'll most likely be A1(M). Another section of A1(M) is due to be created up at the A1/M1 junction near Lisburn.

Richard · 09-08-2007 5:43pm

spacetweek wrote:

That's true, but since all the old motorway plans for NI are now scrapped, that number is probably obsolete. It'll most likely be A1(M). Another section of A1(M) is due to be created up at the A1/M1 junction near Lisburn.

I don't think, however, that they'll designate it as a motorway just for the sake of it, unless they could upgrade the whole Northern Irish M1 - Border route to motorway status.

ipodrocker · 18-09-2009 12:30am

i noticed on wesley johnston's website there are new updated pics of the scheme, think the latest on the upgrade is completion in the region of late 2010 so we will have a constant HQDC all the way from dublin to belfast

ardmacha · 18-09-2009 12:35am

so we will have a constant HQDC all the way from dublin to belfast

There will a DC everywhere, but from Sheepbridge to Sprucefield will not be HQ!

ipodrocker · 18-09-2009 12:43am

But I presume that section will be dualled bar with the current round abouts correct?

L1011 · 18-09-2009 7:27pm

ipodrocker wrote: »

But I presume that section will be dualled bar with the current round abouts correct?

Its already all dualled. The roundabouts at Hillsborough and Sprucefield will remain for the moment.

Some busy median breaches have/are currently being converted to overbridges to reduce the risk of high speed collisions but its nowhere close to a full HQDC refit.

Eventually the Sprucefield roundabouts will be bypassed with the M1 A1 Link leaving Hillsborough as the only roundabout between Dublin and Belfast.

D'Peoples Voice · 29-09-2009 3:18pm

It will be good to have the Newry bypass finally finished especially now that the exchange rate is EUR/GBP 0.9119 this morning - travelling up to Sprucefield and Banbridge can be so stressful at the minute because of that awful roundabout outside Newry at the end of the N1/A1!

nordydan · 29-09-2009 3:56pm

MYOB wrote: »

Its already all dualled. The roundabouts at Hillsborough and Sprucefield will remain for the moment.

Some busy median breaches have/are currently being converted to overbridges to reduce the risk of high speed collisions but its nowhere close to a full HQDC refit.

Eventually the Sprucefield roundabouts will be bypassed with the M1 A1 Link leaving Hillsborough as the only roundabout between Dublin and Belfast.

As part of that scheme a flyover will be built at the Hillsborough roundabout leaving no gaps between North Belfast and Dublin. AFAIK they are reviewing this link. I think an alternative route further West would be better as it would bypass a lot of poor spec D2 (even if it doas now have GSJ's)

Idbatterim · 27-10-2009 3:00pm

For all the complaining about the roads here for years! I drive from south county dublin all the way to the border, on our nice new motorways, you arrive at the border and its like here was 10 years ago! how in gods name was newry not bypassed years ago!

Stark · 27-10-2009 3:08pm

There is a bypass of Newry but it's single carriageway. It's currently being upgraded to a HQDC bypass.

shamwari · 27-10-2009 3:34pm

Tailbacks into Newry yesterday afternoon from the south were nearly 5 miles long. The sooner that new road is complete, the better.

dereko1969 · 27-10-2009 5:10pm

Took me an hour from Monkstown to the border then 50 minutes :mad: to get from the Border to beyond Newry on Saturday afternoon, painful. My mates had headed up a couple of hours earlier than me and were fine so it's not the whole time that it's bad, just when it's bad it's brutal.

ipodrocker · 08-12-2009 12:49pm

the best thing head up as early as you can to avoid the traffic and your grand.

whosedaddy? · 08-12-2009 2:47pm

from Wesley johnston
http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1beechhillcloghogue.html

On Thursday, 3rd December traffic was allowed onto a 1km stretch over the top of the Cloghogue flyover (also one lane each way). This is an effort to ease traffic, because last year thousands of Southern shoppers flocking to Newry for cheap purchases virtually blocked the A1 here. Roads Service have warned drivers that this is not permanent, and the flyover may have to close again in the New Year. The Belfast Telegraph notes that almost 1/3 of the length of the new road is now in use.

Can anyone report on the difference this makes.

Cionád · 08-12-2009 3:24pm

whosedaddy? wrote: »

from Wesley johnston
http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1beechhillcloghogue.html

Can anyone report on the difference this makes.

Used it last Friday evening, didn't have to stop until about 500m after the new bridge (Cloghogue flyover), so the traffic jam has just moved to the next roundabout. Much of the Newry bound traffic will use the new slip road, so at least some of the excess will be removed.

Traffic is so variable bypassing Newry so it's hard to say what the impact is based on just one trip. It took about 20mins to get from the border to Sheepbridge, which is fairly decent for a Friday evening. The return also took about 20mins on a Monday morning.

M1 to Newry - completion date?

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