A8 Belfast to Larne Dualling
More Information
Indicative visualisations of the proposed A8 dual carriageway
Navigate to:
- Scheme Update (last updated 7th August 2009)
- Background
- Scheme proposals
- Scheme documents
- Public Events
Scheme Update (last updated 7th August 2009)
On the 5th August 2009 Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy announced (view press release here
) the Preferred Route for the A8 Belfast to Larne Dual Carriageway. The new dual carrigeway will bypass Bruslee to the East and bypass Ballynure to the West. A public exhibition event was held at Corr's Corner Hotel, Newtownabbey on the 5th and 6th of August 2009. The event gave the public an opportunity to view the preferred route and speak to the Roads Service team. Close to 800 people took the opportunity to view the information at the exhibition.
Information displayed at this public exhibition event is available to view here.
Background
Roads Service is investigating the dualling of the A8 between the B95 Coleman’s Corner Junction and the B100 Ballyrickard Road Junction. The A8 is a strategically important road within Northern Ireland and is included in the recently published Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) for Roads. This stretch of the A8 currently carries in excess of 17,000 vehicles per day. With traffic levels continuing to grow, traffic congestion will increase and road safety will deteriorate. It is important to the economy of Northern Ireland that the port of Larne is serviced by an efficient road link.
In January 2007, the Irish Government announced their new National Development Plan (NDP) 2007-2013. This plan contained proposals for considerable Irish Government investment in North/South projects including the Eastern Seaboard Key transport Corridor of which the A8 is part of.
A number of studies were undertaken between 1999 and 2000 which resulted in a series of improvements to the A8. The IDP for Roads has identified the completion of the dualling of the A8 before 2017/18.
Scheme proposals
To consider all available options a scheme assessment is being carried out. This is a three stage procedure, which compares various options based on the government’s five key transport objectives of environment, safety, economy, integration and accessibility. This begins with an examination of broadly defined routes, progressing through the selection of a ‘Preferred Route’ to detailed environmental assessment and design.
The following lists briefly the the assessment progress to-date:
- A Stage 1 ‘Preliminary Options’ assessment of eight viable corridors was carried out. This resulted in two corridors (namely Corridor 1 and Corridor 2) being taken forward to Stage 2. To download the Stage 1 assessment click here.
- A Stage 2 ‘Preferred Route’ assessment involved a more detailed assessment including surveys to identify the key effects and factors to be taken into account when selecting and comparing the two corridor options. This resulted in the selection of a 'Preferred Route' within corridor option 1 progressing to Stage 3 as the ‘Preferred Route’.
- A Stage 3 assessment will now be untertaken. This will involve further design development of the 'Preferred Route'. This stage of assessment requires preparation of an Environmental Statement, production of a Draft Direction Order and Draft Vesting Order (Statutory Procedures).
