Speaking at a visit to the M1/Westlink site during his first official event for the Department, the Minister welcomed the good progress being made with the completion of the Belfast-bound bridge over Stockman's Lane junction only weeks away.
Mr Murphy said: “The scheme has been underway for just over a year now and I am pleased to say the works remain on programme for completion early in 2009.
“This was a very challenging scheme which required much underground preparatory works, which have not been seen by the public. However, despite the complexity of the works, the progress is clear as the two underpasses take shape.’’
To date:
- over 500,000 hours have been worked on the site;
- 25,000m³ of material has been excavated from the M1/Westlink – that’s enough to fill 50 Olympic size swimming pools;
- 27,000m³ of concrete has been placed – the equivalent to the weight of 68,000 family cars;
- 1,222 large concrete piles which are 1,200 mm in diameter have been formed underground to support the underpasses at Broadway and Grosvenor Road. The average length is 18 metres long. This is just under 14 miles of concrete piles – the same distance from Belfast City Hall to Bangor; and
- The temporary steel bridge erected at the Grosvenor Road junction has seven spans, weighs 590 tonnes and is 137 metre long, the same length as 13 double decker buses.
Mr Murphy said: “Later this month drivers will see major changes to traffic management as the construction of the new Belfast-bound bridge that carries the M1 over Stockman’s Lane junction is completed. The next phase of the works will involve traffic transferring onto the new bridge and the demolition of the old country-bound bridge. However, these changes will not take place until after the Balmoral Show in mid May, to accommodate those travelling to the event.’’
At Broadway and Grosvenor Road junctions it has been necessary to divert a vast array of underground and overhead services to clear the way for the construction of the two underpasses. At Grosvenor Road, all service diversions and piling works have now been completed and the underpass is due to be finished by March 2008. Once the new underpass is complete the temporary bridge, which has allowed the Grosvenor Road to remain open, will be removed.
“I realise that it is not possible to undertake works of this scale on one of Northern Ireland’s busiest roads without causing some disruption to traffic. However, the widely predicted traffic congestion has not materialised due to the sensible way the public have adapted to the ongoing road works. I would encourage people to continue to use public transport, Park and Ride, carsharing, or simply varying their travel times or routes.” said the Minister.
Notes to Editors:
- The M1/Westlink Scheme is part of a Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract which is being funded through a Public Private Partnership.
- The works are being undertaken by a consortium that includes the international multi-disciplinary firm Bilfinger Berger, along with local contractors Graham and Northstone (formally Farrans).
Media queries to: Emma Flynn Davies or Anne Armstrong, Press Office, Department for Regional Development, Tel: 028 9054 0372.
