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The A12 Westlink Proposals
2006 - Start of Westlink upgrade with an estimated cost of 104 million and a scheduled completion date of 2009.
- Widening the M1 and Westlink to provide a dual three-lane road from Stockmans Lane to Divis Street
- Constructing a dual three lane underpass at Broadway and partial underpass at Grosvenor Road
- Replacing the bridges at Stockmans Lane junction
- Modifying the Roden Street/Mulhouse Road junction
- Introducing bus priority measures between Broadway and Roden Street
- Building a cycleway/footway between Broadway and Grosven Road junctions
The A12 Westlink
The A12 Westlink, as it now is, cost £23m to create and opened in March 1983. Despite being a necessity the A12 Westlink has been described by some as Belfast's biggest car park or the most hated road in Northern Ireland.
The A12 is an incalculably important strategic route that is used by approximately 65000 vehicles daily. The A12 Westlink is the strategic route that connects the M1 to the M2 and M3 Motorways within Belfast and also provides access to Belfast City Centre, the Port of Belfast and Belfast City Airport. The Westlink was built in two phases. Phase 1, connecting the M1 at Broadway to Grosvenor Road opened in February 1981. Phase 2, extending the scheme from Grosvenor Road to York Street, was completed in March 1983.
The A12 Westlink is currently undergoing a major renovation which will see the full grade-separation of the Broadway and Grosvenor Road junctions via underpasses and a third traffic lane added in both directions between Broadway and Divis Street.
The Story Before 2002
1938 - C S Meik and Halcrow produced a report on the Cross River Traffic Problem in Belfast for the Ministry of Home Affairs.
1945 - The Planning Commission report of 1945 suggested ring road proposals. These were developed in the 1950s by the City Planning Officer E V (Victor) Walshe. Walshe produced a scheme for an at grade ring road with roundabouts at the junctions with the radial routes. Following discussions with engineers from the Ministry of Commerce's Roads Branch the scheme was revised to urban motorway form. It was to be partially depressed and partially elevated and to be connected to all the main approach roads to the city.
1961 – Walshe's scheme was approved by the Belfast Corporation on 8 June 1961 and sent to the Ministry of Commerce for a decision.
1963 – Belfast Corporation and the Ministry agree that there should be a ring road round Belfast city centre and that it should be mainly elevated with radial motorways outwards to relieve the existing main arteries.
1964 – The Government announces Belfast Urban Motorway to encircle Belfast city centre. The plan for a Belfast Urban Motorway shows an inner ring of six-lane motorway encircling Belfast City. This was to be of elevated dual three lane form.
1965 - London consultants, R Travers Morgan and Partners were appointed by the Belfast Corporation to design and supervise the construction of the Urban Motorway Plan.
1967 - The Urban Motorway Plan was presented to the Belfast Corporation and the Ministry of Development on 6 February 1967.
1969 - The Transportation Plan and the Belfast Area Plan on 20 June 1969 were presented to the Belfast Corporation and the Ministry of Development.
1971 - A public inquiry into the Urban Motorway proposal was held with the public enquiry report eventually being published in September 1973. The report accepted the proposals generally but with some modifications.
1973 - The new Belfast City Council, which had a right to be consulted on all road and planning matters, was not happy with the proposed urban motorway plan.
1974 - R Travers Morgan and Partners (NI) were appointed by the Department of the Environment to undertake a Review of the Transportation Strategy for the Belfast Urban Area.
1976 - The RTM report, produced in 1976, was presented to the Minister of State, at the Department of the Environment and was then the subject of a prolonged public inquiry in 1977.
1978 - The Department issued a statement, which accepted most of the Inspector's recommendations. The scale of the scheme for the connection between MI and M2 was reduced to dual 2 lane carriageways with an overall width of about 60 feet. The new road was to be depressed, where ground conditions permitted, in order to minimise noise and visual intrusion but it was not to be fully grade separated. Many of the other road proposals were abandoned.
The Belfast Division of the Roads Service under TA Warnock quickly started the detail design of the new proposal, now called "Belfast West Link". The project was divided into five major contracts with several other minor contracts dealing with work such as sewer diversions, sand drains, embankment fill and pedestrian subways. The main contractors were Charles Brand, Farrans, Magheralin Quarries, JMJ, J F Owens, R J Maxwell and Graham. The work was carried out in the period April 1979 to March 1983.
Feb 1981 - Westlink phase 1 opens (from Broadway to Grosvenor Road).
Mar 1983 - Westlink phase 2 opens (from Grosvenor Road to M2 Motorway).
2002 - The government announces a major scheme to widen the M1 to three lanes from Black’s Road to the Westlink, and to widen the Westlink to three lanes from there to Divis Street.
Information Sources:
http://www.trafficwatchni.com
http://www.iht.org
http://www.roadsni.gov.u
