'M1 works will put pressure on Hillhall Road' says Craig

Councillor Jonathan Craig said the closure of the city-bound on-slip at Junction 7 will put even further pressure on the Hillhall Road - a road which he says already needs immediate attention.

"This will direct traffic along other routes. Yet again it will put pressure on the Hillhall Road which is not able to take such a large volume. The Minister promised to upgrade this route and repair it after the Westlink work was completed but it has still seen very little work carried out. Safety measures are needed to carry the large volume of traffic. I will be taking this issue up again with the Minister."

The road works will run from 24 May to 30 August 30.

Mark McPeak, Roads Service's Project Manager said: "Sprucefield Bridge was built in 1966 and now requires important maintenance work to ensure its continued high performance in coping with today's traffic volumes.

"A series of contra-flow arrangements will be set-up between 24 May and 30 August. Whilst these contra-flow arrangements will be altered from time to time as work progresses, the contractor will always provide two lanes in each direction during busy periods. Lane closures where necessary will be restricted to weekend and overnight working. A temporary speed limit will be in place.

"Motorists travelling to Belfast from the A1 direction should note that from the week commencing 12 July until the week commencing 30 August, the city-bound on-slip at Junction 7 will be closed and traffic will be diverted via Junction 8. Some delays will be inevitable and we ask that motorists be patient as these essential works progress."

In response to Mr Craig's concern the Roads Service spokesman commented: "Before major roadworks such as those announced last week at M1 Sprucefield, Roads Service consider carefully the potential implications of the scheme based on existing and historic traffic volumes. For this reason some delays on the M1 at Sprucefield are inevitable, however, all steps have been taken to minimise disruption to the travelling public, local residents and businesses by programming the works during the summer period when traffic volumes are usually at their lowest, and also ensuring that two lanes are maintained through the works at busy periods.

"It is likely that some local traffic may choose to divert onto the Hillhall Road during the course of the works, however, as this is not a signposted diversion route it is not considered to have a major effect on traffic on this road. In relation to comments about repairs on Hillhall Road, I can advise that this road is inspected regularly to identify actionable defects which are recorded and repaired.

"As a result of these previous inspections a section of Hillhall Road from Drumbeg Road, east for 1km was resurfaced in March 2010, and another scheme is being carried out resurface approx 600m from Largymore Link to Saintfield Road which includes Mercer Street."