In July 2006 the government announced a plan to give a further cash injection into roads in Northern Ireland up to 2015. One of the schemes earmarked for this project was the grade separation of a further four junctions on the A1, bringing the total number of grade-separated junctions on the Sprucefield to Loughbrickland section to 11 (the A1 south of Loughbrickland is being built with grade-separated junctions already in place). The Lurgan Road in Dromore was the only such junction built originally, while the Rathfriland Road, Banbridge and Hillsborough Road, Dromore junctions were upgraded in 2004 and 2005 respectively. Plans to upgrade a further four junctions are in the pipeline (see link above). The final four in the plan are:

• Hillsborough roundabout
• Either Maypole Hill or Milebush Road in Dromore (it is unclear which)
• B25 junction between Dromore and Banbridge
• Newry Road / Cascum Road, Banbridge

It should be noted that the last of these has already been built, in 2006, by the private developer of the Bridgewater Park retail park. The Hillsborough roundabout upgrade is being lumped together with the A1/M1 flyover link proposal at Sprucefield. See links above for details.

This proposal will mean that the central reservation will be entirely closed, so that no right turns are permitted. Some side roads will remain, but vehicles will only be permitted to make left-in and left-out manoeuvres. The Roads Service have adopted the term expressway to describe what the road will become. This is a term not used here before and seems to mean a road where you will not have to stop and cannot turn right across the opposite carriageway. It will not be a motorway since it falls far short of the design requirement of that type of road in terms of the spacing of junctions, standard of junctions, curve radii and hard shoulders.

Photos

The Hillsborough roundabout on the A1 will be grade-separated as part of these proposals. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]