This scheme is being taken forward by Roads Service but with significant input from the Laganside Corporation who have been tasked with redeveloping this area of the city since 1989. It will involve the demolition of Station Street Flyover and the replacement of Queen's Quay / Station Street (the entrance to the Odyssey area) with a 2-lane single-carriageway road at street level.

The map above illustrates the current situation. The flyover was built back when Queen's Quay was the entrance to the shipyards and tens of thousands of people worked there. This was also before the M3 was built (1995). So at that time the Queen's Bridge was the only way to get to the city centre from the shipyards. To avoid traffic having to go 1km round the Middlepath St / Bridge End one-way system the flyover was built to get traffic onto Queen's Bridge directly.

Today the flyover is unnecessary because, even after the proposed development of Titanic Quarter there is nothing like the same level of traffic. This is because most traffic now uses the M3 to cross the Lagan and this is accessed by turning left onto Middlepath Street rather than right across the Queen's Bridge. As it is widely regarded as an eyesore (see photos below), Laganside have decided to demolish it and create a 3-lane dual-carriageway with traffic lights instead. It is unclear whether traffic still wishing to use the former route of the flyover will be able to cross Middlepath Street at the lights or if they will have to go round the one-way system.

This is the kind of scheme that is regarded as minor, so will probably just begin without any fanfare. Planning permission was granted in June 2006, so work could begin any time.

Updates

18 Dec 2011: Last week the Department for Social Development unveiled its anticipated master plan for Queen's Quay (see previous update). Not surprisingly, this strategy once again proposes the demolition of Station Street flyover. If you click on the above link and download Part 3 of the document, you can see that the proposal is now to replace it with a street-level single-carriageway road with two lanes each way (the previous proposal in 2006 had been for a dual-carriageway at street-level with three lanes each way). Station Street Flyover was built before the M3, when this was a heavily used route, but as it is rather over-engineered for today's needs its removal is unlikely to cause much of a problem, and would certainly help the regeneration of the area. There is still no firm date to actually proceed.

27 April 2011: It has now been almost five years since planning permission was granted for the demolition of Station Street Flyover and its replacement with a ground-level dual carriageway. However nothing has happened, and planning permission must surely be about to expire. However there may be going to be some new decisions soon - the Department of Social Development has just begun work on a master plan for the redevelopment of Queen's Quay. This process must surely involve a decision on the future of this rather ugly flyover.

Photos

Station Street Flyover seen from the end of Queen Elizabeth Bridge. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Looking south along Station Street Flyover from its northern end. Station Street itself is on the left of the flyover with Queen's Quay invisible to its right. The new section of dual-carriageway will run along here. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]