Short Answer: the M2.
Long Answer:
Quite a few people have asked me what the busiest road in Northern Ireland is. This question is hard to answer because, according to an FOI request I put in to the Roads Service in early 2006, they no longer publish such figures. Roads Service seem to have installed dozens of automatic traffic counters on roads to give continuous figures (they look like a black tube stretched across the road). However, these are not published. Indirect ways to get figures include putting in individual FOI requests (expensive), or searching for references to such figures in official documentation such as Hansard or council reports. I have used all these methods to compile a list of 90 separate traffic figures which are likely to include all the busiest routes (except the M3 for which I can find no figure). I cannot guarantee that I have found all relevant figures, so please bear that in mind when using this table.
The 15 busiest sections of the strategic road network in N Ireland for which I have figures are:
| |
Section of Road |
Average daily flow |
Source |
| 1 |
M2 (At Fortwilliam, j1) |
97,210 |
Belfast City Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2004 |
| 2 |
M2 (Greencastle to Sandyknowes, j2-j4) |
71,536 |
Newtownabbey Borough Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2006 |
| 3 |
A12 Westlink (measured at Roden Street) |
68,414 |
FOI to Roads Service, 2006 |
| 4 |
M1 (Broadway to Stockmans Lane, j1 to j2) |
66,604 |
FOI to Roads Service, 2006 |
| 5 |
M1 (Stockman's Lane to Black's Road, j2 to j3) |
56,562 |
FOI to Roads Service, 2006 |
| 6 |
M1 (Black's Road to Saintfield Road, j3 to j6) |
52,114 |
FOI to Roads Service, 2006 |
| 7 |
A2 Sydenham Bypass (measured at City Airport) |
51,230 |
Belfast City Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2004 |
| 8 |
A2 Holywood Bypass |
46,150 |
Belfast City Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2004 |
| 9 |
M2 (Templepatrick to Rathbeg, j5 to j6) |
43,867 |
Antrim Borough Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2005 |
| 10 |
M5 (Greencastle to Hazelbank) |
43,317 |
Newtownabbey Borough Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2006 |
| 11 |
M2 (Sandyknowes to Templepatrick, j4-j5) |
42,410 |
Belfast City Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2004 |
| 12 |
A55 Outer Ring, Belfast (at Upper Knockbreda Road) |
39,390 |
Belfast City Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2004 |
| 13 |
M2 (Rathbeg j6) - M22 (Dunsilly, j1) |
39,074 |
Antrim Borough Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2005 |
| 14 |
A2 Greenisland to Whiteabbey @ Jordanstown Rd |
37,876 |
Newtownabbey Borough Council, Air Quality Assessment, 2006 |
| 15 |
A2 at Cultra |
35,320 |
Hansard, 2003 |
Therefore the M2 is by far the busiest road in Northern Ireland, not the Westlink or the M1 as commonly stated by the media.
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