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Between junctions 2 and 4 of the M2 the motorway follows a steep slope, so the original 1960s designers added a crawler lane on the uphill section, so the M2 here is three lanes up the hill but only two lanes down hill. The down hill section is today one of the busiest in Northern Ireland, carrying 3170 vehicles per hour in the morning peak in 2004. A full 30% of these vehicles join the M2 at junction 4 (Sandyknowes) leading to the traffic on the M2 coming almost to a halt on most mornings as 1000 cars per hour try to merge with the 2100 already on the road.

This scheme will widen the down hill section of the M2 to three lanes, the leftmost of which will be a direct continuation of the Sandyknowes onslip. This lane will continue straight through junction 2 (Greencastle) and then be dropped at junction 1 (Fortwilliam). It is hoped that this scheme will reduce congestion by moving the lane merge from Sandyknowes to Fortwilliam. It will also pave the way for modifications to Sandyknowes roundabout itself to allow some movements to be flow more freely.

The widened motorway will be contained entirely within the current road width by narrowing the central reservation and replacing embankments with retaining walls. It is predicted that the capacity for traffic flow on the hill section will have risen to 4630 vehicles per hour after this scheme. In a worst case scenario, traffic flow will have reached 6000 vehicles per hour by 2022 according to the environmental impact statement.

In addition, the M2 uphill will be widened through the Greencastle interchange which currently features a lane drop / lane gain with only two lanes in each direction going through. The three lanes will be added in both directions here by removing the hard shoulder over a short distance. This means that the third lane that is gained at junction 1 (Fortwilliam) will continue straight through Greencastle and then be dropped at junction 4 (Sandyknowes). The scheme also includes the Crosskennan onslip plan, which is listed here separately and is now completed.

The widening project necessitates the demolition and reconstruction of three of the bridges over the M2 on this stretch, and the strengthening of a fourth (Bellevue Bridge). This map, based on Google Earth imagery, illustrates the locations of the bridges:

The works to be bridges include:

• Demolition and reconstruction of the current Arthur Bridge at Longlands and Collin Bridge in Glengormley. Temporary road bridges will be provided during this work. The environmental impact statement comments that as this is a 'gateway' to Belfast, the new bridges will be of a superior design compared to standard motorway bridges.

• Demolition and reconstruction of the current Hightown Road Bridge in Glengormley. A temporary footbridge will be provided, but cars will have to access the Hightown Road via Mallusk due to the lack of space for a temporary bridge. The new bridge will also be wider to allow for a turn-right lane into Mallusk, the lack of which currently causes traffic congestion at this spot. The demolition is due to take place early in 2008.

• The strengthening of Bellevue Bridge, which carries the Antrim Road. This bridge will not be rebuilt due to the many difficulties (and subsidence related litigation) that were involved when it was built for the first time. The M2 will therefore not have hard shoulders as it passes beneath the bridge.

Progress

17 May 2008: Work is progressing slowly but surely. The sign on the uphill section is now giving the completion date as "November 2009". Given that the completion date was given as "spring 2009" when work began, and "summer 2009" in January, this suggests that work is running progressively behind schedule. In terms of the carriageway itself, work at the bottom of the hill section appears to be most advanced, with widening works towards the upper end (pic 1) less developed. Work to replace and upgrade the bridges is also progressing. At the Hightown Road bridge, the new bridge abutments are now complete and work is underway on the pillars in the central reservation (pic 2). At Collinbridge, (where a small section of the future bridge is in use) the foundation trenches for the rest of the new abutments have been excavated, but not yet built. Work at Arthur Bridge is at a similar stage, where work on the abutments is underway. The works on the parapets of Bellevue Bridge (which is not being demolished) have moved from the north to the south side. Work to widen the carriageway over the bridges at the Greencastle interchange are also well underway.

Pic 1: The M2 looking towards Belfast from Hightown Road
bridge in mid May 2008. [Wesley Johnston]

Pic 2: The bridge abutments for the new Hightown Road bridge in mid May 2008. [Wesley Johnston]

14 Apr 2008: The pictures in this update were provided by Owen Fulton in late March, but only now have I got round to putting them up... The Hightown Road bridge was discussed in the last update. The central spans of the first half of Collin Bridge are now in place, but have not been connected to the land at either end (pic 1). Work to strengthen the Bellevue Bridge (which is not being demolished) began in late February and is currently taking place on the up-hill side (pic 2). The work has so far included removal of the existing pavement and parapet. The widening on the M2 south of here is progressing well with the expanded road embankment completed (pic 3) but the road surface no constructed on top. Work at Arthur Bridge is currently at the stage of constructing the bridge abutments and central pillar. Finally, at Greencastle preliminary work has started on widening the M2 to three lanes through the junction.

Pic 1: Collin Bridge in late March 2008 with the new section of widening bridge being built

on the left, and half the old bridge on the right providing road access. [Owen Fulton]

Pic 2: The northern side of Bellevue Bridge in late March 2008 where the

parapet had been removed. [Owen Fulton]

Pic 3: The M2 looking south from Bellevue Bridge in late March 2008, showing the widened

road embankment taking shape on the left. [Owen Fulton]

18 Mar 2008: The 51 year old Hightown Road bridge is now gone (see below). Only a thin sliver of the future bridge is in place, and it is now acting as a temporary footbridge. Traffic lights have been added on Sandyknowes roundabout at the Mallusk entrance to help people emerge from the Hightown area.

The site of the Hightown Road bridge in mid March 2008, taken from the truncated end of Hightown Road. A thin sliver of the new bridge has been built as a temporary footbridge. [Wesley Johnston]

3 Mar 2008: Work to demolish the Hightown Road Bridge is now well underway, while politicans continue to argue at Stormont about the effects the closure is having on traffic at Sandyknowes roundabout. Work has also begun at Greencastle where the bridges over the M5 are being widened to three lanes each way.

For progress reports prior to March 2008, please visit the archive.

Problems?

My concern with this scheme is that by removing the Sandyknowes bottleneck vehicles will reach the M2/M3/Westlink interchange bottleneck much more quickly, thus causing much worse traffic jams on the foreshore section of the M2 than at present. My fear is that this scheme will simply shift the traffic jam downstream by 9km rather than removing it leading to no overall improvement in journey times. In a sense, Sandyknowes is the 'safety valve' that prevents worse congestion on the foreshore by keeping traffic flow down. I predict that a major reconstruction of the M2/M3/Westlink interchange will be necessary (ideally to fully free flow form) to compensate for the effects of this scheme. Although I tolerate Sandyknowes every morning, I am not convinced that this scheme represents value for money without further improvements at the M2/M3/Westlink junction.

Photos

Sandyknowes roundabout, with the M2 going towards Belfast to the right. [Roads Service picture]

The Hightown Road bridge, the closest to Sandyknowes, will be demolished during 2007 (coincidentally, its 50th anniversary), before the rest of the scheme begins. The new bridge will be both longer, to accommodate the wider M2, and wider, to accommodate widening of the Hightown Road above. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

As one of the few motorway bridges to carry a date, the Hightown Road bridge itself confirms that it was built 9 years before the M2 opened beneath! Ironicially, it will be demolished in its 50th anniversary year. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

The M2 hill section at Bellevue Bridge, showing the current 2+3 lane arrangement. The third lane down hill will be added by narrowing the reservation and eating into the earth banks. This bridge is the only bridge not to be demolished and rebuilt as part of the scheme, and at 65 degrees is the one of the most oblique road bridges in Northern Ireland. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Arthur Bridge, seen here with the green railings, will be rebuilt. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

The end of the scheme is at Greencastle. The M2 runs left to right here and will be widened to three lanes in each direction through the interchange. [Roads Service picture]