This table gives the opening dates of all motorway sections built in Northern Ireland. The cost, where known, is given along with the 2005 equivalent in brackets (calculated via www.measuringworth.com). Some adjacent sections that opened on the same date are listed separately if they were built under separate contracts.
| Road |
Section |
Length |
Cost (2005 equiv) |
Date Opened |
| M1 |
Junctions 1 to 2
(Donegall Rd to Stockman's Lane) |
2.1km |
£1.9m (£27.2m) |
10 Jul 1962 |
| M1 |
Junctions 2 to 6 (Stockman's Lane
to Lisburn Saintfield Rd) |
8.8km |
£2.5m (£35.7m) |
10 Jul 1962 |
| M1 |
Junctions 6 to 7 (Lisburn Saintfield Road to Sprucefield) |
2.9km |
£1.5m (£21.0m) |
15 Dec 1963 |
| M1 |
Junctions 12 to 13
(Birches to Verner's Corner) |
7.2km |
£1.8m (£24.4m) |
1 Dec 1964 |
| M1 |
Junctions 7 to 9
(Sprucefield to Moira) |
10.9km |
£3.4m (£44.1m) |
6 Dec 1965 |
| M1 |
Junctions 9 to 10
(Moira to Lurgan) |
9.6km |
£3.5m (£43.6m) |
28 Feb 1966 |
| M2 |
Junctions 2 to 4
(Greencastle to Sandyknowes) |
5.6km |
£4.1m estimate
(£51.1m) |
24 Oct 1966 |
| A8(M) |
Sandyknowes to Corr's Corner |
1.6km |
£2.3m (£28.7m) |
24 Oct 1966 |
| M1 |
Junctions 10 to 11
(Lurgan to Ballynacor) |
3.2km |
£1.8m estimate
(£21.9m) |
27 Nov 1967 |
| M12 |
Spur from Ballynacor |
3.7km |
£2.0m (£24.3m) |
27 Nov 1967 |
| M1 |
Junctions 13 to 15
(Verner's Corner to Dungannon) |
7.8km |
£4.9m (£59.6m) |
23 Dec 1967 |
| M1 |
Junctions 11 to 12
(Ballynacor to Birches) |
8.8km |
£8.3m (£96.4m) |
29 Jan 1968 |
| M2 |
Junctions 10 to 12
(Ballymena bypass) |
7.2km |
£5.0m (£55.1m) |
26 Apr 1969 |
| M2 |
Junction 5 to M22 junction 1
(Templepatrick to Dunsilly) |
10.4km |
£4.1m (£38.8m) |
26 Feb 1971 |
| M22 |
Junctions 1 to 2
(Dunsilly to Ballygrooby) |
4.5km |
£1.9m (£18.0m) |
16 Aug 1971 |
| M22 |
Junctions 2 to 3
(Ballygrooby to Artresnahan) |
2.2km |
£1.2m (£9.7m) |
30 Jan 1973 |
| M2 |
Junctions 1A to 2 (Whitla Street / York Street to Greencastle)
|
4.0km |
£7.5m (£60.7m) |
22 May 1973 |
| M2 |
Junctions 4 to 5
(Sandyknowes to Templepatrick) |
9.4km |
£6.2m (£34.8m) |
4 Sep 1975 |
| M5 |
M2 junction 2 to Hazelbank |
2.3km |
£4.4m (£12.6m) |
12 Sep 1980 |
| M1 |
Junction 3 added
(Black's Road, east-facing only) |
1.0km |
£2.3m (£4.1m) |
Dec 1988 |
| M12 |
Western sliproads to M1 at junction 11
(Ballynacor) |
1.4km |
£1.7m (£2.5m) |
Jan 1991 |
| M2 |
Junction 7 added
(Crosskennan, offslips only) |
1.4km |
£0.4m (£0.6m) |
1 Oct 1993 |
| M3 |
Junctions 1A to 1 (Middlepath Street) |
1.3km |
£26.4m (£34.0m) |
22 Jan 1995 |
| M3 |
Junction 1 (Middlepath Street) to Sydenham Bypass |
1.1km |
£6.2m (£7.3m) |
May 1998 |
| M1 |
Junction 8 added (Blaris) and Junction 7 (Sprucefield) west facing sliproads removed |
1.5km
excl. A101 |
£8m (£8.5m) privately funded |
13 Oct 2003 |
| M1 |
Widening to 3 lanes junctions 2 to 3
(Black's Road to Stockman's Lane) |
2.1km |
£4.8m (£4.9m) |
10 Aug 2004 |
Source: "
The Northern Ireland Motorway Achievement", Roads Service and Motorway Archive Trust, 2002, ISBN: 0-9543056-6-3
Total expenditure on motorways in each four year period (2002 equivalent):
| Period |
Expenditure
(2005 prices) |
Total kilometres constructed |
| 1962 - 1965 |
£152.4m |
31.9km |
| 1966 - 1969 |
£380.7m |
47.5km |
| 1970 - 1973 |
£127.2m |
21.1km |
| 1974 - 1977 |
£34.8m |
9.4km |
| 1978 - 1981* |
£12.6m |
2.3km |
| 1982 - 1985* |
£0m |
0km |
| 1986 - 1989 |
£4.1m |
1.0km |
| 1990 - 1993 |
£3.1m |
2.8km |
| 1994 - 1997 |
£34.0m |
1.3km |
| 1998 - 2001 |
£7.3m |
1.1km |
| 2002 - 2005 |
£13.4m |
3.6km |
*These periods also saw the construction of the expensive A12 Westlink, not listed here.
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