Finaghy Road North

Finaghy Road North. Update 22/10/08

FINAGHY ROAD NORTH RE-OPENED TO ALL TRAFFIC

Roads Minister Conor Murphy announced the full re-opening of a Belfast road this weekend which was closed in late June to allow for the strengthening of a railway bridge.

Finaghy Road North in South Belfast will fully reopen to two-traffic from 8:00am on Saturday 25th October 2008. An improved footway over the railway bridge will also be available to pedestrians from this date.

The Minister said "The re-opening of this road should alleviate some of the current difficulties for pedestrians and motorists in the Finaghy area. I would like to thank local residents and businesses for their patience throughout this work to improve safety provision at this bridge."

Work to complete this scheme will continue into November although this should have a minimal effect on local traffic movements.

Roads Service had hoped to open this bridge in September, however, due to the complex and restricted nature of the work and the unseasonally bad weather, it took longer than expected. Work requiring the road closure was completed in just over four months

Updated information will be available on the 'Roadworks' link of the Roads Service website at www.roadsni.gov.uk or can be obtained by speaking to a member of the project team on 02890253169.

Finaghy Road North. Update 09/10/08

Work on Bridge at Finaghy Road North nearing completion

Finaghy Road North has been closed to vehicular traffic since 23rd June 2008, to allow for essential safety improvement works at the bridge to be completed.

The road was originally expected to be reopened to one-way traffic by the middle of September. However, problems with unexpected ground conditions, live services and unseasonably bad weather hampered the completion of this work.

Finaghy Road North will now re-open at 8:00am on Thursday 16th October 2008, for southbound traffic only (towards Finaghy crossroads). This will enable traffic to use the bridge in one direction whilst permitting the Contractor to complete the remaining work safely.

The existing diversionary route for northbound traffic (towards Andersonstown Road) will remain in operation until the bridge works have been completed in November. Pedestrians should continue to use the temporary footbridge and courtesy shuttle bus service until the footway over the bridge has been reinstated.

Updated information will be available on the 'Roadworks' link of the Roads Service website at www.roadsni.gov.uk or can be obtained by speaking to a member of the project team on 02890253169.

Finaghy Road North. Update 02/09/08

Finaghy Road North has been closed to vehicular traffic from late June 2008 to allow for improvement works on the bridge to be completed.

This has been a technically demanding scheme and the unseasonably bad weather, has hampered the Contractor’s progress .  Consequently, the work will take longer to complete than initially anticipated. It is planned to reopen Finaghy Road North to one-way traffic by mid-October, with the scheme due for completion during November.

Our Contractor has worked hard to minimise these delays, including working at nights, weekends and through the summer holiday period.

Our Traffic Information and Control Centre will continue to monitor traffic in the area and adjust signal timings to minimise any delays on the alternative routes and the temporary footbridge and free shuttle bus service will be retained for as long as necessary.

Roads Service sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused and appreciate the continued patience and perseverance of the travelling public.

Finaghy Road North. Road to be closed from 23 June

The bridge over the railway line at Finaghy Road North in west Belfast will be closed to traffic from Monday 23 June to allow essential safety improvements to be carried out.

The work will involve replacing existing walls and fences over the bridge with high standard safety barriers, but due to the restricted width of the bridge this cannot be carried out safely when it is open to traffic.  The closure has been timed to coincide with the summer period when traffic levels are at their lowest. Due to the complex nature of the work and construction constraints, the road might not reopen to traffic until mid September. However, Roads Service will be working closely with the contractor to enable the road to reopen as early as possible.>

Diversionary routes via Blacks Road and Stockmans Lane will be well signposted and traffic alerted in advance by roadside signs. The junctions on these alternative routes will be closely monitored to ensure that diverted traffic does not suffer undue delay. Motorists are asked to be patient and allow sufficient additional time for their journey.

Existing train services will operate as normal and Finaghy halt will remain operational throughout the works.

A pedestrian route will be retained at all times adjacent to the bridge via a temporary footbridge spanning the railway line and a free shuttle bus will operate from 8:00am – 8:30pm daily between Orchardville Avenue and Diamond Gardens to cater for those with mobility difficulties. The temporary footbridge and shuttle bus will come into operation on 23 June.

Updated information will be available on the ‘Roadworks’ link of the Roads Service website at www.roadsni.gov.uk or can be obtained by speaking to a member of the project team on 02890 253169.

Notes

• The work is being carried out jointly by Roads Service and Northern Ireland Railways. It was prompted after a study of the risks of vehicle incursions onto the railway track following an accident in Selby, Yorkshire in 2001 in which ten people lost their lives.  
• After this crash the Dept of Transport recommended that each road over rail site on the entire rail network be assessed for risk to reduce the chances of a road vehicle reaching a railway track. Of the 124 sites in the north that have been assessed, 18 were identified for treatment and Finaghy Road North was considered to be the highest risk.  
• The £4 million programme for post Selby road/rail safety measures commenced in 2005 and 14 of the 18 sites have already been completed. The remaining sites will be completed by 2009.
• Improvements have been made to road over railway bridges as well as parallel road/railway sites such as alongside the Sydenham By Pass.
• The works contract has been awarded to Lagan Construction Ltd.