Stakeholder

Belfast Harbour has completed a £3.2m upgrade to two of the port’s busiest roads, thus improving access for almost two million hauliers and ferry passengers who use the routes annually. The works on a two-kilometre stretch of Dargan Road and Westbank Road mean that the Harbour’s main ferry and container facilities, including the new Stena Terminal at VT4, are now connected to the M2 at Fortwilliam via an unbroken four-lane carriageway.  

 

The project, which was paid for in full by Belfast Harbour, represents the latest stage in the development of a strategic road network that connects the port to its trading hinterland throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland’s motorway network.

 

Announcing the roads opening, Len O’Hagan, Chairman of Belfast Harbour, added:

 

“The new road upgrades will provide excellent, direct access from the motorway network to Belfast Harbour for the 1.3m ferry passengers and 500,000 freight drivers who use these roads in the port every year. The works will also ensure that Belfast is now the most accessible port within these islands for leisure and commercial drivers.  

 

“Belfast Harbour is one end of a sea bridge that joins the island to destinations in Scotland, England and mainland Europe; there’s little point building a bridge, however, if the road connections aren’t there on either side.  These improvements will provide port users with access to and regress from services quickly and without congestion, improving both the competitiveness of the port and the wider economy.”

 

The works, completed by the Northern Ireland McQuillan Group, entailed upgrading two kilometres of road into a four-lane carriageway, resurfacing a kilometre of road, and widening and improving several junctions.  It is estimated that the works, which took 10 months to complete, helped sustain 90 construction jobs.

 

The Freight Transport Association (FTA), which represents the transport needs of UK industry, also welcomed the important investment.

Tom Wilson, FTA NI Manager, said:

 

 

“The recent ferry and container terminal developments at Belfast Port have been very welcome to our members who use these facilities on a daily basis. The newly completed road works complement these developments and will further improve the accessibility and connectivity between these facilities and the motorway network.

 

“Any delay to our members is very costly thus investments such as this which enable transport companies to achieve greater efficiencies and control of delivery times will further benefit Northern Ireland’s industry and commerce as it strives to maintain and improve its competitiveness in these challenging times.”