M3 motorway (Northern Ireland)

Template: Infobox trunk road / Maintenance / GB -M

Countries:

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland

The M3 motorway (English for, M3 motorway ') is a highway in Northern Ireland, which begins in the center of Belfast and original in an easterly direction along the bay, according to plans from Belfast to Bangor should run. To date, however, only the bridge over the River Lagan which was mainly realized. The M3 is currently the youngest and shortest motorway in Northern Ireland. Seen traffic Technically it is no more than a brief, eastern extension of the M2 with feeder function in the current expansion state.

History

The big expansion plans of the Northern Ireland 's motorway network of 1964 foresaw the construction of a highway from the planned and never realized Belfast ring road along the bay from Belfast to Bangor. Before, however, due to the conflict in Northern Ireland mid-70s, almost all highway projects have been suspended indefinitely, not a single meter of this highway had yet been completed.

By never realized motorway grew up on the parallel verlaufenen A2 motorway traffic steadily. In particular, the River Lagan crossing Queen's Bridge, which connected among others, the Belfast city center to the waterfront, was no longer cope with the traffic in the long run. Therefore, in 1987 a new bridge over the Lagan was planned. Construction began in 1991 and was opened to traffic because of the elaborate installation of a crossing railway tracks in two phases until 1998.

Although the M2 and the short new section almost seamlessly into one another, on the whole length of a top speed of 50 mph (80 km / h) applies and the highway does not run on the 1964 planned route, the new section has been awarded yet as Motorway M3. Despite its brevity, the M3 one of the most - trafficked sections of motorway in Northern Ireland.

Expansion plans

While a complete ongoing construction of the M3 to Bangor is considered unlikely, at least planned subsequent to A2 Sydenham to expand around and make some intersections plan free. In the long term it would be possible that this section could be classified also to the highway.