A8 (M) motorway

A8 (M) motorway in the UK
Basic data
Operator:	Roads Service Northern Ireland
Start of the street:	Sandyknowes Roundabout , connection to M2 and A6
End of street:	Corrs Corner Roundabout, transition to the A8
Overall length:	1.6 km (1  mi )
Countries :	Northern Ireland
Development condition:	2 × 2 lanes
The north end: Corrs Corner Roundabout

Start at the Sandyknowes Roundabout

The A8 (M) ( English M for 'Motorway') is a motorway in Northern Ireland . With a length of around 1,600 meters , it is the second shortest in the country after the M3 and lies entirely in the district of Antrim and Newtownabbey .

location

The motorway is located in the north-western edge of the conurbation around the Northern Irish capital Belfast . The southern beginning is the Sandyknowes Roundabout , a traffic roundabout that is also exit number 4 of the M2 motorway . From here it leads north to reach the roundabout at Corrs Corner, a hotel and restaurant complex, after 1.6 kilometers without any further exit. The continuation from here is the A8 , which is designated as a regular trunk road. Its four-lane expansion has been underway since 2013.

history

In June 1956, the Northern Irish Minister of Commerce, Lord Glentoran , presented the extended planning of a draft from 1946 for the construction of a motorway network in Northern Ireland. One of the newly planned routes was to lead from Belfast in a north-westerly direction to Ballymena . As is customary in Northern Ireland, the construction of this line, named M2, began at a point that promised the greatest local relief. During the construction of this first section it turned out that the planned route towards Ballymena over the foothills of the Antrim Mountains was more difficult than expected due to the geological conditions. Therefore, the M2 was rescheduled from the Sandyknowes Roundabout to a more southerly route via Antrim . The A8 (M) was opened to traffic in October 1966, at the same time as the section of the M2 adjoining Belfast to the Greencastle exit. The continuation of the M2 on the new route went into operation in September 1975.

meaning

Traffic runs between Belfast and the port city of Larne via the motorway and the adjacent A8 to the north . It is part of the E1 and E16 European routes, which are generally not signposted in the United Kingdom . It is also important as a feeder for tourism in the southern parts of the Antrim Mountains. At the same time, it serves as a bypass for the towns of Carnmoney and Glengormley , through which the A8 originally ran.

Web links

Commons : A8 (M)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• A8 (M) Motorway on the Northern Ireland Road Site
• A8 (M) on Pathetic Motorways website
• A8 (M) on crbd.com.uk (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Detailed map of the district ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the district administration website, PDF, 8.5 MB. Retrieved May 29, 2016 
2. ↑ A8 Belfast to Larne Dualling - overview. Information on the expansion of the A8 on the website of the Norir Ministry of Infrastructure, accessed on May 29, 2016 (English)
3. ↑ Timeline for M2 on the Northern Ireland Road Site
4. ↑ Historical course of the A (8) , recorded on the half-inch map of the Ordnance Survey published by the British Department of Transport (MOT) from the end of the 1920s. Society for All British and Irish Road Enthusiasts (SABER) map server, accessed May 29, 2016