M5 motorway (Northern Ireland)

M5 motorway in the UK
Basic data
Operator:	Roads Service Northern Ireland
Start of the street:	Hazelbank
End of street:	Whitewell
Overall length:	2.3 km (1.4  mi )
Countries :	Northern Ireland

The M5 motorway ( English for 'M5 motorway') is a continuous four-lane motorway in Northern Ireland , which branches off the M2 north of Belfast and runs in a north-easterly direction along the north coast of Belfast Bay .

history

The M5 appears for the first time in plans from 1964. At that time it was planned to run the M5 along the coast to Carrickfergus . In addition, the M6 ​​should branch off into northern Larne halfway . However, further tests showed that there would be no need for such a motorway in the medium term. The M6 ​​and almost the entire stretch of the M5 were postponed and only areas were kept available for later expansion of the route.

The only section that remained in the planning was a 2.3 km long feeder to the M2 east of Newtownabbey . As an exception to the general freeze on motorways in the wake of the Northern Ireland conflict , the section was opened to traffic in September 1980.

Expansion plans

Since the first areas that were reserved for the further construction of the M5 have meanwhile been released for development, it is not to be expected that the motorway will ever be further built. Instead, the existing A2 coastal road is currently being expanded into a four-lane expressway.

Web links

• Northern Ireland Roads Site : M5 (English)