Westlink and M1 Upgrade (4) past progress reports

Westlink & M1 upgrade Belfast -
Past Progress Reports Jul 2007 - Sep 2007

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This is a sub-page giving additional information on the Westlink upgrade.

This page is an archive of old progress reports.

For the final progress reports, after late July 2008, click here.

For the progress reports from February 2008 to early July 2008, click here.

For the progress reports from October 2007 to February 2008, click here.

For the progress reports from March 2007 to June 2007, click here.

For the progress reports from December 2006 to February 2007, click here.

For the earliest progress reports, up to November 2006, click here.

16 Sep 2007

At Grosvenor Road underpass, which has now been open to traffic for two weeks, the focus has now moved to the future approaches to the flyover. Picture 1 shows the vertical wall being constructed on the eastern (city) side. The other wall can be seen at the bottom right, curving round to become the sliproad onto the Westlink. Once these walls are built, it is then a matter of infilling the 3 metre deep cavity with a large quantity of spoil to raise it sufficiently for the road to be constructed on top. The junction is supposed to be completed in just over 6 months, and this does seem achievable. At Roden Street, the approach ramps to the new footbridge are being erected. The ones on the Hospital side appear to be spiral in nature. The old footbridge is now gone with pedestrians using a street level crossing for the time being. The widened road corridor has been established here, but as yet no work has begun on widening the actual carriageway. At Broadway, about half of the "permanent slab" has now been installed (pic 2). This is the roof of the future underpass which will support the roundabout above. As suggested by artists impressions, the northern edge of the permanent slab is semicircular in shape, just about visible in picture 3 below. Excavations have begun on the underpass on the south side of the junction, to match the one already excavated on the north side. After almost two years of work, part of the final road layout are finally appearing here. On the M1 motorway, the widened countrybound carriageway and central reservation are now completed. However, the old central reservation has not yet been removed - it is currently occupying the space of lane 3 of the future citybound carriageway. At Stockman's Lane, the beams for the countrybound bridge are now in place, as shown in picture 3. Work to widen the countrybound offslip here is well advanced. The engineers also appear to be raising the level of the M1 by about half a metre on the countrybound approach to Stockman's Lane - this may be to reduce the "dip" in the horizontal alignment. In time terms the whole project is now 45% completed.

Sides of the approach ramps to Grosvenor Road flyover taking shape past the former carriageway on 16 Sep 2007. City centre to the right. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Construction of the permanent slab underway at Broadway, 16 Sep. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

The semicircular northern edge of the future underpass in place on 16 Sep. Vehicles using the underpass will go under these semiciruclar gateways at each end. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Beams in place for the countrybound flyover at Stockman's Lane on 16 Sep. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

2 Sep 2007

The new underpass at Grosvenor Road opened to traffic this morning. The switchover work must have taken longer than anticipated. One lane was due to open each way at 11am and a second each way at 2pm. The pictures below were a taken between 2 and 3pm today when only one lane was open northbound and none southbound, leading to traffic congestion on all approaches and especially on the Falls Road which was gridlocked. Nevertheless, the new underpass looks very impressive - wide and sweeping when descending through it, with neat workmanship and attractive details.

First drive northbound through the Grosvenor Road underpass on 2 Sep 2007.
[Photo by Wesley Johnston]

View north at Grosvenor Road on 2 Sep 2007, with vehicles using the new underpass.
[Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Workers tying in the new road arrangement at Grosvenor Road, looking south on the day the underpass opened on 2 Sep 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

1 Sep 2007

In a rare occurrence, the Westlink closed completely between Broadway and Divis Street at 10pm tonight. The purpose of this is to re-route the Westlink through the new underpass at Grosvenor Road. The process will take about 13 hours, with the road due to re-open at 11am on Sunday morning. The flyover itself is not completed and this change will allow the approach ramps to be built and the two sliproads to be constructed. In time terms, the whole project is 44% completed. All the roads in the scheme are due to be opened in 19 months' time.

15 Aug 2007

Work has advanced well over the past month. At Grosvenor Road, the finishing touches are being made to the new bridge whose parapets are now in place (pic 1). Beneath, in the underpass, a final covering of bricks are being added, while the foundation layers of the road surface itself are now in place. I would expect the tarmac to go down fairly soon. Picture 2 shows the eastern approach to the new flyover, showing how a high-quality rendering of red brick is now being added to face the bare concrete. (The approach has not yet been filled in.) Picture 3 shows the view south along the Westlink in the Roden Street direction. Not much change is evident here. At Broadway, work has finally begun in the 'permanent slab', ie the concrete cover of the underpass that will carry the roundabout above the mainline of the Westlink. The roundabout is currently widened to make way for these works, and the slab that will form the northern part of the roundabout is under construction. The soil beneath will not be removed until the slab is completed. In addition, the approach to the underpass on the northern side has been fully excavated (pic 4) although some service pipes are still suspended across the chasm and will require diversion, probably through the new permanent slab. Finally, at Stockman's Lane, the pillars for the new southbound flyover are completed and the two abutments are well underway (pic 5). The northbound flyover was completed a few months ago. In time terms, the whole project is now 43% complete.

Pic 1 - Grosvenor Road underpass on 12 August 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 2: The future eastern approach to the Grosvenor Road flyover taking shape on 12 August 2007.
[Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 3: The view south at Grosvenor Road on 12 August 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 4: The northern end of the Broadway underpass taking shape on 12 August 2007. Looking north from the existing Broadway roundabout. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 5: The pillars for the future southbound M1 flyover taking shape at Stockman's Lane on
12 August 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

23 Jul 2007

The photos below were taken about two weeks ago, but the work has not advanced too much over the Twelfth holiday since then. At Grosvenor Road, work on the aesthetic sides to the underpass are well advanced (pic 1), and the finishing touches are being added to the edges of the flyover. Work has also commenced on the parapet. Work has not advanced much on the approach ramps, although part of the western one is in place. Between Grosvenor Road and Roden Street, work on widening the Westlink has progressed very well indeed, despite the original schedule placing this in 2008. As you can see from picture 2, the two road edges and central reservation are in place with traffic weaving through the site. At Roden Street itself, the new high-specification footbridge is now in place, visible in picture 3. Between Roden Street and Broadway, widening work is not so well advanced, although work is progressing on an attractive red brick wall separating the Westlink from properties. At Broadway, the approach to the northern side of the underpass is now partially excavated, and since work on culverting the rivers appears to be largely complete, we can expect work to begin soon on the permanent roof slab of the underpass. On the M1 motorway, the widened countrybound carriageway is completed for about 3/4 of the distance to Stockman's Lane (pic 4). This side is now 4 lanes wide, with cars using two of them while work begins to shift the central reservation over one lane. At the Stockman's Lane end, widening work is not so advanced, but work can be seen on the foundations for the future countrybound offslip, which is well off to one side (pic 5).

Pic 1: The view north at Grosvenor Road on 8 July 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 2: The view south at Grosvenor Road on 8 July 2007, showing work progressing on the widened Westlink. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 3: The new Roden Street footbridge in place on 8 July 2007. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 4: The widened M1 countrybound on 8 July 2007, with the photographer here driving on the future hard shoulder. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Pic 5: Work underway on the future southbound M1 offslip approaching Stockman's Lane on 8 July 2007. This section of the M1 has not yet been widened. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

4 Jul 2007

Last weekend the Roden Street footbridge was demolished. Because the new bridge is not yet completed, a temporary pedestrian crossing has been created at this junction. Road enthusiasts should head down and use it, as it is likely to be the last opportunity to legally walk on the Westlink! The new footbridge should be in place over the next weekend or two. In time terms the whole project is now 40% completed.