‘Urgent repair work’ to replace some damaged joints on the M3 Lagan Bridge to start on Tuesday.
Despite taking place during an annual moratorium on non-urgent road works in Belfast, the Department of Infrastructure ( DFI) said it is permissible ‘due to the urgent need to repair the joints and to ensure the availability of specialist contractors’.
Overnight lane closures will run until Sunday, December 1 between 11pm and 6am.
Lanes 3 and 4 in the westbound direction will be closed for three consecutive nights following which lanes 1 and 2 in the westbound direction will be closed for two consecutive nights.
The eastbound carriageway will remain open throughout this period.
A spokesperson for the DFI advised road users to allow extra time for their journeys and to follow alternative routes.
“Although the scheduling of this work is within the festive embargo period it is permissible due to the urgent need to repair the joints and to ensure the availability of specialist contractors,” they said.
“Every step has been taken to minimise disruption by conducting the work overnight under lane closures and avoiding overlap with the resurfacing scheme on the Sydenham bypass.
“Completing the work now will also secure the structural integrity of the bridge and avoid potentially longer closures of the carriageway should it be delayed.”
They added completion by Saturday 1 December is subject to ‘favourable weather conditions’.
