'The madness continues': MLA hits out as roads bosses used predictions from nine months ago to assess Belfast gridlock, after Boyne Bridge traffic jams started clogging city

So says the DUP’s Edwin Poots, in the wake of the News Letter’s revelation that roads bosses appear to have used months-old predictions when examining gridlock stemming from the Boyne Bridge closure, instead of looking at what was actually happening on Belfast’s clogged streets.

Shortly after Durham Street and the bridge were shut off and the city centre was plunged into chaos, officials from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) heavily criticised plans connected to the closure citing issues with traffic management.

Officials now say they’ve checked and describe the plans as “robust” and acceptable” – but rather than look at what was actually going on in the real world in October, November and December, they appear to have retreated to projections created in February and analysed those instead.

That’s outraged South Belfast MLA Edwin Poots, who says using a modelling document that’s nine months old to justify flipping the DfI’s position on an issue hitting tens of thousands of people every day is “shocking”.

“It is clear for all to see the disruption and gridlock on our streets,” he says.

“You don’t need to rely on an old document when all you have to do is look out the window, turn on the radio or read the papers and see the impact this decision has had on our businesses, road users and members of the public.”

Making matters worse, many predictions in the February model have not been borne out on the streets of Belfast.

It forecasts that most of the city centre’s main routes should see only a minimal impact from shutting Durham Street for up to a year, with only Donegall Street listed as likely to suffer a major impact.

It also predicts that Grosvenor Road will see a large increase in pedestrian footfall, which is used as partial justification for closing a left-turn onto that road from Great Victoria Street.

Yet over the past two months Grosvenor Road businesses have complained that footfall has fallen off a cliff, to the point that they fear for their survival.

Mr Poots argues that the model is at best questionable, given the visibly different real-world impact of closing Durham Street, and wants to know why the DfI turned to old predictions instead of analysing what was actually happening to Belfast.

“On October 17, with work already under way, the DfI clearly stated [the plan] in its present form was unacceptable,” he said.

"It is outrageous to then employ a traffic modelling document done in February, long before the Durham Street work had commenced, and use it to justify changing positions to declare it acceptable.

“Given the disruption on our roads, it is clear this report is seriously flawed and certainly not robust. Further questions remain for the DfI."

The department was contacted and offered the chance to respond to the MLA’s comments.

It has repeatedly dodged the News Letter’s questions about the issue this week, however, to the point that officials won’t even confirm whether they used February’s modelling.

The closure is connected to Translink’s work on the new Grand Central Station in Belfast, though the DfI is responsible for approving the project and allowing Translink to go ahead with it. The DfI also oversees Translink.