There are signs that the reopening of the old Boyne Bridge road in Belfast has sped up traffic flows in the city centre.

One of the bosses of Belfast taxi firm Fonacab has said that data shows an increase in the speed of taxi pick-ups for the week after the road reopened compared with the same week one year earlier when the road was shut.

Meanwhile the Department of Infrastructure has confirmed to the News Letter that having the road back in operation is helping in “reducing levels of congestion”.

The closure of Durham Street in autumn 2024, to allow the removal of the Boyne Bridge which ran underneath it next to Grand Central Station, was blamed for worsening major congestion in the city in the run-up to Christmas.

placeholder image — Traffic flows seem to have improved in the city centre over the last week, compared to the same week a year earlier, when the bridge was shut

It reopened just weeks ago on November 29 (the stretch where the bridge once stood has been named Boyne Bridge Place).

Stephen Anton, communications manager at Fonacab (and who has also acted as a spokesman for the Licensed Taxi Operators Association), compared tracking information from his drivers in the city centre region from December 1 to 7, then looked at the same period in 2024.

“I want to say there's a one minute improvement [in pick-up times],” he said.

“Which, a one-minute improvement, doesn't sound like an awful lot, but if you're talking about 100,000 minutes, then that frees up a lot of resources.”

The 100,000 minutes figure comes from the fact that Fonacab’s drivers might get around 100,000 bookings per week province-wide at this time of year.

“Yes, the taxis have been arriving slightly earlier, and the number of taxis which have been arriving late has decreased as well,” he said.

He added that it is important to recognise that this is not necessarily all down to Boyne Bridge Place opening up; things like the differences in weather over the two weeks being compared may also have an influence.

However, he is concerned that this improvement could end up being off-set by traffic problems elsewhere, adding that “you can find yourself being in a position of having it given to you in one hand and taken away from you in the other”.

The Department for Infrastructure said: “Generally, traffic has been flowing well in the area of Grand Central Station and the additional capacity provided by Durham Street reopening has assisted in reducing levels of congestion on Great Victoria Street, Donegall Road, and some other arterial routes.

“Translink has also noted an improvement in the performance of the south Belfast corridors during the PM peak period since the reopening.

“However, we expect that traffic patterns in the area will continue to adjust over the coming weeks as people get used to the new road.

“In addition to the reopening of Durham Street, the infrastructure minister introduced a number of measures to keep Belfast moving in the busy pre-Christmas period, including extended bus lane hours on a number of key routes and an early embargo on non-essential roadworks – all of which have had a positive impact on traffic flow.

"The department is also urging the public to play their part if they can by using public transport, choosing one of the many park and ride sites on the approach to the city or by embracing active travel means.”