Sydenham bypass finally reopens - one month late, with roads bosses blaming cold and rain for delays
Work has finally finished on Belfast’s Sydenham Bypass, a month later than planned.
Yesterday (9th) Stormont’s Department for Infrastructure (DfI) announced its £3.8m resurfacing scheme was at last complete, after months of disruption to the major transport corridor both this year and last.
But the DfI initially forecast that workmen should have the job done by early March – and when that deadline was missed, told the News Letter they should be finished by the end of last month.
Having missed both of those already fairly vague completion dates, the Stormont department now says work is finally done and the major commuter route is open as normal.
In a statement to the News Letter, a DfI spokeswoman blamed bad weather including “cold temperatures, persistent rainfall and high winds” over several weekends for the project finishing a month late.
"These conditions were unsuitable for surfacing operations and resulted in some unavoidable delays,” she said.
“In addition to the resurfacing itself, the scheme also included essential drainage improvements and reconstruction of the central reservation, all of which were necessary to enhance safety for road users and improve the overall condition of this key route.
“The department appreciates the patience and understanding of road users while these important works were completed.”
The bypass, which normally sees tens of thousands of cars travelling on it every day, was repeatedly closed down either in part or in full to facilitate the multimillion-pound overhaul.
The resurfacing kicked off in autumn last year, sparking traffic disruption and mammoth delays as huge numbers of vehicles were diverted down Belfast’s other main roads – a situation that was especially bad during several weekend-long complete closures of the bypass, which caused jams on many of the city’s already crowded major routes.
An outcry from city centre stores who feared their vital Christmas period would be devastated led to work pausing during December, but road closures kicked back into action early in January.
Up until relatively recently, the bypass was frequently closed overnight for the work to happen, or reduced to only allowing traffic to travel in one direction – often in a single lane.
In post on social media yesterday, the DfI stated: “The Sydenham Bypass resurfacing scheme is completed [and] the road is now fully re-opened.
“Thank you for your patience as we carried out this improvement work which has significantly enhanced one of our busiest and most strategic routes.”