M5 motorway (Northern Ireland)

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UK-Motorway-M5.svg

The M5 is a spur motorway of 1½ miles in north Belfast, County Antrim. It connects the M2 to the A2 Shore Road at Hazelbank in Newtownabbey. It is a dual two lane road with most of the road on a causeway in Belfast Lough in order to bypass Whitehouse beach.

History

Originally announced in 1964 and planned to follow the route of the B90 to Carrickfergus,[1] the M5 would have also joined the planned M6 motorway.[2] The scale of the scheme was reduced to its present form in the 1969 transport review,[3] but it was recommended that the line of the originally planned route should be protected from development. Opening to traffic on 12 September 1980,[4] the M5 was the only one of Northern Ireland's original motorway schemes to proceed after the cancellation of all the existing motorway plans in 1975 following the deterioration of civil order (the M3 which opened in 1995 had the same number as an original plan, but was a different project).

Junctions

M5 motorway
Northbound exits Junction Southbound exits
End of motorway
M2 motorway continues
Belfast City Centre M2
M2, J2 Start of motorway
Start of motorway J1 End of motorway
Whiteabbey, Carrickfergus
Belfast (Shore Road) A2

References

Outside links

Motorways in the United Kingdom

Great Britain: M1  • M2  • M3  • M4  • M5  • M6  • M6 Toll  • M8  • M9  • M10  • M11  • M18  • M20  • M23  • M25  • M26  • M27  • M32  • M40  • M42  • M45  • M48  • M49  • M50  • M53  • M54  • M55  • M56  • M57  • M58  • M60  • M61  • M62  • M63  • M65  • M66  • M67  • M69  • M73  • M74  • M77  • M80  • M85  • M90  • M180  • M181  • M271  • M275  • M602  • M606  • M621  • M876  • M898  • Sections of A road: A1(M)

Former motorways marked in italics

Northern Ireland: M1  • M2  • M3  • M5  • M12  • M22