On the 26th of June it was announced that there would be an extra £400 million pounds put into the infrastructure funding for Northern Ireland. This extra funding has come from the Democratic Unionist Party, or DUPâs agreement with the Conservative Government. The Freight Transport Association has suggested that this extra funding that has resulted from the deal will be good news for the infrastructure of Northern Ireland as they will be able to upgrade their strategic road network. The Freight Transport Association, or FTA have said that they were the only transport body that supplied evidence as a part of the 2015 Public Inquiry into the redevelopment of the York Street Interchange.
As part of the extra funding agreement for Northern Irelandâs infrastructure, The above interchange in Belfast has been specifically mentioned. The redevelopment program has been valued at £165 million and the FTA have been lobbying local politicians to carry out this redevelopment project for a number of years. At the moment the junction acts as a severe bottleneck of traffic and freight journeys that are taking place into Belfast City are often delayed. The junction also impacts the freight being taken to the port in Belfast.
The FTA want the work to be carried out to redevelop the Interchange as soon as possible and the Association has also said that the additional money that has been received from Westminster will ease some of the financial burden that comes with such a large redevelopment project. At the moment the freight industry is experiencing a period of concern and uncertainty, so the extra boost given by the investment will allow upgrades to take place and help the strategic road network in Northern Ireland. The extra money that has been given as part of the government deal will also help out the economy in Northern Ireland as well as improve trading relationship between the Northern Irish and the rest of Britain and Europe.
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