 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 M1 highlighted in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
Part of E01 and E18 | ||||
| Length | 38.0 mi (61.2 km) | |||
| Existed | 1962–present | |||
| History | Constructed 1962–1968 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| East end | Belfast | |||
| Major intersections |   J11 →M12 Motorway | |||
| West end | Dungannon | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United Kingdom | |||
| Constituent country | Northern Ireland | |||
| Primary destinations | Lisburn,Lurgan,Craigavon,Portadown,Dungannon | |||
| Road network | ||||
| ||||
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_195736.jpg)
TheM1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for 38 miles (61 km) fromBelfast toDungannon throughCounty Antrim, County Down,County Armagh andCounty Tyrone. It forms part of the route via theA1 in Northern Ireland (N1/M1 in theRepublic of Ireland) between Belfast andDublin as well as being a part of the unsigned EuropeanE01 andE18 routes.
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_350746.jpg)
The road begins at the Broadwayroundabout to the west ofWindsor Park and running parallel to theBlackstaff River. Heading south as a dual three–lane motorway, it passes to the east ofCasement Park. Running throughDunmurry andBallyskeagh it arrives to the south ofLisburn. Traffic forDublin leaves at junctions 7 and 8 as the motorway enters thecountryside. Now heading west pastAghnatrisk it runs parallel to and then crosses theBelfast-Dublin Railway Line followed by theRiver Lagan before reachingMoira. Continuing west, it passes betweenKillaghy andTullydagan and to the north ofLurgan andTurmoyra, across thePound River, south ofLough Neagh, before its junction with theM12 atCraigavon. Crossing theRiver Bann it then enters a relatively unpopulated area. It passes south ofDerryadd Lough and runs in a loop around theAnnagarriff Nature Reserve before crossing theRiver Blackwater, skirting to the north ofTamnamore andLaghey Corner before ending atDungannon on theA4.
The line of the M1 in Belfast had been planned for a road since 1946 as theSouthern Approach Road, though there were some disagreements on the route.[1] County planners in Armagh had also been working on plans to rebuild the then T3 trunk road which suffered from poor alignments, limited speed limits and was of failing construction, some work on which had been undertaken between 1955 and 1957.[1] These two plans were eventually upgraded into plans for the M1 by 1958. Construction began 1957 on the first bridge and subsequently the first section of the motorway.[1] In 1964, the Northern Ireland Government announced plans for an extensive route of motorways which saw the M1 now planned to go to Dungannon.[2] The M1 is the only motorway in Northern Ireland completed to its full planned length.[dubious –discuss]
The road was constructed in stages between 1962 and 1968:[3] Prior to the opening theRUC traffic division ran a publicity campaign to educate drivers on how to drive on a motorway.[1] At the end of 1965 UK Transport MinisterTom Fraser and his successorBarbara Castle imposed a blanket 70 mph (113 km/h) speed limit on motorways in Great Britain, but the recently constructed Northern Ireland M1 remained free of a blanket speed limit for several years.[4]
The motorway follows the route of the formerLagan Canal between junctions 2 and 6. The first user of the road was a motorcyclist, Robert McFall of Belfast. The section between Junctions 1 and 3 was subsequently widened to three lanes in each direction.
Junctions 12 to 15 were constructed across apeat bog which is up to 12 metres deep. This required the removal of 3.4 million cubic metres of peat.[1]
Several junctions were omitted from the original construction, as these were for future planned motorways. Some of these have now been used for other road plans:
The M1 is straight and flat on the 6-mile (9.7 km) stretch between Junctions 9 and 10 and on the 4-mile (6.4 km) stretch between Junctions 12 and 13, and anurban myth exists claiming that these were to be used as supplementary runways by theUnited States Air Force in the event of a major conflict with theSoviet Union.[5]
By the mid-2000s the M1 inBelfast had high traffic flows at peak times and suffered from congestion. To relieve this, work commenced early in 2006 to replace the roundabout at junction 1 with a fully grade separated junction through which the M1 now flows directly onto theA12 Westlink dual carriageway.[6] As part of the scheme, the M1 was widened from two to three lanes in each direction between Junctions 1 and 2 along with part of the Westlink.
Work was also carried out on the A4 which begins at the terminus of the M1 betweenDungannon andBallygawley (approximately 12.5 miles (20.1 km)) was upgraded todual carriageway standard,[7] opening in November 2010.
In 2011 the government announced plans for two service areas in each direction between junction 3 and junction 6 near Ballyskeagh. These service stations are the first motorway service stations in Northern Ireland. They include petrol stations and restaurant facilities. Construction on the westbound service area began in November 2013 and was opened on 10 March 2016. Work on the eastbound service area began in April 2016 and was opened on 2 February 2017.[citation needed]
In 2006, the government announced plans for a £45m flyover link directly to and from the A1 and M1 eastbound. Construction was initially estimated to take place between 2010 and 2015.[8] As of June 2016, the scheme has no projected completion date.[9] The government also have plans to add west facing slip roads at junction 3. Junction 3 opened in 1988 with only east facing slip roads. Construction on the west facing slip roads is subject to future budget settlements.
 | This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections whichshould be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consultthis guideline for information on how to create one. Pleaseimprove this article if you can.(December 2021) |
| M1 motorway | ||
| Eastbound exits | Junction | Westbound exits |
| End of motorway A12 dual carriageway continues The NORTH(M2),(M3),City Centre,Airports  DocksA12Belfast (W), (S) | J1 | Start of motorway |
| Outer Ring,Newtownards,King's HallA55 | J2 | Outer Ring,Newtownards,King's HallA55 |
| No access | J3 | Dunmurry,FinaghyA1 |
| Lisburn services | Services | Lisburn services |
| Lisburn (City centre),SaintfieldA49 | J6 | Lisburn (City centre),SaintfieldA49 |
| No access | J7 | Lisburn,SprucefieldA1 |
| The SOUTH,Dublin,SprucefieldA101(A1) | J8 | The SOUTHDublin,NewryA101(A1) |
| MoiraA3AntrimA26International Airport | J9 | International AirportAntrimA26MoiraA3 |
| Craigavon (Lurgan)A76 | J10 | Craigavon (Lurgan)A76 |
| Craigavon (Portadown),ArmaghM12 | J11 | Craigavon,PortadownM12 |
| Craigavon (Portadown)A4 | J12 | Craigavon (Portadown)A4 |
| LoughgallB131 | J13 | LoughgallB131 |
| MoyB106Tamnamore Services (in planning),CoalislandA45 | J14 | Tamnamore Services (in planning),CoalislandA45MoyB106 |
| Start of motorway | J15 | End of motorway A4 dual carriageway continues Enniskillen,OmaghA4 Armagh,Dungannon,MoygashelA29 |
| Motorways |  | |
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| Main 'A' roads | ||
| Main 'B' roads | ||
| Others | ||
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| Related articles | ||||||||||||||||||||
