Commuters face another evening of city traffic delays

Translink is informing of delays to autobus services successful and retired of Belfast metropolis centre owed to postulation congestion connected Friday evening.

In a station connected X, formerly Twitter, the transport relation said immoderate services successful and retired of the metropolis centre are experiencing delays of astir 35 minutes.

"Apologies for immoderate hold and inconvenience," it said.

The transport supplier besides issued warnings to commuters on Thursday evening arsenic a effect of dense postulation successful and retired of Belfast metropolis centre.

According to information provided by the DfI (Department for Infrastructure), the greater Belfast country postulation was engaged connected the pursuing routes:

• The M1 leaving Belfast astatine J1 and J2 Stockmans Lane
• The M3 Bridge / A2 Sydenham By Pass towards Dee Street
• The A12 Westlink towards York Street
• Great Victoria Street into metropolis centre

In a station connected X astatine 16:11 BST, Translink said Metro services 7, 8 and 9 would "terminate astatine Bruce Street and run outwards from Dublin Road until further announcement owed to dense postulation conditions".

In a connection earlier connected Friday, the DfI said the roadworthy web astir Belfast tin "suffer from capableness issues astatine highest times".

It said that connected Thursday afternoon, determination were a fig of collisions crossed the city, including an eight-vehicle clang connected the M1 southbound betwixt Broadway and Stockmans Lane.

This brought postulation to a standstill. The DfI said the clang resulted successful agelong delays backmost agelong the M1 and Westlink and onto the M3 and M2.

"The betterment cognition took rather immoderate clip and again postulation was brought to a standstill astatine highest unreserved hour," the DfI said.

During this betterment operation, different collision happened connected the M3's Lagan Bridge east-bound. This caused delays for postulation approaching from the Westlink and M2.

"Both incidents occurred during the highest unreserved hr play and the clip required to guarantee that exigency services could attend, and the vehicles could beryllium recovered besides had a knock-on effect connected immoderate nationalist transport services," the DfI said.

The Department said it understands that postulation delays are "frustrating" and urged commuters to see utilizing nationalist transport.

Earlier this week, Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd, who oversees autobus and obstruction services successful Northern Ireland, urged commuters to see nationalist transport, alternatively of driving.

A year-long closure of Durham Street, a engaged roadworthy successful cardinal Belfast, has led to fears of much congestion successful the city.

O'Dowd had hoped the commencement of obstruction services connected Sunday from the caller Grand Central Station successful the metropolis would promote much radical to usage nationalist transport.

However, the redevelopment of the country surrounding the caller presumption is blamed by galore drivers for causing the postulation problems successful the archetypal place.