The 50 year old Hightown Bridge over the M2 at Glengormley will be closed on January 27 in preparation for demolition in February.

Orginally it was planned to close the bridge on January 21 but to accommodate local events, this has been delayed for one week. It is expected the bridge will then be closed for up to a year.

At a public meeting at Edmund Rice College, close to the bridge, Roads Service Deputy Divisional Roads Manager Kevin Monaghan outlined a package of measures to accommodate the travelling public during the closure and explained the rationale behind the decision to close the Hightown Road to facilitate the bridge replacement. A detailed assessment showed that it would not be possible to provide a temporary bridge without the loss of residential property.

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The meeting which was organised by local political representatives was a follow-up to a series of meetings which include a a cross-party delegation to Department of Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy. Representatives from Translink and contractors HMC were also in attendance.

Mr Monaghan said: "The replacement of this bridge will secure the access to the Hightown area for this generation and the next. The construction of the bridge will take approximately a year and I acknowledge that there will be inconvenience to local residents during this period."

A signed diversion route using Mallusk Road, Scullions Road, Sandyknowes Road and Antrim Road will be in place for the duration of the closure.

Monaghan also outlined a package of measures to accommodate the travelling public during the closure.

Commitments have been made to maintain pedestrian access across the bridge during reconstruction, there will be a base for Ambulance Service Vehicles at Sandyknowes and traffic signals at Scullions Road/Saqndyknowes.

Additional buses will be provided serving Hightown and Mayfield Areas. There will be ongoing management of traffic signal timings on the diversion route to minimise congestion and delays and ongoing liaison with police, ambulance and fire service regarding access arrangements to the Hightown and Mayfield Areas.

(GK)