A scale model is to be built of the contentious Broadway underpass as part of a plan to prevent a recurrence of severe flooding last summer which left the newly built multi-million pound underpass - part of the Westlink motorway - under 20 feet of water.

The £40,000 model, probably on a scale of one in 20 will be about 10 metres by 10 metres and will take six months to complete.

It is one of the official responses to a new report into the severe flooding, with a conclusion being reached that the underpass could in fact flood again.

Today, Northern Ireland Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy, welcomed the initial independent report into the flooding incident on 16 August 2008.

He said that, as well as the 'modelling exercise' to examine the drainage system, the consultants have recommended the raising of the banks, the introduction of a more robust early warning system with more liaison with the Met office and more regular inspections of the culverts.

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Mr Murphy said that the independent investigation carried out by Amey Consulting found that the Clowney Water overtopped its banks at the inlet to a newly constructed culvert, resulting in the major flooding of the underpass.

He said that the Department will take forward the recommendations in partnership with the Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO) Company for the M1/Westlink, and the Rivers Agency.

The Minister said: "I welcome the publication of this independent report into the events surrounding the flooding of the Broadway Underpass. Roads Service fully accepts the report's conclusions and a number of the recommendations have already been put in place.

"Firstly, the DBFO Company has already raised the banks of the open section of the Clowney Water which will provide additional capacity in the system and secondly they have implemented an improved monitoring system which will ensure that in the unlikely event of any future events, that the underpass will be closed quickly to ensure public safety.

"The report has highlighted that further work will be necessary as there are a number of complex contributory factors identified which may have impacted on the flooding," he said.

The independent report findings showed that the new drainage system did not perform in accordance with its required design capacity even though the flood was said to be a 'one in a 100 year flood event'.

The Independent Report is available on the Roads Service website: www.roadsni.gov.uk

(BMcC)