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The M3 is an
/ref> It has a permanent speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h).
/ref> Construction of this road was unusual as government policy was against the construction of new urban motorways.
CBRD Motorway Database – M3 (Northern Ireland)
*Northern Ireland Roads Site
{{UK motorways 3-0003 3-0003
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
motorway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
0.8 miles (1.3 km) in length owned by Siac Construction and Cintra, S.A. that connects the M2 in north Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. It is the shortest motorway in Northern Ireland, and one of the busiest, carrying 60,000 vehicles per day as of 2005.Northern Ireland Roads Site – M3/ref> It has a permanent speed limit of 50 mph (80 km/h).
History
The M3 was originally planned in 1956 as the ''Eastern Approach'', named the M3 the following year, which would run from east Belfast to Bangor. The plan was extended to include an orbital ''Belfast Urban Motorway
The Belfast Urban Motorway was a proposed motorway system in Belfast, Northern Ireland announced in 1964, but was never completed, only the Western portion was built as the A12, Westlink. It was to be built in three phases: Phase 1, from the M ...
'', close to the city centre, in 1964. Due to a combination of financial cutbacks and public opposition construction of the M3 never took place and the Belfast Urban Motorway was downgraded to the A12 Westlink dual-carriageway and only partially completed. Traffic had to make do with crossing the River Lagan
The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 miles (86 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. T ...
on the Queen's Bridge and using the A2 to Bangor.
In 1987 the government announced a plan to build a new bridge across the Lagan connecting the M2 directly to the A2. It was built in two stages: the Lagan Bridge
The M3 is an urban motorway 0.8 miles (1.3 km) in length owned by Siac Construction and Cintra, S.A. that connects the M2 in north Belfast, Northern Ireland to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. It is the shortest motorway in ...
section connecting to the M2 opened on 22 January 1995 while the link to the A2 opened three years later in May 1998. The route was designated as the M3, although it is not the same scheme as the one originally expected to be the M3.Northern Ireland Roads Site – History of Motorway Plans/ref> Construction of this road was unusual as government policy was against the construction of new urban motorways.
Junctions
M3 Lagan Bridge
The M3 crosses the River Lagan on a 160m-long, 37m-wide arched concrete bridge. This bridge is actually two separate, parallel spans, made of pre-cast segments.See also
*Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from tr ...
*List of motorways in the United Kingdom
This list of motorways in the United Kingdom is a complete list of motorways in the United Kingdom. Note that the numbering scheme used for Great Britain does not include roads in Northern Ireland, which are allocated numbers on an ad hoc basis ...
References
External links
CBRD Motorway Database – M3 (Northern Ireland)
*Northern Ireland Roads Site
{{UK motorways 3-0003 3-0003
Lagan Bridge
The M3 is an urban motorway 0.8 miles (1.3 km) in length owned by Siac Construction and Cintra, S.A. that connects the M2 in north Belfast, Northern Ireland to the A2 Sydenham Bypass in east Belfast. It is the shortest motorway in ...