NEWS

Motorists travelling through Belfast are being warned to allow extra time over the next three weekends as major maintenance work on the M3 Lagan Bridge brings slip-road closures, lane restrictions and lengthy diversions. The first restrictions begin at 9pm tomorrow, Friday 14 August, and remain in place until 6am on Monday 17 August, with drivers heading from the Sydenham Bypass towards the Westlink, north Belfast and west Belfast among those affected. Further weekend closure

The success of the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann has strengthened plans for more pedestrianisation in Belfast city centre, with Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins confirming that proposals will go before the public within weeks. More than 1.6 million visits were recorded across the eight-day festival, when a number of city centre streets were closed to traffic to accommodate crowds, performances and events. The temporary arrangements have intensified the debate over how Belfast’

The crowded streets of Belfast city centre during the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann The success of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann has become a “tipping point” for the debate over greater pedestrianisation in Belfast city centre, a councillor has claimed, amid growing calls for some of the temporary traffic restrictions to lead to permanent change. Belfast Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth says the “bottom line” is that the Fleadh “would not have worked without pedestrianisation in th

Grove Road, Ballymena Drivers in Ballymena are being warned to expect up to eight weeks of disruption as a £627,000 resurfacing scheme gets under way on Grove Road next month. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has confirmed that resurfacing work on the C109 Grove Roadwill begin on Monday 10 August, with the project expected to continue until Wednesday 7 October, subject to weather conditions. What road is affected? The £627,000 investment will see 2.17 kilometres of Gro

Motorists in the Larne area are being warned to expect significant disruption from next week as a major £854,000 road resurfacing project gets underway, bringing a continuous five-week closure to part of the B99 Waterfall Road and Watch Hill Road. The Department for Infrastructure scheme will resurface almost 3km of road between the Ballyrickard Road/Waterfall Road junction and the New Line junction, with work due to begin on Monday 3 August. Five-week closure planned To allo

Pictured: Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins Northern Ireland’s roads are set to receive longer-lasting repairs under a new maintenance strategy that promises to improve quality, make better use of technology and target investment where it is needed most. Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins unveiled the new Road Maintenance Strategy on Monday, outlining a new approach aimed at improving the condition of the region’s 26,000-kilometre road network despite continuing financial

Motorists travelling on the M2 tonight (Friday) are being advised to plan ahead as a section of the motorway will close in both directions after resurfacing work progressed faster than expected. The overnight closure, between Junction 4 at Sandyknowes and Junction 5 at Templepatrick, will allow contractors to remove the temporary contraflow system and reinstall the central safety barrier before the motorway fully reopens on Saturday morning. Closure brought forward The Depart

Inset: UUP councillor for Braid, Alan Barr, and the busy junction impacted by new signage on the A26 Lisnevenagh Road. Motorists using a busy stretch of the A26 near Ballymena should soon see potentially hazardous road signs relocated after concerns were raised that they were obstructing drivers’ visibility at a junction on a carriageway with a history of serious collisions. The issue centred on newly installed Department for Infrastructure (DfI) signs at the Valley Road and

The public is being invited to help shape proposed legislation that could change how flags and emblems are displayed on publicly owned infrastructure across Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Infrastructure has launched a Call for Evidence on the proposed Display of Flags and Emblems Bill, giving individuals, community groups and organisations the opportunity to comment before MLAs decide whether the legislation should progress to detailed scrutin

Motorists using one of Northern Ireland’s busiest commuter routes are being warned to expect delays, diversions and overnight closures later this month as a £1.5 million resurfacing project gets underway on the M2. The major road improvement scheme will affect the northbound carriageway between Junction 4 at Sandyknowes and Junction 5 at Templepatrick, with work scheduled to run from Friday 17 July until Monday 27 July. Thousands of drivers travelling between Belfast, Ballyme

New drivers across Northern Ireland will face a major overhaul of the licensing system from October after MLAs approved legislation paving the way for Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). The Assembly on Tuesday, 23 June approved Regulations confirming that the new road safety scheme will come into force on 1 October 2026, marking the most significant reform of driver licensing and testing in almost 70 years. Designed to reduce the disproportionate number of fatal and serious ro

Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service faced an intense night of emergency callouts on Tuesday as crews responded to dozens of incidents linked to escalating disorder across the Greater Belfast area, with additional appliances drafted in from across Northern Ireland to cope with demand. In an operational update issued shortly after midnight, NIFRS revealed its Regional Control Centre handled 256 calls between 7pm and midnight alone, resulting in attendance at 62 separate inci

Northern Ireland has moved a step closer to introducing major new bus safety laws after more than 600 responses were submitted to a consultation aimed at protecting children travelling to and from school. The Safer Journeys to School consultation — which explored new restrictions on overtaking and passing buses — closed yesterday after receiving 601 responses from the public and stakeholders. The proposals, brought forward by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins, could eventua

North Antrim DUP MLA Paul Frew, and Mid Ulster SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone. The PSNI could soon be handed stronger powers to seize illegally used e-scooters without first issuing a warning under a proposed amendment tabled at Stormont by North Antrim MLA Paul Frew and Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone. The move comes amid growing concern over the reckless use of e-scooters on roads and pavements across Northern Ireland, with politicians, police, doctors and vulnerable pedestrians all w

Minister Liz Kimmins is pictured with some of the DFI’s road crews who have made 10,000 repairs to the road network over the last eight weeks. Road crews across Northern Ireland have completed 10,000 repairs in just eight weeks, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has revealed, as efforts intensify to tackle widespread road damage following severe winter weather. The scale of the work comes after what the Minister described as “well documented” deterioration across the road n

Assistant Chief Constable Melanie Jones and Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins at a press conference in Police Headquarters A devastating weekend on Northern Ireland’s roads has left five people dead in the space of just 24 hours, pushing this year’s total fatalities to 29—more than double the figure recorded at the same stage in 2025. The stark rise has prompted an urgent joint appeal from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins, who w

Public transport fares across Northern Ireland will remain unchanged for a second consecutive year, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has confirmed, in a move aimed at easing pressure on households already grappling with rising fuel and living costs. The decision means passengers using Translink’s bus and rail services will see no increase in ticket prices, despite what the Minister described as significant financial pressures facing both the transport operator and the wid

A major resurfacing scheme is set to take place this summer on one of Ballymena’s busiest approach roads, with work planned on the main route from Galgorm into the town. The resurfacing will cover the stretch from the double roundabout at Tullyglass to the Grange Road junction, a key artery used daily by local residents, commuters and businesses travelling in and out of Ballymena. The planned works were confirmed in a statement issued by TUV councillors Stewart McDonald and M

The poster placed at two roadside junctions in Ballycastle, and inset, TUV MP Jim Allister and Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan Political placards which had become the focus of local concern in Ballycastle have been removed following intervention by the Department for Infrastructure, prompting a fresh political row over standards for public displays in the town. The signs, located at the junction of Mary Street and Cushendall Road, were taken down after North Antrim MP Jim Allis

Drivers in Northern Ireland could soon be banned from overtaking stopped buses — and may even be required to slow dramatically or stop — under new proposals aimed at protecting children during one of the most dangerous moments of their school journey. Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has launched a public consultation exploring sweeping changes to how motorists behave when passengers, particularly schoolchildren, are getting on or off buses. The proposals come in response