Southern Relief Road: Fixed bridge decision to be reviewed by Infrastructure Minister

Last year the Department confirmed that a non-opening 50 metre span fixed bridge was their preferred option for crossing the Newry River and Newry Ship Canal.

The Southern Relief Road is being developed to provide a strategic link between the A1/N1 Belfast to Dublin corridor and the A2 Warrenpoint Road, bypassing Newry City Centre. It is one of the three infrastructure projects being taken forward by the Department within the Belfast Region City Deal, which has allocated £93.4m to the project.

The review was announced by Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd, who was asked for an update on the road and whether a bridge solution will be incorporated to facilitate the entry of tall ships into the Albert Basin by Newry & Armagh MLA, Justin McNulty.In response the Minister said that the Newry Southern Relief Road “is nearing the completion of the specimen design, the preparation of the draft Statutory Orders, and an Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR), in advance of undertaking a statutory public consultation.

"The draft Orders and EIAR are expected to be published in Spring 2024, based on a decision taken under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022 that a 50m span fixed bridge over the Newry Ship Canal was the preferred option.

“The decision was taken after detailed consideration of a range of factors, including engineering, economic, heritage impact and environmental assessments including the impact on the Scheduled Monument of Newry Canal.”

Mr O’Dowd added, “I am going to review the decision taken under the NI Executive Formation Act to have a 50m span fixed bridge over the Newry Ship Canal. I am very conscious of the need to advance the building of the Newry Southern Relief Road given the huge benefits it will bring to the residents and businesses of Newry both economically and environmentally. With this in mind I will confirm the outcome of my review within a number of weeks.”