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M5
Route information
Length	1.4 mi (2.3 km)
Existed	1980–present
Major junctions
South end	Whitewell – M2
Major intersections	M2 motorway
North end	Hazelbank – A2
Location
Country	United Kingdom
Constituent country	Northern Ireland
Primary destinations	Newtownabbey
Road network
Roads in Northern Ireland Motorways A roads in Northern Ireland

The M5 is a 1.4-mile-long (2.3 km) spur motorway in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It connects the M2 to the A2 Shore Road at Hazelbank in Newtownabbey. It is a dual two lane road with most of the road on a causeway in Belfast Lough in order to bypass Whitehouse beach.

History & future development

Originally announced in 1964, the M5 was planned to follow the route of the B90 to Carrickfergus. Under the plans it would also have been the southern terminus of the unbuilt M6 Motorway to Larne. The scale of the scheme was reduced to its present form in the 1969 transport review, but it was recommended that the line of the originally planned route should be protected from development. Opening to traffic on 12 September 1980, the M5 was the only one of Northern Ireland's original motorway schemes to proceed after the cancellation of all the existing motorway plans in 1975 following the deterioration of civil order. The M3 later opened in 1995, and had the same number as the original planned motorway in east Belfast, but was a completely different project.

Culverts were added to ensure that what became Whitehouse Lagoon remained tidal. In 2008 the Northern Ireland Executive approved a plan to dual the road from the University of Ulster campus at Jordanstown as far as Carrickfergus, involving the compulsory purchase of twelve houses, a commercial unit and parts of 68 gardens. The dualling was completed in 2013, and left only a two-mile section from Whitehouse through Whiteabbey as single lane road.

Junctions

This article contains a bulleted list or table of intersections which should be presented in a properly formatted junction table. Please consult this guideline for information on how to create one. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2021)

See also

• Roads in Ireland
• List of motorways in the United Kingdom

References

1. "M5 Motorway - Northern Ireland". www.wesleyjohnston.com. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
2. "History - Northern Ireland Motorway Plans - Northern Ireland Roads Site". www.wesleyjohnston.com. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
3. The Motorway Archive – M5 (Northern Ireland) Archived 5 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
4. The Motorway Archive – M5 (Northern Ireland) Dates Page Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
5. "M3 Dock Street to Bridge end and Sydenham By-pass (Web Archive)". The Motorway Archive (Web Archive). Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
6. "Can you help us clean up an important site for birds outside Belfast? - Giving Nature a Home in Northern Ireland - Get involved - The RSPB Community". community.rspb.org.uk. 25 October 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
7. "Plans to ease traffic bottleneck". 30 September 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.

External links

• CBRD Motorway Database – M5 (Northern Ireland)
• Northern Ireland Roads Site – M5
• The Motorway Archive – M5 (Northern Ireland)

v t e Roads in Northern Ireland
Motorways	M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M)
Main 'A' roads	A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A12 A20 A21 A22 A23 A25 A24 A26 A29 A32 A34 A36 A37 A38 A40 A43 A46 A47 A55 A505 A515 A509
Main 'B' roads	B1 B52 B53 B136 B193
Others	Antrim Road Botanic Avenue Crumlin Road Donegall Square Donegall Road Falls Road Glenshane Pass Great Victoria Street Lisburn Road Malone Road Ormeau Road Royal Avenue Sandy Row Shaftesbury Square Shankill Road Shore Road Springfield Road Stranmillis Road Westlink

v t e Motorways in the United Kingdom
Great Britain	M1 M11 M18 M180 M181 A1(M) A167(M) A194(M) A1077(M) M2 M20 M23 M25 M26 M27 M271 M275 M3 M32 A3(M) A38(M) A308(M) A329(M) M4 M40 M42 M45 M48 M49 A48(M) A404(M) M5 M50 M53 M54 M55 M56 M57 M58 A57(M) A58(M) M6 M6 Toll M60 M61 M62 M65 M66 M67 M69 M602 M606 M621 A64(M) A66(M) A627(M) M73 M74 M77 A74(M) M8 M80 M876 M898 A8(M) A823(M) M9 M90
Northern Ireland	M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M)
Former	M10 M41 M63 M85 A18(M) A40(M) A41(M) A102(M) A601(M) A6144(M)
Unbuilt	M12 M15 M16 M31 M64 M4 relief road
Junctions ( Category)	Almondsbury Broxden Catthorpe Charing Cross, Glasgow Denton Island Handy Cross Longbridge Lydiate Ash Scotch Corner Spaghetti Junction Switch Island Thorney Thorpe Thurcroft
Bridges	Auchenshuggle Avonmouth Bromford Don Friarton Gathurst Kingston Medway to Nowhere Ouse Rakewood Scammonden Prince of Wales Severn Thames Thelwall Tinsley Queensferry Usk Weaver
Related articles	National Highways Traffic officers South Wales Trunk Road Agent Traffic officers Transport Scotland DfI Roads Preston By-pass Smart motorway Motorway service area List
Category Commons

• Motorways in Northern Ireland
• Roads in Belfast
• Roads in County Antrim