M22 motorway (Northern Ireland)

M22 shield
M22
Route information
Part of E16
Length5.6 mi (9.0 km)
Existed1971–present
HistoryConstructed 1971–1973
Major junctions
West endA6Randalstown
Major intersections
M2 Motorway
East endM2Niblock
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryNorthern Ireland
Primary
destinations
Niblock
Road network
View west towards Castledawson at Ballygrooby near Randalstown

The M22 is a motorway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.6 miles (9 km) long and connects the A6 with the M2. It forms part of the unsigned European route E16.

History

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In 1964, the Northern Ireland Government announced plans for an extensive network of motorways.[1] Part of this was an M22 motorway from the M2 near Antrim to Castledawson, County Londonderry. With the increase in civil disorder, known as the Troubles, and the introduction of direct rule, the motorway programme was nearly all cancelled and the M22 was left as it currently stood in 1975.[2]

It was opened in two sections:[3]

  • Junction 1 to 2 opened in 1971; and
  • Junction 2 to 3 opened in 1973.

As of May 2019, the A6 from the western end of the M22 to Castledawson is under construction as a dual carriageway.[4]

Route

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The motorway starts shortly after junction 7 of the M2 Northwards at the split in the carriageways on the M2 around 1 mile from junction 1 of the M22, where the M2 was to head north towards Ballymena.[3] After meeting junction 1 – the site of the Junction One retail outlet – it continues west across Ferguson's Water, the Belfast-Derry railway line and Mill Burn as it bypasses the suburbs of Antrim to the north. Between junctions 2 and 3 it passes between Randalstown and the Randalstown forest, crosses the River Main, and then ends at junction 3. The M22 is a two-lane dual carriageway throughout its length.

Junctions

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M22 motorway
Westbound exits Junction Eastbound exits
End of motorway
M2 motorway continues
Belfast, Larne, Antrim Area Hospital M2
International Airport Airport interchange Antrim, Ballymena A26
1 Start of motorway
Randalstown A6 2 Randalstown A6 Portglenone (B52)
Start of motorway 3 End of motorway
Londonderry A6 Magherafelt (A31)
Cookstown (A29) Randalstown

See also

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References

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KML is from Wikidata