Anyone who commutes to the southern part of Newtownards in the evening will know how time consuming it was to come in on the A20 from Dundonald, go straight on at the roundabout past the Ards Shopping Centre and then have to wait to turn right because the 4 lane road stops dead after a few hundred metres at a Give-Way sign on Circular Road.

The long overdue Frederick Street Link scheme saw this situation remedied by the provision of a 2-lane road direct from Nursery Road to the roundabout at Frederick Street. This is best illustrated by the following map (not to scale) and by Roads Service's map (below it) from Spring 2008:

The scheme was originally timetabled to begin in "early 2007". However the scheme then went to a public inquiry, which was heard in December 2006. This inquiry recommended proceeding with no design modifications. The scheme actually began in April 2008 and opened to traffic in November of the same year.

The scheme is so simple, so short (300 metres) and the benefits so great that it is difficult to see why it has not been progressed long before now. However it required the demolition of some existing structures in the grounds of Ards Hospital, including an historic square chimney stack (see pictures below). It also runs very close to the sides of existing houses on Circular Road (again, see pictures). Note that the cost of £1.1m given in 2005 had increased to £2m by the time this public consultation was released in July 2006.

Progress

Update 16 Feb 2009: In this set of Assembly written answers, the final cost of this scheme is given as £2.4m, a little higher than the £2.2m given last year.

Update 4 Jan 2009: The road has now been open for about 6 weeks, and so far seems to be performing quite well. It's hard to gauge, however, since a nearby road is closed for roadworks and so more vehicles than normal are approaching Frederick Street Link from Belfast. The pictures below were taken by Paul McIlfatrick about a month ago and show the road in operation. It's now clear that the road is three lanes wide, giving one lane when you join the new road, widening to two as you reach each end of the road. The photos below show this arrangement.

Looking out of town towards the road's tie-in with Circular Road

(at McDonalds). Taken 7 Dec 2008. [Paul McIlfatrick]

The view in the other direction, towards Frederick Street roundabout on 7 Dec 08. [Paul McIlfatrick]

Update 26 Nov 2008: The new road has been surfaced over the past week or so and was opened to traffic without ceremony on Tuesday 25th November. The new traffic lights are on and so far the road seems to be performing well. It will be very interesting to see what effect this has on the evening rush hour traffic which normally queues back up from Circular Road towards Belfast. Ards Borough Council have named the road "Nursery Road" which makes sense since it's really an extension of the road that already has that name. The pictures below were taken by Andrew McCullough about ten days ago, before the road had its surface put down.

The road nearing completion in mid November, seen looking
west from Frederick Street roundabout. [Andrew McCullough]

Looking east along the new road in mid November, from Circular Road,
as the surfacing work got underway. [Andrew McCullough]

Update 10 Nov 2008: Although the project was schedule to last six months when it began, work has now been ongoing for a little more than six months, with a few weeks' work still apparently required. The engineering on the road seems largely completed, with kerbs, islands and culverts in place. Thus, it seems that it is just the road surface that is still needed. It looks as if the road is being built with one lane in each direction, so one lane will still have to be dropped when coming in from Belfast, as it is now. Posts for traffic signals have been put in at the Circular Road junction with the new road. Roads Service are now giving completion as "late Autumn 2008".

Update 2 Oct 2008: Site visitor Paul McIlfatrick took a series of photos earlier this week, a selection of which are shown below. They show the box culvert that was required to get the road across a watercourse largely completed. They also show the kerbing for the pavements in place at either end of the road, although no sign of the final road surface as yet.

Box culvert which will be under the new road almost completed near
Frederick Street roundabout on 30 Sep 2008. [Paul McIlfatrick]

The view west along the new road from Frederick
Street roundabout on 30 Sep 2008. [Paul McIlfatrick]

The view east from the new road towards Frederick Street roundabout. The kerbing for the pavements on either side, and the traffic island, are obvious here. [Paul McIlfatrick]

Update 16 Sep 2008: Although construction was originally (at the time of the public inquiry) intended to last 5 months, according to the report given by Roads Service to Ards Borough Council in Spring 2008 the project is due to last 26 weeks. This means that completion is now likely to be late October if the project is on schedule.

Update 31 Aug 2008: The junction of Nursery Road and Circular Road was closed to traffic for two weeks at the end of August. This was to allow the new road to be tied in to the existing road network. Roads Service also took the opportunity to resurface Circular Road. If the project is running to schedule, the road should open within a month or so.

Update 1 Jul 2008: Work is well underway, with site clearance largely completed, and replacement walls being constructed for properties on Circular Road which are losing a slice of land. The road bed itself is under construction. The photo below was taken today, from Circular Road (beside McDonalds) looking along the route of the future road towards the town centre. Compare this to the photo further down the page which was taken before work began.

Frederick Street Link under construction, as seen looking east across

Circular Road on 1 Jul 2008. [Wesley Johnston]

Update 24 Apr 08: Site clearance works began yesterday, mainly soil removal. Some demolition works, especially on the old chimney pictured below, will likely follow suit. If work proceeds on schedule it should be completed and open to traffic by the end of September. Thanks to the two site visitors who wrote to let me know what they could see.

Update 7 Mar 08: According to the Newtownards Chronicle, the contract with the construction company was signed on 27 February 2008. This suggests that work is on schedule.

Update 6 Feb 08: According to this parliamentary written answer on 1 Feb the project is due to commence on the ground in March/April 2008. The cost has also risen slightly, from £2.1m to £2.2m.

Update 27 Sep 07: In response to a query to Roads Service, it now seems that the scheme will proceed "during the financial year", "subject to the successful conclusion of tendering processes and the availability of necessary funding". Work is now estimated to last 5 months.

Update 14 Dec 06: At the public inquiry it was stated that work is likely begin in June 2007 and last 24 weeks (about 6 months). It was also made clear that the current Nursery Road / Circular Road junction will be maintained and converted to a traffic-light-controlled crossroads.

Photos

The view looking east along Nursery Road, Newtownards, towards its current terminus on Circular Road. The new road will continue straight across Circular Road. Note the chimney in the distance. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]

Looking west across the Frederick Street roundabout from John Street. The new road will emerge roughly where the chimney is. This is the same chimney as seen in the previous image. [Photo by Wesley Johnston]