£104m underpass submerged in a day of floods chaos
Monday, 18 August 2008
A motorist is caught in the severe floods on the Westlink area of Belfast. The police have advised motorists to continue to take care as more rain is expected this week.
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An investigation is set to be launched by Roads Service after the Westlink underpass was submerged in 20 feet of floodwater.
The new underpass is expected to remain closed for most of today — resulting in widespread traffic chaos across Belfast — as emergency services try to pump out the floodwater.
Several cars are still believed to be submerged in the water after motorists abandoned their vehicles as the water levels rose on Saturday.
Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy ordered the Roads Service to launch a full investigation and visited the flooded Westlink yesterday afternoon, along with Environment Minister Sammy Wilson, following an emergency meeting at Stormont.
Householders across Northern Ireland whose homes were affected by flooding caused by the torrential downpours are set to receive an emergency payment. Those hit by last year’s floods received £1,000.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Water’s customer relations centre dealt with over 4,000 calls this weekend as one month’s rainfall lashed the province in just 12 hours on Saturday.
A full investigation is set to be launched by Roads Service to ascertain how and why the underpass of the Westlink was submerged in 20 feet of flood water this weekend.
Traffic chaos was expected today as the Westlink remained closed.
As the emergency services remained at the scene yesterday to pump water out of the multi-million pound underpass, Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy ordered Road Services launch an investigation into the incident.
The underpass will only be re-opened when all the flood water has been pumped out.
It is thought the flooding was caused when a pumping station beside the road was overwhelmed when a nearby river overflowed.
A section of the central barrier had to be cut with angle-grinders to allow traffic to be turned away.
Several cars are believed to be submerged in the water as motorists abandoned their vehicles as water levels rose.
Following Saturday’s widespread flooding which affected many areas of Northern Ireland, an emergency meeting was held at Stormont and was attended by Conor Murphy and Environment Minister Sammy Wilson.
Also in attendance were senior figures from government departments and agencies.
The ministers were informed that almost one month’s rainfall fell in just 12 hours on Saturday.
Following the emergency meeting, the two ministers announced an emergency payment scheme to help householders hit by severe flooding.
Mr Wilson, whose department will administer the payment scheme, said: “Ministers have agreed that, as in the wake of the June 2007 floods, funds should be made available to local councils to help those most affected by the weekend’s serious floods.
“I have been in contact with colleagues in the Executive and we are in agreement that funding should be made available through local councils to help people most severely affected to get back on their feet again and to assist them in ensuring their homes are habitable.”
As the meeting at Stormont ended yesterday, both Mr Wilson and Mr Murphy made their way from Stormont to the Westlink to see the flooding for themselves.
Mr Murphy revealed he had ordered Roads Service to carry out a full investigation to ascertain why the underpass became flooded, why it didn’t clear itself as quickly as it should and examine what steps can be made to prevent flooding on this scale again.
West Belfast councillor Tim Attwood said “serious questions” needed to be asked about why the newly constructed underpass was submerged in 20 feet of water.
Praising the team of workers for their “tireless efforts” in tackling Saturday’s floods, Councillor Attwood last night said: “The Roads Service has serious questions to answer about how the new Westlink underpass could be flooded so quickly.
“I viewed the Broadway Underpass on Sunday morning and it took the workers all day to deal with the flood water.
“This means traffic chaos as the main route in to Belfast is impassable. The Roads Service will have to explain how this could happen and what steps they are going to take to ensure this does not happen again.”
Northern Ireland Water said its Customer Relations Centre answered more than 4,000 calls over the course of the weekend.
And there is yet more rain on the way with localised thunderstorms predicted for this week.
Traffic solution becomes a problem
The Westlink and M1 upgrade scheme began in February 2006 at a cost of around £104m in a bid to solve the problems of daily rush-hour bottlenecks.
The underpass was opened to traffic at the start of July — 13 months ahead of schedule — and was designed to improve the strategic links between the M1, the M2 and the M3 motorways.
However, less than two months after it was opened, the underpass is now closed to traffic after it was submerged in 20 feet of flood water.
Major delays are expected on the M1 and surrounding areas as work continues to pump the water from the underpass.
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Comments
26 Comments
Thanks so much. This aritical really helped me get the right details for my english speach about bad weather.
Posted by Hanna | 18.09.08, 20:33 GMT
We're getting our fair share of flooding here too, it won't stop!
Posted by janita | 19.08.08, 02:20 GMT
You can build all the underpasses (that flood)but until you address the real problem which is intersection designs that eliminate jams gridlock and congestion then you are wasting money. As to building a tunnel in low lying ground!
Over $50,000,000 per set of lights to bypass 17 sets of lights called the Lane Cove tunnel has done nothing to relieve traffic in Sydney.Motorists avoid it because of the TOLL
In the response from 10 Downing Street 21,July2008 Mr Brown has forwarded a 15 minute DVD that looks at the existing roads intersections and then looks at intersections at www.ubtsc.com.au to the Department of Main Roads so they may respond on his behalf
Traffic lights have been around for 140 years, roundabouts 104 years and the latest interchange like the Red Tan in Texas has eight slow zones where left and right turn traffic is together and two merge to turn left or right
Anyone interested in looking to the future?
Saving up to 40 %of your fuel bill?
Jozef Goj CEO UBTSC Pty Lt
Posted by Jozef Goj | 19.08.08, 01:37 GMT
Few drowning victims would have survived such immersion..well done those who built the thing - it will reopen on Tuesday - in New Orleans it would be back to the drawing board!
Posted by Fergal | 19.08.08, 00:30 GMT
I have travelled the west link since work started , and i think the contractors have done a great job
even when they were finishing the Grosvenor road end
They kept the traffic moving not at a great speed but moving
not so long ago the same contractors were the greatest for completing the work in good time
I feel that it unfair to blame the contractors on the weather
the west link and the underpass is a tribute to the people who planned it and the people who worked on it
every one is sorry for what happened and the damage that was done ,so lets leave the contractors to do their job and get this road open as soon as possible
Posted by N.GORDON | 18.08.08, 22:48 GMT
One little detail that seems to have been missed.
The original design was supposed to be an overpass.
However, one political party in particular felt that this cemented the politics of exclusion of West Belfast from the City Centre.
Posted by JohnOC | 18.08.08, 20:22 GMT
Many thanks to the Fire & Rescue Service for all the hard dirty and wet work that they put in oveer last weekend.
Posted by Big S | 18.08.08, 20:15 GMT
Very pleased that our Executive are to support affected homeowners. Now can we talk about affected business owners - can we apply for a handout too?
Posted by Lagan flood victim | 18.08.08, 19:45 GMT
isn't it amazing with all these comments that everybody knows the reasons why the westlink underpass was flooded, why didn't somebody suggest an overpass before the westlink underpass was constructed? eh. Talk about putting the horse before the cart!!
I don't hear people complaining about how early the underpass was completed and how well the traffic is now flowing before this unfortunate flooding.
Come on wiseup.
Posted by Terry | 18.08.08, 19:30 GMT
was built on top of a bog medows? what a stupid idea is there no drainage.this would of helped
Posted by Anouska Harte | 18.08.08, 18:27 GMT
Maybe the roads service should build an OVERPASS over the underpass.
Posted by Bill | 18.08.08, 16:31 GMT
Many underpasses are beside or under rivers and don't flood. Paris, London, Dublin & Cork are some I can think of.
Posted by Al | 18.08.08, 16:29 GMT
Erm... isn't this the udnerpaas that was opened ahead of schedule?
Posted by John H | 18.08.08, 16:28 GMT
Over fifty years ago and before the M1 and Boucher were constructed the Bog Meadows acted as a balancing lake and was a flood area in times of heavy rainfall.
In order to drain this area a tunnel was constructed that commenced from the Lagan embankment - under Botanic Gardens- College Gardens- Tates Avenue and ended near the present West Link Underpass This large pipe line was effective in draining most of the Bog Meadows and permitted the construction of Boucher Road, the M1 and the buildings along Boucher Road.
It seems obvious during this extreme rainfall the tunnel pipe inltake was unable to take all the flow from all the overflowing streams and rivers converging at the tunnel intake and no pump house could cope with the rain water flowing to the bottom of the underpass
Posted by thomas gilmore | 18.08.08, 15:55 GMT
when i was a child in the early 1950's that area of broadway was known as the bog meadows,and nearby celtic park greyhound was alway,s flooded... flyover is the answer(too late now)..
Posted by eddie leslie | 18.08.08, 15:42 GMT
Snow falls roads BLOCKED
High temps. roads MELT
Heavy rain roads FLOOD
and can the various depts.handle it ? NO,NO,NO. What a third world country.
Posted by jeff wilson | 18.08.08, 15:41 GMT
I live on the Donegall Road, and for the past few years have had to live with the noise and inconvience of the building of this new road, especially at night and have had to pay for putting in double glazing in the hope that the traffic would ease on the Donegall Road. built. Now the traffic will be back to impossible on the Donegall Road, surely this should not have happened
Posted by Adams | 18.08.08, 14:53 GMT
Another thing....politicians are all on about 'ohh this was a freak event....we had one months rainfall....etc'.
That's exactly why we have EMERGENCY PLANNING! whats going to happen to northern ireland in the event of a flu pandemic? if it can't cope with a weather event that was known to them beforehand, then how are they going to cope when foods running out in the shops, key workers such as healthcare staff and supermarket workers (yes, they are key!) are off sick, and hospitals are full.
good luck when its every man for himself!
Posted by Vicky | 18.08.08, 14:34 GMT
We could use it for the rowing regatta 2012 olymics.
Posted by noel | 18.08.08, 13:33 GMT
What happened to the drainage system that was put in place many years ago to stop flooding in this area. This used to go under the old roundabout. I am assuming that this is no longer there and the flooding is a result of this.
Posted by Puzzled | 18.08.08, 13:11 GMT
26 Comments