Key Irish trade route 'to be upgraded'

Date: 19/1/2011

Plans to upgrade what has been highlighted as a key Irish trade route have been welcomed.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has identified the A8 between Belfast and Larne Port as a stretch of road that carries much of the freight traffic arriving in and leaving Northern Ireland every day.

It welcomed the news that the route is to be included in the proposed road improvement budget - under the Department for Regional Development consultation - over the course of the next four years and it is hoped that the upgrade will mean the road is better able to deal with congestion.

Tom Wilson, FTA's Head of Policy for Northern Ireland, said: "The efficiency of every single journey by a goods vehicle is of vital importance. The daily delivery of goods and services to shops and other outlets needs to be efficient, especially with the ever increasing cost of fuel."

The FTA recently released its Yearbook of Road Transport Law 2011, calling it an "essential" resource for any transport office.

Posted by Mary Treen