The A24 is a major road in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

running from

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

to Clough near

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, passing through

Carryduff Carryduff ()Northern Ireland Placenames Project
is a small ...

and Ballynahinch. In Belfast, the route forms the Ormeau Road. At Clough it meets the A2. The section of the A24 from Forestside Shopping Centre to Carryduff roundabout was named by European Road Assessment Programme (EuroRAP) as one of the six potential priorities for route action in Northern Ireland in 2005. This part of the road is a four-lane undivided carriageway.

Plans and developments

Ballynahinch bypass

There are plans to build a by-pass of the A24 around Ballynahinch, which is currently a bottleneck for strategic traffic resulting in traffic congestion. This is exacerbated during Easter and Summer holidays with large volumes of traffic travelling to/from Newcastle and the wider Mournes area. The Department for Infrastructure has announced its intention to proceed with the scheme, with the start of construction subject to the funding of £35-45m being made available. The planned bypass will be around 3.1 kilometers long. It will start at a new roundabout at the intersection of Belfast Road and Saintfield Road, and end at a new roundabout at the intersection of Downpatrick Road and Drumaness Road. In March 2025, Minister for Infrastructure Liz Kimmins announced that work on the project would begin in 2028 or 2029.

Saintfield Road improvement

In March 2024, a road resurfacing scheme began on Saintfield Road in Belfast, which is part of the A24.

Ballynahich Road improvement

In February 2024, a road resurfacing scheme began on Ballynahinch Road in Carryduff, which is part of the A24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2-0024 Roads in Northern Ireland Roads in Belfast Roads in County Down