B98 (Northern Ireland)

Route

Towards Kells

The B59 is a short road in central County Antrim.

The road starts on the D2 A26 just south of that road's crossing of the Kells Water and heads east. The road is fairly straight to begin with but then winds to come alongside the Kells Water and then enter Kells itself. In the village centre the B53 comes in from the right and there's a short multiplex ahead onto Main Street, after which that road turns left. It appears the B53 is the dominant number in the multiplex but owing to its short length it's not too clear.

Continuing east we presently reach open country and follow Carncome Road across the fields to end at Steen's Corner on the B59. The road ahead is unclassified.

History

The B98 was originally unclassified but the number came about in the mid-1920s. At that time the road started on the A26 at Cromkill, south of Ballymena, and headed southeast along Shankbridge Road. After crossing the Kells Water it met its present route and followed Greenfield Road into Kells, where it ended on the B53. The road had been extended east by 1930 but kept its original western end.

It is not known when the B98 was moved onto its present route, but it was between 1961 and the 1990s.