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taken from local car forum Published Date: 22 July 2009
WHIZZING at top speed through cavernous sewers under the city streets may sound more like The Italian Job than reality, but that's exactly what BBC's Top Gear team are revving up for in one of their most bizarre challenges yet.
Motoring guru Jeremy Clarkson has driven in some of the world's most glamorous and dangerous locations but Belfast's new six-mile sewer system is the latest venue to catch his eye.
The straight-talking celebrity is set to arrive in Belfast with his fellow Top Gear presenters Richard Hammond and James May in September
The Belfast Sewers Project was built to ease the pressure on city's sewer network - which dates back to the Victorian era - after it was becoming inadequate due to the expansion of the city.
It is comprised of a six-mile, giant underground pipe from Cromac Street to Duncrue Street and a network of tributary tunnels - and is one of the biggest civil engineering infrastructure projects in the UK.
The £120million project aims to improve water quality in both the River Lagan and Blackstaff while reducing the risk of flooding. It also incorporates the rehabilitation and upgrading of the sewer network to ensure compliance with European Union environmental demands.
The project is due to be in use by early 2010 - a safe distance from when the Top Gear team plan to use the tunnel.
A worker with the Co Antrim based construction firm Farrans, who built the new sewers, said the workers were "all biz" with the idea of the Top Gear team racing in their project.
"They are expected to come this September and will be racing cars through the system," he said.Chairman of the Ulster Motoring Writers Association Derek Black, who has driven cars all over the world, from deserts to ice caps, described the idea as "a novel promo for Belfast".
"Top Gear has already driven to the North Pole. This time they are going down under, though I think they may not make it to Australia," he said.
"It does show that a car can go almost anywhere â unlike a bus or a train.
"It reminds me of the original Italian Job film when the red, white and blue Minis zig-zagged and splashed along a huge Italian culvert with the flagging police Alfa Romeos on their tails.
"I wonder what cars they will be using - maybe something small or a four-wheel drive. It should be hugely entertaining as always."
A spokeswoman for the Top Gear production team has confirmed they are currently in negotiations to race cars in the Belfast sewer.
WHIZZING at top speed through cavernous sewers under the city streets may sound more like The Italian Job than reality, but that's exactly what BBC's Top Gear team are revving up for in one of their most bizarre challenges yet.
Motoring guru Jeremy Clarkson has driven in some of the world's most glamorous and dangerous locations but Belfast's new six-mile sewer system is the latest venue to catch his eye.
The straight-talking celebrity is set to arrive in Belfast with his fellow Top Gear presenters Richard Hammond and James May in September
The Belfast Sewers Project was built to ease the pressure on city's sewer network - which dates back to the Victorian era - after it was becoming inadequate due to the expansion of the city.
It is comprised of a six-mile, giant underground pipe from Cromac Street to Duncrue Street and a network of tributary tunnels - and is one of the biggest civil engineering infrastructure projects in the UK.
The £120million project aims to improve water quality in both the River Lagan and Blackstaff while reducing the risk of flooding. It also incorporates the rehabilitation and upgrading of the sewer network to ensure compliance with European Union environmental demands.
The project is due to be in use by early 2010 - a safe distance from when the Top Gear team plan to use the tunnel.
A worker with the Co Antrim based construction firm Farrans, who built the new sewers, said the workers were "all biz" with the idea of the Top Gear team racing in their project.
"They are expected to come this September and will be racing cars through the system," he said.Chairman of the Ulster Motoring Writers Association Derek Black, who has driven cars all over the world, from deserts to ice caps, described the idea as "a novel promo for Belfast".
"Top Gear has already driven to the North Pole. This time they are going down under, though I think they may not make it to Australia," he said.
"It does show that a car can go almost anywhere â unlike a bus or a train.
"It reminds me of the original Italian Job film when the red, white and blue Minis zig-zagged and splashed along a huge Italian culvert with the flagging police Alfa Romeos on their tails.
"I wonder what cars they will be using - maybe something small or a four-wheel drive. It should be hugely entertaining as always."
A spokeswoman for the Top Gear production team has confirmed they are currently in negotiations to race cars in the Belfast sewer.
