Meanwhile, speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s The Nolan Show, Colin Woods, the DfI’s deputy secretary, responded to queries on various road closures across the city.

“If people would use public transport or work from home one day a week even, you would start to see significant reductions in congestion,” he said.

However, Clare Guinness CEO of Belfast Chamber of Commerce, told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra, that that suggestion was “pretty shocking”.

She said the festive period is a make-or-break period for businesses.

“A lot of retailers, in particular, hotels and leisure operators really rely on this period, it makes their year. At a time when we need the shops to be busy, we don’t need anything that would reduce spending.

“So, if people are at home, they’re not spending money, they’re not buying lunch or going out for a drink. They’re not doing a bit of shopping so all of that will reflect negatively on businesses,” she added.

Ms Guinness said a lack of planning for roadworks had not helped the traffic issues.

“I think someone needs to look at the scheduling and I think they need to look at practical interventions that will make a difference tomorrow,” she said.

Mr Woods was questioned on Nolan about roads across the city.

Durham Street

“I have acknowledged that the closure of Durham Street has had a significant impact on traffic and so we have taken a number of actions to try and make changes where we can,” he said.

Mr Woods said investments, such as Belfast Grand Central Station, were what would make a material difference to traffic congestion.

He described the new station as a “game changer” and said it was “precisely the sort of investment that is needed” when considering long-term solutions.

Sydenham Bypass

Mr Woods said the department was concerned that the Sydenham Bypass would need “emergency closures” over the winter if the work did not go ahead this year.

“We have delayed that work from previous years precisely because we wanted to try and avoid the traffic impact, but this year we did not believe we could wait,” he said.

“We will always act where we think it is necessary from a structural integrity perspective of the road and to protect safety.”

Mr Woods accepted it was challenging but said the department kept the closure to weekends.