NEW gates are to be installed at a north Belfast interface that will allow access between the Ardoyne and Shankill areas.
Fixed barriers in place at Flax Street that block traffic between the majority nationalist and unionist areas will be replaced with security gates that will be open daily.
Justice minister Naomi Long, whose department is behind the move, said the vehicular and pedestrian gates will be automated and monitored by CCTV cameras.
She said opening times have yet to be agreed, but suggested they could mirror similar interface security gates that open from 6.30am for 12 hours.
In a response to a written assembly question from DUP MLA David Humphrey, the Alliance minister said: "The gates will be department-owned interface security structures, erected for the preservation of peace or the maintenance of order.
"As such, security advice will inform any extended or ad-hoc opening times beyond the daily schedule agreed. Similarly, such advice will inform the need to close such gates outside of these times, as the need arises."
Plans are also underway to open a locked pedestrian gate at nearby Columbia Street, which is among dozens of 'peace barriers' still in place across Belfast.
The Flax Street interface was sealed off in the 1980s after a series of attacks by paramilitaries, who used the route to travel between the two areas.
The decision to reopen the interface again followed local consultation involving the cross-community Twaddell, Ardoyne and Shankill Communities in Transition group.
