Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 November 2018
81. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the Bonagee link road project in County Donegal; when the project will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45306/18]
View answerFirstly, I would like to explain that, as Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. However, under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the planning, design, construction and development stages of individual road projects is a matter for
(a) the relevant road authority (i.e. local authorities in whose functional area a road development is situated) in relation to local and regional roads, or
(b) Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in conjunction with the local authorities concerned, in relation to national roads.
Overview
Consequently, it is an operational matter for a road authority and TII to give an account of how a project is progressing within their functional areas of responsibility. However, having consulted with the relevant authorities, I can provide the following information and update to the Deputy on the Bonagee Link Road project, also referred to as the Letterkenny Inner Relief Road.
- In Co. Donegal the Trans European Network-Transport (TEN–T) Comprehensive road network runs from the Leitrim County Boundary in the South of the County (on the outskirts of Bundoran) to the Northern Ireland Border with Derry in the Northeast of the County at Bridgend (on the outskirts of Derry City) and involves Sections of the N13, N14 and N15.
- In 2016 Donegal County Council commissioned a Corridor Needs Study on the TEN-T Comprehensive network within Donegal. The study identified projects in Donegal necessary to improve the TEN-T Comprehensive network to the required standard in compliance with the TEN- T regulations. The outcome of the Study identified a priority list of schemes. It recommended three projects for immediate advancement through Phases 1 to 4 of the Project Management Guidelines.
- N15/N13 Ballybofey - Stranorlar Bypass
- N56/N13/N14 - Letterkenny Bypass and Letterkenny to Manorcunningham Dual Carriageway
- N14 Manorcunningham to Lifford Realignment Scheme including the N14/N15 link to the A5 Western Transport Corridor in Northern Ireland
The Bonagee Link Road, or the Letterkenny Inner Relief Road, forms part of the proposed N56/N13/N14 scheme.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has provided an allocation of €2.4m in 2018 to Donegal County Council to progress planning work on priority national road improvements projects that were identified in the 2016 needs study report on the TEN-T Comprehensive Network in County Donegal, as I have just mentioned.
These projects are identified as Strategic Investment Priorities in the National Planning Framework (NPF) and National Development Plan (NDP)
Current Status
Feasibility Studies for the priority schemes commenced in 2017 and the route selection process is on-going. Public consultations of identified route options for all these priority schemes were held in April and May this year in Letterkenny, Lifford and Ballybofey. The short-listed route corridors are now being analysed and the emerging preferred routes will be identified towards the end of this year. Donegal County Council anticipates that the preferred route will be identified and presented to the public in early 2019.
Funding
The total cost of these schemes would be of the order of €400 million.
Timetable
The expected construction timetable for all three schemes, identified as priority in the TEN-T Study, would be approximately three years. However there is no timeframe for completing the schemes at present as they would need to obtain both Business Case approval and Planning Consent and will be subject to the availability of funding in the future.
