The Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Committee held a business information meeting regarding planned road works on the four lane road, running from the Dry Arch Roundabout to the Polestar Roundabout, and Irish Water Works on Wednesday night in the Radisson Hotel.
The meeting was well attended by the business community and various Donegal County Councillors.
Gerard McCormick, President of the Chamber, opened the meeting and Infrastructure committee members Andrew Brolly & JP McCloskey outlined the planned works and the progress that the committee has made to date.
Mr Brolly said that the committee has met with various Councillors, with road engineers from Donegal County Council and with Minister Joe McHugh.
Further to this, the committee will hold a meeting with Seamus Neely in the coming weeks and also with Irish Water.
It was outlined that the initial proposal, from the business community, to postpone the works on the four lane road until after the Bonagee link road and bridge are completed cannot happen. The engineers of Donegal County Council outlined to the committee some weeks ago that once the link road is completed, the four lane road will become a secondary route and no longer qualify for the funding.
With that in mind, the committee are seeking for the works on the four lane road to be carried out in such a way that there is minimal impact on road users and businesses. The proposal includes:
• Four lanes remaining open during the day;
• Any lane closures for larger works must happen at night;
• That there be a local resident engineer who will liaise with the committee throughout the works period;
• That there be no works carried out at peak times of the year i.e. Christmas;
• That there be penalties imposed on the contractor should they exceed the agreed timeline.
Mr McCloskey outlined the concerns of the business community at the meeting. He said that almost 400 businesses have outlined their concerns regarding the works. He stated that Brexit and the falling sterling rates are already a big concern for businesses in the border town and that we need to ensure that any road works in Letterkenny are done so in a way that causes minimal impact on road users and the businesses of Letterkenny. He said that we can handle the sterling rate, but we can’t handle lane closures in the town.
Mr Brolly said that there will be an announcement in the coming weeks regarding the Government Capital Plan for the coming years. He said that it is imperative that the Bonagee link road is part of that plan.
A local landowner said that he and the other landowners at Bonagee are more than willing to discuss provision of necessary lands with the TII. The estimated timeline for the works is between five and ten years and Mr McCloskey said that we need to, as a business group, push to get our link road as soon as is possible.
When asked about the Irish Water works, Mr Brolly stated that this is the “grey area” as Irish Water have, as yet, failed to enter any dialogue with either the County Council or the Chamber of Commerce. This is a huge concern for the people of Letterkenny as these works will last approximately 17 months alone. He said that this will then be followed by the 10 months road works on the four lane road. The committee is hopeful to meet with Irish Water in the coming weeks and to discuss its input into how and when the works will be carried out.
The speakers finished by outlining the importance of having four lanes open during the daytime as this is the main artery into and out of Letterkenny. It is important for all road users whether it be the person travelling to work or school or for the emergency services.
They said that we cannot afford to have only 2 or 3 lanes open and expect our ambulances, fire trucks and Gardaí to be able to respond to an emergency in a timely manner. The reality is that lane closures during daytime hours will cause gridlock in Letterkenny.
The meeting organisers thanked everyone present for their input and for sharing their concerns and said that they will push forward with a clear mandate from the business community of Letterkenny.
JP McCloskey closed off the meeting by reiterating that Letterkenny is very much open for business and these works will not be happening until at least next year.
