A petition calling for the prioritisation of the construction of the Bonagee Link and Bridge to alleviate Letterkenny’s ongoing traffic chaos.
Fianna Fáil election candidate in the Letterkenny municipal district Donal Coyle this morning officially launched a ‘Build Now’ campaign and a petition started online already has over 300 signatures.
At a meeting of Donegal County Council in Lifford on Wednesday, councillors were informed that their role in the Ten-T Project will be to vote on the variation of the development plan later this year.
Last year, householders in the Dromore area received letters detailing the route of a four-lane carriageway – plans for which Coyle says should be scrapped.
“There are elderly people, parents and young children who could be affected here and there are people here who could lose their homes,” he told a press conference this morning at the Bonagee community centre.
“There could be at least seven homes demolished,” Mr Coyle said.
“I beg the question here today: is this four lane carriageway necessary? Who is pushing it? The people don’t want it
“Donegal County Council need to take that four-lane carriageway off the agenda completely and totally and prioritise the Bonagee link and bridge.”
Fianna Fáil TD Charlie McConalogue, Donegal County Councillor Liam Blaney and former TD Niall Blaney were also present, as were several concerned residents from the area.
Coyle and his team will now go door-to-door with the petition as part of their canvas.
Mr Coyle said: “At almost every door the one big topic is the traffic situation in Letterkenny. ‘When will the bridge be built?’
What Letterkenny’s new bridge might look like. Picture montage by Clive Wasson.
“Let us go with the bridge and the link because that is what people want – not the four-lane carriageway up the road that will cause havoc for residents.
“A four-lane carriageway would be a great idea if we didn’t have a road capable of taking the traffic there anyway.”
Mr Coyle believes that the proposed Bonagee Link and Bridge would significantly ease traffic congestion, which is on ongoing bug-bear for commuters.
He said: “The traffic at moment coming in the dual carriageway and down Lurgybrack hill, most of it is going in the road to the Polestar.
“If we are to talk about the development of Letterkenny and wanting investment, if any company were to come in now at 9 o’clock in the morning, they would sit in traffic and wonder: ‘Is this the place to set up?’
“I have been told by Council officials that if the link and the bridge is built, 50 per cent of the traffic would go over the bridge and the other 50 per cent would go into the town. What a difference that would make to commuters every morning and evening to have 50 per cent less traffic.
“The four-lane carriageway won’t make one bit of difference to traffic coming into Letterkenny so why build it? It is not a necessity so take it off the agenda and prioritise the link and the bridge.
“The biggest employers in Letterkenny are in the N56 business parks. How many thousand people go there for their work? They all have to go to the Polestar. For goodness sake, isn’t it time now that we built this link?”
Donal Coyle
McConalogue, Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson for agriculture, spoke in favour of the plans. He said: “I fully back the petition for the prioritisation of the Bonagee Link and Bridge.
“It is absolutely essential for the future of the town. Letterkenny is being strangled and it is one of the best towns in the country. It is the largest in the north west and the infrastructure is lagging behind and needs to catch up quickly.
“Letterkenny needs to breathe, thrive and develop. No town of its substance and importance should be so vulnerable where one incident can effectively shut it down.
“This should be prioritised, funded, developed and brought forward. It is absolutely essential.”
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