The Donegal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN–T) Priority Route Improvement Project has received Cabinet approval to move to the planning stage.
Minister Charlie McConalogue welcoming the go-ahead by Cabinet this morning for the project to go through the statutory processes and commence the development of a procurement strategy.
He said: “The TEN-T project has been one of my main priorities since I was first elected and this morning’s decision by Cabinet to give its approval to move it to the planning stage is fantastic news for Donegal and the North West.
“I have been liaising with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Department of Transport and Donegal County Council Chief Executive Officer, John McLaughlin, to make sure that the Donegal TEN-T project progresses. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their work to date and I’m hoping that it will now move through the planning stage as quickly as possible.”
The project proposes to provide a sustainable and inclusive transport network, while also addressing critical transport deficiencies along three targeted sections of existing TEN-T/national route – the Twin Towns By-Pass, Letterkenny to Manorcunningham and Manorcunnuingham to Lifford, linking the A5 in Strabane.
“Each of the routes in the Donegal TEN-T Project are extremely important, and when completed, they will serve to completely transform the respective areas. The Twin Towns By-Pass will see a large reduction in the huge volume of traffic that comes through Ballybofey and Stranorlar.
“The dual carriageway from Manorcunningham to Lifford has been in the pipeline for some time, while the Bonagee Link project will serve to open up the transport network both in Letterkenny and Donegal. The TEN-T Project is vital for the future development of Donegal,” Minister McConalogue said.
Donegal County Council is the sponsoring agency for the project under the Guidelines, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland acts as the day-to-day Approving Authority under delegated sanction from the Department of Transport as the Parent Department.
To date, Donegal County Council has received funding of €4.3 million from the Connecting Europe Facility for the design and planning stage of the project.
The three sections are being progressed as a single project due to the significant overlap among environmental, appraisal, and cumulative assessment of the sections. This also recognises the interconnected nature of the Letterkenny-Derry-Strabane city region, which all three sections play a major role in serving.
“The Donegal TEN-T Project will facilitate and enable real change across a wide range of social and economic benefits. It will enable more environmentally sustainable transport and compact urban development and enhance well-being and quality of life. It will also improve productivity in primary regional industries such as agrifood and tourism. The project will transform connectivity and access to and within Donegal,” Minister McConalogue added.
The Donegal TEN-T Project includes 63km of fully segregated Active Travel routes, 4km of upgrades to the existing road network, 8 new “modal shift hubs” which will allow for connections between private vehicles, active travel, and public transport located at the outskirts of towns, EV charging infrastructure primarily located at the modal hubs, 14km of new dual carriageway sections and various climate action initiatives.
Pictured above: The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, with CEO of Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Peter Walsh, and Donegal County Council Chief Executive, John McLaughlin.
