Last updated 23/08/10
Introduction
Being situated in the north west of Ireland the National Primary Roads form the main link between the County and rest of the Republic – the N15 to the southwest and the N14 to the southeast. The N14 provides a strategic link between north-western Donegal, Letterkenny, Lifford and Strabane and Northern Ireland/Dublin.
The proposed project involves the design and construction of approximately 19km of new National Primary Route. The proposed road type is a Type 2 Dual Carriageway, which is being developed by the National Roads Authority for use in this country. The Type 2 Dual Carriageway, is designed to eliminate the head-on overtaking collisions associated with single carriageway roads. The Type 2 dual carriageway system consists of two traffic lanes in each direction to allow continuous safe overtaking in both directions, with opposing traffic streams separated by a safety barrier.
This route commences at the N13/N14 junction at Manorcunningham and continues to a junction with the N15 South West of Lifford. A separate project (N14/N15 to A5 Link) is being developed to link this scheme to the new A5 Western Transport Corridor being developed in Northern Ireland.
The Need for the Project
The existing route is a single carriageway road, generally without shoulders. The National Road Needs Study commissioned by the National Roads Authority recommended that it was desirable to upgrade the N14 to a standard two-lane carriageway with hard shoulders in Phase 1 of the Improvements Programme. This conclusion is in keeping with the regional importance of the N14.
Current Status
At present Mott MacDonald Consulting Engineers have completed the Preliminary design and Environmental Impact Statement for the project and NRDO staff have completed the preparation of the Compulsory Purchase Order. The scheme has changed in the interim with the link across the border to Northern Ireland now being developed as a separate project (N14/N15 to A5 Link). Some amendments will be necessary to the design to incorporate the layout of the N14/N15 to A5 Link before the CPO and EIS can be published.
This project did not receive an allocation from the NRA in 2010 and funding for 2011 remains uncertain. The project remains suspended until further funding becomes available.
Consultant Engineers Employed on the Project
Mott McDonald EPO Limited