01/03/2022 - Donegal to benefit from €70m of roads funding in 2022

The Department of Transport on 15th February last confirmed allocations of more than of €35m for county Donegal for 2022.

When added to the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) funding of €29.5m confirmed in December and the National Transport Authority funding of €5.6m confirmed in January this equates to a total allocation of approximately €70m for maintenance and upgrades to the county’s roads and cycling and walking infrastructure in 2022.

The Department of Transport funding includes more than €18m for regional and local roads strengthening and €4.8m for Surface Dressing. Included also is nearly €1m to help manage the impact of climate change on the road network.

The Department of Transport funding will allow the R263 Fintra Bridge and Road Realignment project to complete the CPO process and prepare for the construction phase. Included also is funding to advance the route options stage of the Letterkenny Southern Network Project.

TII funding will allow for continued progress on the critical Ten-T Priority Improvement Project as well as other major projects. This is particularly welcome as eight major projects in other parts of the country have been suspended in 2022 due to lack of funding.

A number of TII allocations have also been received for new projects which include N56 Gortahork to Falcarragh, N15 Blackburn Bridge Phase 3/McGroarys Brae and N15 Corcam Bends.

The TII has allocated €2.5m to commence 5 new strategic greenway projects and to progress the Inishowen Greenway from Buncrana to Bridgend & Newtowncunnigham through the planning process.

The €5.6m in NTA Active Travel funding will allow 80 separate projects to progress, 37 of which are at construction phase. One of the larger NTA projects, located at Cathedral Quarter in Letterkenny (€750,000) has also attracted co-funding of €165,000 from the Department of Transport for road improvement works.

The above funding streams represent a substantial investment in Donegal’s road infrastructure which will see a major improvement for road users and improve Donegal’s accessibility for business and enhance the overall visitor experience.