Donegal Ten-T project gets blessing of Transport Minister
Eamon Ryan, the Green Party Leader, has told Donegal County Councillors: 'We should be prioritising bypasses and taking traffic out of towns'
During a visit to Donegal, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, offered his backing for the Ten-T project.
The project is expected to be put before the Cabinet in early 2024 and would see the construction of three major routes in Donegal: Letterkenny-Manorcunningham; Manorcunningham-Lifford; and the Twin Towns bypass.
“We should be prioritising bypasses and taking traffic out of towns,” Minister Ryan said. “We need to make it safe to walk and cycle and also provide public transport.
“We have to be brave and take the through traffic out of Ballybofey and Stranorlar. My experience in the past is if you put in a bypass but keep the current arrangements in the town centre, the traffic just returns to fill a void.”
It is believed that the Ten-T project could be advanced to the planning phase during the first quarter of this year.
The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Councillor Martin Harley, said that the Ballybofey and Stranorlar bypass was high on his own agenda.
“If you leave Buncrana and drive to Limerick, Ballybofey is the only major town that you go through,” Councillor Harley told a meeting held at the County House in Lifford.
“All three sections of the Ten-T project are vitally important and also the Bonagee Link, which will be a massive bypass to take traffic from the centre of Letterkenny.”
Councillor Patrick McGowan highlighted the importance of continuing to make plans for the centre of the Twin Towns before the bypass project is completed.
“The Ballybofey and Stranorlar bypass is about giving the towns back for the local people,” he said.