Public consultation to take place on Bridgend road improvements

A report was submitted to county councillors at this week’s Inishowen Municipal District meeting by Garrett Doherty, Senior Executive Engineer in the Donegal National Roads Office on the N13 Bridgend to County Boundary Road Improvement Project.

The project focuses on a 1.2km section of the N13 though Bridgend village and on to the border with Derry. Mr Doherty outlined how the road facilitates more than 19,000 vehicles per working day, travelling across the border in both directions.

He added that this is ‘significantly in excess’ of the road’s design capacity and highlighted how there are various development plans for in and around Bridgend, including a large scale propsal for the development of the A2 route from Derry and large scale residential developments for thousands of homes up to the border. Mr Doherty added that there is a potential for the ‘undermining of the existing capacity of the N13 through Bridgend if we don’t plan properly and look at that route now’. He added this also has the potential to impact on the wider economic transport corridor between Letterkenny and Derry and Buncrana and Derry.

“For that reason, Donegal County Council has commented the process of developing a proposal to improve the N13 route in the vicinity of Bridgend.” This involves eight phases of development, with the early phase 0 (scope and appraisal) and phase 1 (concept and feasibility) completed. Mr Doherty confirmed a consultant had been appointed to work in partnership with the council to develop the project through phase 2 in 2022. Phase 2 is option selection and will establish whether, ‘at face value’ a case exists for considering the project in more detail. Mr Doherty said a key attribute of phase two and the project is stakeholder engagement, which will be facilitated through public consultation events, media notifications and web based services. The first of a minimum of three public consultation events in phase 2 takes place in An Grianan Hotel on March 30, which will ‘look at the study area and blank canavass we’re starting with’. A dedicated website is also being set up and will run for the duration of the project. This will be launched before March 30 and accessible at www.n13bridgend.ie. Following the consultation events, there will also be an opportunity to view everything online immediately afterwards. Mr Doherty said it is important that there is wide consultation with those in the Bridgend area.