Final decision on Bridgend bypass route expected by June

The emerging preferred route for the bypass of Bridgend is likely to see land subjected to compulsory purchase order if it is selected as the final option.

A route just north of Bridgend running just behind the main road through the village has emerged as the emerging preferred route corridor.

The 200-metre-wide corridor runs between the Aileach Valley housing estate, the Elaghbeg business park and the village and could involve a flyover over the regional road to Buncrana. 

Any final route would be selected within the corridor and while no final decisions have been made, planners say this option would be “likely” to involve compulsory purchase orders.

The corridor has emerged as the leading option for the dual carriageway project, narrowly ahead of a route further north of the housing estate. A bypass south of the village came third after the initial analysis was completed.  That route would involve the construction of an embankment close to the Stoneybridge estate. A fourth option is a dual carriageway through the village.

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A public consultation on the N13 Bridgend to county boundary route improvement project runs until May 3. 

The road improvement scheme, which is being planned by Donegal County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), is aimed at improving the road infrastructure on the N13 in the area. Around 17,000 vehicles use the road through Bridgend every day with around 9,500 vehicles travelling between Derry and Buncrana and 7,500 travelling between Derry and Letterkenny. 

Road planners hope to separate local traffic from vehicles using the village for onward journeys and say a bypass could reduce the number of vehicles using the village to around 3,000 a day.

The need for a road improvement scheme in the area also takes into account major housing development on the Derry side of the border and the proposed A2 dual carriageway project on the Buncrana Road in Derry.

Donegal County Council says no decision on the final route has been made and a decision is expected at the end of May or early June. Work is continuing on plans for the village as part of the project and a transport hub in Bridgend is one option being considered.

Research has identified the border crossing at Bridgend as the most strategically important and busiest crossing point between Donegal and Derry.

Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Donegal County Council have been exploring the options for improving the road. The high number of right turns made on the N13 in the village has contributed to a collision rate above the national average.

A2 plans paused

Meanwhile, plans to upgrade the A2 Buncrana Road in Derry, which would meet the N13 dual carriageway at the border, have been paused.   

The Department of Infrastructure in the North has decided to pause the 4.1km proposed scheme until a new Regional Transport Strategy is complete.

It said it is fully committed to progressing the road improvement scheme which would involve a footway and cycleway, with additional crossings and a park-and-ride facility.