MAJOR roadworks being carried out on the four lane road into Letterkenny are no longer on schedule.
The project, which will upgrade the stretch between the Polestar and Dry Arch Roundabouts, was expected to be finished in August but Donegal County Council has confirmed that works will not be complete until the end of September.
A spokesperson for Donegal County Council said delays have been experienced and all parties are working together to reduce this effect.
“The Contractor plans completion of the Works by the end of September 2022. Working in the Covid and post Brexit environment presents challenges not just for this but all contracts.”
The contractors are currently focusing on completing works outbound from Letterkenny during the day and road crossings at night.
These works entail provision of utilities and other infrastructure, such as road drainage, road lighting and construction of the footway/cycleway facilities. These outbound works are nearing completion.
The end result will be an amended road layout from an undivided four lane road with little or no active travel facilities to an urban road with a central median to separate inbound/outbound vehicular traffic. Unsafe turning manoeuvres will be removed and the speed limit will be set to 60km/hr.
A digital impression of what the road will look like when finished.
The project will also include a new cycleway and footway infrastructure both inbound and outbound, three pedestrian/cyclist crossing facilities, two dedicated bus lay-bys, new route lighting to complement non-motorised road user facilities and landscaping.
These measures include a significant new flood protection and boardwalk structure adjacent to the River Swilly.
Meanwhile, improvement works have been carried out at the Dry Arch Roundabout after concerns were raised about the condition of the road.
The entrance onto the four-lane road coming off the Dry Arch roundabout has been resurfaced after Cllr Donal Kelly raised concerns about the state of the layout and surface.
“I am delighted to see that the Contractors of the four lane project have taken the concerns that I had raised on behalf of my Constituents and all road users on board and have now acted on it.
“The entrance onto the four-lane coming off the Dry Arch roundabout has now been resurfaced.
I would like to thank the Contractors for carrying out these works and also Donegal County Council for taking my concerns on board.
“This will now help insure the safety of all road users using this stretch of road,” said Cllr Kelly.
A spokesperson for the Council said the issue raised related to deterioration to the road surface coming off the Dry Arch Roundabout, and continuous monitoring and improvements are ongoing to ensure the safety of all road users.
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