Surprise that council has not requested upgrading of two Inishowen main roads
Donegal County Council has not formally requested the reclassification of two main roads in Inishowen despite county councillors having raised the issue repeatedly in recent years.
Councillors are seeking the upgrading of the R238 from Bridgend to Buncrana and from Muff to Moville. The stretches of the road are classified as regional but councillors want them upgraded to national primary routes so that they are maintained and funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).
The only stretch of national primary road in Inishowen is the N13 from the border at Bridgend to Manorcunningham.
Following a question submitted by Sinn Féin councillor Jack Murray to the December meeting of the council, the council's acting director of roads and transportation Bryan Cannon said that no formal request has been submitted to TII or the Department of Transport seeking reclassification of the roads.
He said “initial consideration and discussion of the merits and disadvantages of reclassification” has taken place, and the council has suggested that the roads should be considered for reclassification in a submission to TII on the strategy for national roads up to 2040.
The R238 Bridgend to Buncrana road is afforded the same protection as a national road under the Donegal CDP Policy T-P-4, he said.
"Reclassification for both the R238 Bridgend to Buncrana and the R238 Muff to Moville may be argued primarily as key connecting corridors to the Letterkenny/Derry/Strabane City region as well as to primary settlements and a port."
He added that the matter can be further raised when a council delegation meets the TII before Christmas.
Speaking following the meeting, Cllr Murray said he was “surprised" that the council has not made a formal request for the reclassification of the roads as it has been raised repeatedly by councillors for more than ten years.
“I have been to three or four meetings with TII when we have requested it,” he said.
He called on the council to officially request the upgrading of the two roads which he said are two of the busiest in the county.
The Burnfoot to Buncrana road is treated like a national primary road in terms of planning, he said.
“It gets all the negative aspects of being a national primary road but without the positive of the funding.
“It gets funding from our own roads budget even though it carries a much higher level of traffic than national roads elsewhere in Donegal.”
“It is something that we should be fighting with the TII for. There is a lot of money spent on these roads from within the council budget.
“So if we can get them financed by the TII as they should be, it would free up extra monies from within the Inishowen Municipal District budget to focus on smaller roads.”