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Status
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Construction scheme
(future) |
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Where
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To
provide a single-carriageway bypass of
the neighbouring towns of Ballybofey and
Stranorlar on the N13 and N15 roads,
County Donegal
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Total
Length
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9.5 km / 5.9 miles
for the bypass plus 5.2 km / 3.2 miles
for the link to the N15 and other new
local roads
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Dates
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Dec 2017 – Feasibility
report published
Feb 2019 – Route options published
Jan 2020 – Preferred
route announced
2023 – Included in the draft County
Donegal Development Plan 2024-2030
2023 – Business case
due to be approved by Department of
Transport
2026 – Earliest possible start of
construction (as of May 2022)
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Cost
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€150-180m (as of 2022)
- to be funded via the TEN-T Priority
Route Improvement Project, Donegal
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See
Also
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General area
map
Official
web site on scheme
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Click here to jump straight down to updates
for this scheme.
The N13 and N15 form two of the main trunk
roads in the east of County Donegal. The N15
starts from Strabane/Lifford and and heads
south-west via Donegal town and Ballyshannon
towards Sligo. At Stranorlar it is met by the
N13 which begins near Derry, then via
Letterkenny and heads south. Stranorlar, and its
neighbour, Ballybofey, (with a total population
of just under 5000 people) form the two biggest
bottlenecks on the road. This scheme would see a
bypass built around the north/west of the twin
towns, with a new road link connecting the
bypass to the N15 towards Lifford/Strabane. A
second link road would connect the centre of the
bypass to the R252 Glenfin Road and into the
Ballybofey. The map below shows the proposed
route as of 2020 (click to expand). A more
detailed design can be seen here.
 The road would be built to a high quality
single-carriageway standard, with no
intermediate junctions on the level, and two
grade-separated junctions. It will include a
major bridge over the River Finn. The scheme is
one element of three schemes being taken forward
together as a single project, the other two
being the N56/N13 Letterkenny to
Manorcunningham upgrades and
N14 Manorhamilton to A5 at Lifford/Strabane.
Updates
30 Aug 2023: First point to make is that
this is my first attempt to follow a scheme
outside Northern Ireland, so if I have made any
basic errors please be gentle and let me know
roads at wesleyjohnston.com! At this stage the
scheme has a detailed design (see here)
but construction is unlikely to begin before
2026. The next couple of years will need to see
the scheme taken through the process to obtain
planning permission. The scheme also needs a
business case signed off, which is expected
sometime this year. The current cost estimate is
€150-180m at 2022 prices but this is likely to
rise due to the recent surge in construction
inflation. A reminder that the excellent JP
Dowling over at Irish
Motorway Info maintains information on new
roads across the whole of the Republic.
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