The planning and design of the N11M11 Junction 4 to Junction 14 Improvement Scheme has been progressing over the past number of years.
Phase 2 of the project concluded in 2021 with the announcement and public display of a preferred option for the scheme, together with the publication of the Option Selection Report in December. The project was due to proceed to Phase 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation) in 2022.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) delivers on Government policy relating to national roads as set out in the National Development Plan (NDP). The 10-year period of the NDP is considered in two phases of five years, namely 2021-2025 and 2026-2030.
Government funding for new national roads for the first half of the NDP will be €1.1b. From this budget, TII provides grant allocations to local authorities for national roads on an annual basis. This level of funding is not sufficient to concurrently progress all schemes outlined in the NDP through planning and design in the 2021-2025 period. Accordingly, the progression of projects must be phased in line with available funding and the priorities of the NDP.
Given these overall funding constraints and following a review of the grant allocation for 2022, it has been confirmed that funding is not available to Wicklow County Council to advance the N11M11 Junction 4 to Junction 14 Improvement Scheme to the next phase of development at this time.
TII remains committed to supporting the progression of all major projects listed in the NDP, on a phased basis. TII fully supports the future advancement of the N11M11 Scheme and once funding from the Government is available, Wicklow County Council intends to recommence the planning and design of this important scheme.
The Project Team has now released Bulletin No.12 on the scheme website www.n11m11.ie which provides a status update on the scheme.
As highlighted in the public consultation in September 2021 and on the project website (www.n11m11.ie), a separate project aiming to deliver bus priority measures on the N11M11 national road is currently progressing. This bus priority scheme has been allocated funding for 2022 and the planning and design of this project will be advanced by Wicklow County Council over the coming year. Further information on the N11M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme will be communicated via the project website as this work progresses.
The project team is available to interested parties and members of the public to deal with any queries or issues arising on the project by emailing n11m11@wicklowcoco.ie or at the contact details contained in the Bulletin.
