Featured photo: Artistic rendering of the planned Letterkenny Active Travel Project – R229 Kilmacrennan Road
Donegal County Council has been urged to put active travel works in Letterkenny on hold after a morning of traffic chaos today.
Works on the Kilmacrennan Road have removed turning lanes from a small section of the road from the Hospital Roundabout, causing serious levels of congestion.
As a result, Letterkenny was brought to a standstill in many areas during rush hour this Tuesday morning.
Councillor Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly said the problems are a sign that the overall plan for the road is not going to work.
“This speaks volumes when you see the traffic congestion we witnessed today with only 30 yards of the middle lane tapered off. I am very nervous about this going forward,” Cllr Kelly told a meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District today.
He said that cars were not giving way to those attempting to access St Conal’s Campus or the Town Park, leading to major delays.
“I can’t help but wonder did we learn anything from the Four Lane, because there is no way that emergency services are going to get through this,” Cllr Kelly said. “And we haven’t even hit Christmas yet, the business period for businesses to make ends meet.”
Cllr Kelly warned that the delays will create another struggle for businesses, as well as people going to work and to schools.
“These works should be deferred until after Christmas,” he told the council. “Give the businesses a chance.”
The R229 Kilmacrennan Active Travel Project is due to continue until September 2026. It will see the permanent removal of the existing right-turning lanes to make way for a two-way cycle facility. The project gained council approval in May 2024, despite attempts by Councillor Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly and Councillor Ciaran Brogan to have it deferred.
Councillor Gerry McMonagle today commented that he believed that delaying the project by two months will do nothing to help traffic in the town.
“You’ll not make an omelette without cracking a few eggs,” Cllr McMonagle said.
He pointed out that Letterkenny is always “bumper to bumper” at busy times and that the project should proceed while the funding is there.
“It’s about managing the construction, not cancelling it,” he said.
In response to Cllr Kelly’s concerns, Senior Roads Engineer David McIlwaine said he would relay the comments to the contractors and explore options to improve traffic management in the short term.
Members were advised that deferring the contract after work has already commenced may not be feasible.
Under the terms of the contract with ACS Civils Ltd., two-way traffic must be maintained daily between 7am and 7pm, except in exceptional circumstances or when required by construction activities.
Council urged to ‘halt the works and give businesses a chance this Christmas’ was last modified: October 14th, 2025 by Rachel McLaughlin
Tags: