Letterkenny’s back-to-school traffic nightmare has returned with major delays reported this morning.
One school bus driver reported taking 37 minutes to travel the short stretch between High Road from the Honeypot cafe to the Hospital Roundabout.
Leading school bus operator Mc Gettigan Travel was endured major delays across its school services earlier today as traffic crawled through parts of Letterkenny.
The company said the combination of current road planning, ongoing works and traffic management had become an “absolute nightmare”, particularly during the busy school and work rush.
“It’s beyond a joke,” said Kyle McGettigan as the family-run transport company issued an alert to parents this morning.
“Unfortunately, we are once again dealing with severely congested traffic throughout Letterkenny this morning, which is having a major knock-on effect across all of our school bus services,” the company said.
“What should be straightforward journeys are being met with significant congestion on a daily basis, making it increasingly difficult for our drivers to keep to scheduled times.”
The company explained that when one bus becomes trapped in traffic, subsequent school runs are also delayed.
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It apologised to parents, guardians and pupils and said its drivers were doing everything possible to get children to school safely and as quickly as possible.
“The traffic conditions are completely outside of our control,” the company said.
“We fully understand how frustrating the delays are. We are just as frustrated.”
It is almost a year since work began on the Kilmacrennan Road Active Travel Project between the Hospital Roundabout and Knocknamona Roundabout.
Works have involved narrowing the existing carriageway to two traffic lanes, alongside the development of new pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.
The scheme is intended to improve connections between residential areas and Letterkenny University Hospital, St Conal’s Hospital, Errigal College and the town centre.
Works are due to complete by end of September 2026.
A visualisation of the Letterkenny Town Active Travel Project – R229 Kilmacrennan Road
Work is continuing around the High Road and Hospital Roundabout, including traffic light ducting, the hospital bus set-down area, the new Emergency Department junction and pedestrian crossing facilities.
Meanwhile, roadworks are also progressing on another key route between Ballyraine Roundabout and Creamery Roundabout.
The Ballyraine stretch was also hit by significant delays on Monday evening as traffic increased at the end of the Northern Ireland Bank Holiday.