€1m allocation secures next phase of N11/M11 bus priority scheme in Wicklow

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

The N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme has entered a decisive new phase, backed by a confirmed €1 million allocation for 2026 that will fund the detailed design and environmental evaluation now underway. The funding ensures that Phase 3 of the project can progress without delay.

The scheme, led by Wicklow County Council in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport, aims to introduce bus priority measures along the congested N11/M11 corridor.

The project has now formally commenced Phase 3 of the TII Project Management Guidelines, the stage where the preferred option is developed into a detailed design and subjected to a full environmental evaluation. Approval to progress was granted in June 2025, following the publication of the Phase 2 Option Selection Report.

Wicklow County Council subsequently appointed Arup as Technical Advisors for Phases 3 and 4, with the consultancy contract signed in April 2026. The €1 million allocation confirmed by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien directly supports this work, covering the costs associated with design development, environmental studies, land acquisition identification and stakeholder engagement.

Donal McDaid (director of Arup Consulting Engineers), Cllr Melanie Corrigan (cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council) and Brian Gleeson (deputy CEO, Wicklow County Council). Photo: Michael Kelly

Phase 3 is expected to take 24 months to complete. Engineers and environmental specialists will refine junction layouts, access arrangements, drainage systems, structures and boundary treatments. The environmental evaluation will run in parallel, examining potential impacts and identifying mitigation measures.

The preferred option emerging from Phase 2 included a suite of interventions designed to improve bus reliability and overall corridor performance.

These included widening and realigning hard shoulders to create bus priority lanes, rationalising minor junctions to reduce traffic weaving, upgrading Junction 7 at Bray South, and providing segregated northbound service roads at Kilmacanogue and between Bray South and Bray/Fassaroe. The scheme also proposed new off‑line active travel facilities along the eastern side of the N11.

‘Stop the Closure of Herbert Road’ campaigners, as demonstrations got underway in Bray, in April, 2025.

However, one element of the Phase 2 plan quickly became a flashpoint: the proposed closure of the Herbert Road junction in Bray. The junction, which provides an important link for residents accessing the N11, was earmarked for removal as part of efforts to reduce weaving movements and improve traffic flow.

However, the proposal sparked a strong local campaign, with residents, community groups and public representatives arguing that closing the junction would sever a vital connection, increase journey times and displace traffic onto unsuitable local roads.

Wicklow County Council acknowledged the strength of this feedback, and in the amendments published after Phase 2, confirmed that the Herbert Road junction would be retained. All interventions previously proposed southbound between Junction 6 (Bray/Fassaroe) and Junction 7 (Bray South) will no longer be progressed within the scheme.

Other amendments were also made as part of the review. Interventions between Junction 8 (Kilmacanogue) and Junction 9 (Glenview) will not proceed at this time, as they were assessed to provide relatively lower bus priority benefits for passengers compared to other parts of the corridor.

The €1 million allocation does not fund construction, nor does it relate to the larger M11/N11 junction upgrade project, which remains a separate undertaking. Instead, it provides the financial foundation needed for the scheme to advance through the critical design and environmental stages.