Funding cut for Wicklow M11/N11 upgrades were not revealed to county council
The Wicklow PeopleSerious concerns have been raised after Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) advised that planning and design of the N11/M11 Junction 4 to Junction 14 Improvement Scheme has been suspended.
The move comes following a review of the National Development Plan that was published by the Government in July 2025. The review sets out capital ceilings for transport projects out to 2030.
TII officials confirmed in correspondence to Wicklow Wexford TD Malcom Byrne that the Department of Transport are now progressing plans for the next five years, which will be published later this year. This will inform national road scheme priorities in the coming years.
The N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme, currently at Phase 3: Design and Environmental Evaluation, proposes upgrading the hard shoulder of the M11 to permit its use by buses during peak-hour congested traffic periods.
The scheme supports the transition from private car use to sustainable public transport, reducing congestion as well as traffic-based emissions in line with climate action policies and goals.
Wicklow council officials have pledged to keep the Herbert Road southbound exit from the N11 in Bray open to traffic as part of the plans.
Phase 3 design work is expected to take up to two years to complete.
Following a question from Cllr Joe Behan during the October monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council, Chief executive Emer O’Gorman said they were left shocked by the move.
“I have not heard a single thing from TII or anybody in Government about the N11 being withdrawn or excluded from any plans. That's the first I heard about it. The team haven't heard anything from TII, so I will find out. I will contact the minister and TII directly to see where we are with it.
“In relation to the tender documents, they're still with TII for Phase 3 approval. They haven't come back to us yet. They have been with TII since the start of August. So again, I will follow up on that.”
Cllr Behan said it is a worrying development.
“If that funding has been suspended, it means that we are in big trouble when it comes to the Herbert Road situation, because the one hope we had of avoiding the closure of the Herbert Road permanently both sides was the widening of the N11.
“My understanding was that Government hadn't made decisions on that yet, but TII have confirmed funding has been suspended and they're working on the next five-year programme, which basically means the five-year programme is hard shoulder, bus lane and closing Herbert Road.
“It's a big shock to me that this information has been released to a Deputy in Wexford. I think it will certainly raise a huge amount of fear now among the people who are concerned about this despite what the chief executive has said in the past.”
Cllr Behan also raised the issue during the October district meeting in Bray, where he pressed engineers about what they knew about the situation.
“This is a very serious situation; I’m wondering has the Tánaiste had any say in the matter? Was he informed of the situation?
“If Mr Harris knew that funding was suspended, he has sealed the fate of people in Bray. Residents will be locked into the town for years.”