N11 junction closure u-turn: Public pressure forces Wicklow County Council rethink
The Wicklow PeopleThe chief executive of Wicklow County Council Emer O’Gorman has said the closure of the Herbert Road junction off the N11 in Bray to make way for a bus corridor was never anything more than a proposal.
The proposed change forms part of the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme, which was first launched in 2020 with aims of providing bus corridors along the route in north Wicklow, in advance of the more comprehensive scheme between Junction 4 and Junction 14.
The corridors would allow buses and coaches to avoid congested traffic lanes during the peak traffic periods, whilst remaining as hard shoulders during off peak hours of the day. The project requires many interventions along the route “to address congestion, substandard layouts and junction geometry”.
One such intervention proposed closing the Herbert Road in Bray to through traffic, although that received widespread backlash from the local community with several protests and demonstrations taking place in the area over the summer.
At the end of last month council officials made a commitment to keep the Herbert Road southbound exit from the N11 in Bray open to traffic.
In a statement Ms O’Gorman accepted the clear public sentiment regarding the Herbert Road/N11 access and its proposed closure to make way for a bus corridor in the area.
The move came after a high-level meeting took place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and senior officials from the Department of Transport where the future of the Herbert Road/N11 junction in Bray was discussed.
The meeting, which was convened in Government Buildings, provided an opportunity for local public representatives to highlight the need for transport chiefs to find other solutions that protect Herbert Road residents and maintain access to the town.
TII officials acknowledged the widespread unrest caused by the proposals and confirmed that no scheme can progress without the approval of Wicklow County Council.
Following a question from Cllr Joe Behan during the council’s September monthly meeting, Ms O’Gorman renewed her commitment to engaging with all stakeholders during the upcoming design phase of the scheme.
“The impression, I suppose, was that the Herbert Road was going to close immediately, and that was never our intention. Route options are that. They're to be ruled in, looked at, examined.
“Having discussed it with my colleagues in the road departments and John Bowes, the senior engineer, that as a minimum we could maintain route access.
“Obviously safety is of huge concern to us and that is the greatest concern with the junction, both entering and exiting the Herbert Road.
“It is time to revisit the full scheme in terms of getting it on Government papers.”
In response Cllr Behan recognised the move to halt the closure of the junction is only a step.
“This is the first time when the public opposition has been acknowledged as being worthy of a change of plan. Because what we now have is the beginnings of a change of plan regarding this proposal. So, I know what the local people are going to do; they're going to push on, they're going to look for a full resolution of it.”
Cllr Behan also called on the government to reinstate funding for the wider scheme that was cut in 2022 by then Transport Minister Eamon Ryan.
“In a previous development plan that road was to be widened to three lanes in both directions, from Loughlinstown to Ashford, the turn off to Ashford, and the last Government suspended the funding for that project.
“There is an onus on the present Government to restore the funding for that entire project, because if that happened the road would then be three lanes in each direction; it would allow for a bus lane and two lanes of 10 traffic and it would allow the Herbert Road to be kept open as it is.”
Following the publication of the Phase 2 Options Selection Report in April, technical consultants will be appointed to help move the scheme forward through Phase 3 and 4.
Phase 3 design work is expected to take up to two years to complete.
The options still left to be considered include;
A one-way link road from Herbert Road southward to Junction 7 (L5019 Ballywaltrim Lane).
A one-way link road extending from Dargle Lane (with link road to Junction 6) to Herbert Road and southward to Junction 7 (L5019 Ballywaltrim Lane).
A one-way Segregated Service Road (Southbound) connecting Junction 6 to Junction 7.
A one-way Segregated Service Road (Southbound) from Herbert Road Junction to Junction 7.
Cllr Behan said it was important that these options are considered very carefully.
“This is an issue that will cause dangers for people further south in the county as well, and I think it is very important that we continue to keep the pressure on as I will, and I know all of the other public reps will as well,” he added.