€52M funding for roads
The Department of Transport has provided €1.5Bn in funding nationally.
WHEN the ministers for transport announced their much-anticipated national roads funding for 2026 this week, the Celt obtained the figures for counties Cavan and Monaghan.
In short, Cavan was allocated €24,977,764 and Monaghan a total of €27,373,413 to spend on local, regional and national roads projects in the respective counties.
The Department of Transport has provided €1.5Bn in funding nationally.
The total €52.4M making its way to The Anglo-Celt region has been allocated to specific projects by the government and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which we have broken down here.
Some of the major works, which the most money has been allocated include:
* N3 Virginia Bypass - €1.3M
* N3 Virginia-Mahara Safety Scheme - €1M
* N3 Cavan Crystal Hotel - Kilmore Roundabout Safety Scheme - €500,000
* N55 Ballinagh Relief Road - €700,000
* N54 Tullybryan - €2.5M
* N2 Clontibret to the NI Border - €1.2M
The county councils also received funding for local roads projects.
While Cavan County Council is to be allocated €19,165,275 for protection and renewal grants and new roads/road improvement grants; Monaghan County Council will receive a total of €17,231,600 for the same purposes.
The largest chunk of Cavan County Council’s total - €10,727,500 - will go to restoration improvement of the county’s roads.
While €670,000 is to be spent on bridge rehabilitation, €520,000 has been allocated to climate change adaptation and resilience works and €560,000 on drainage works.
Of the €410,000 assigned to new roads/road improvements, €250,000 of it is specifically for strategic regional and local roads.
In Monaghan, the picture is similar with a total of €17,231,600 being allocated to the county - €16,561,600 of which is in protection and renewal grants.
€9,049,000 is to be spent specifically on road restoration improvement in Monaghan and €1,068,000 on road maintenance.
Other notable figures include €408,000 for climate change adaptation and resilience works, €775,000 for bridge rehabilitation, €472,500 for drainage works and €75,000 for the reclaimed asphalt pilot programme of works.
The stand-out projects in Cavan include €300,000 for climate resilience works on the R198 at Corr, €100,000 for bridge rehabilitation works at Monaghanoose bridge, €80,000 for Millstream bridge and €65,000 at Bellaboy bridge.
Safety improvement works in Cavan include €70,000 on the R198 and L1514 Farnham Road and Golf Links Road, Cavan; €65,000 for the R212 north of Ballyhaise at Brockly and €45,000 on L3504 Mountain Lodge crossroad.
In Monaghan, €178,000 has been allocated to climate change and resilience works at Donaghmoyne village; while €80,000 will be spent on an erosion problem on the R213.
€70,000 has been assigned to the bridge at Tiragarvan and €80,000 to the bridge on the R178 ay Gorlegobban. A total of €775,000 has been allocated to bridge rehabilitation works in Monaghan.
€600,000 has been earmarked for the rehabilitation of two parts of the N2; while €550,000 is to be spent on new roads and road improvement grants including the Rooskey access road, the R181 Drumillard to Corduff road and the link road at Old Cross Square and the junction with the N2 to the N12.
Cavan Monaghan TD Brendan Smith welcomed the "significant investment" in regional and national roads here in Cavan/Monaghan.
"This funding will make a real difference to communities across both counties allowing safer roads and more efficient journeys.
"Investing in road infrastructure is critical for supporting the growth of the local economy, making daily commutes safer and more efficient and for ensuring the road infrastructure we have is sustained into the future," said, adding he will push for additional allocations for the constituency during the course of this year.
Fine Gael's David Maxwell also welcomed the news. “This funding will allow local authorities to repair, strengthen and maintain roads throughout our communities, ensuring they are fit for purpose now and into the future. These measures will significantly improve the safety, reliability and resilience of our road network across Cavan and Monaghan."