The new N4 Type 2 Dual Carriageway that is currently under construction between Collooney and Castlebaldwin will be one of the most significant road projects ever built in the Northwest Region. It will provide approximately 15km of new national road, built to the highest safety, environmental and infrastructural standards, and will change the future of Sligo. The new N4 will be part of a key strategic link between Dublin and Sligo, and will also open up the N17 Atlantic Economic Corridor network. It has the potential to be a game changer – by helping to boost the local economy, bring jobs to the region and make Sligo a better and safer place to live, travel, and work
Scheme Details and Benefits
The N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin Road Project will provide just under 14km of Type 2 Dual Carriageway, and 1km of Single Carriageway, linking the existing N4 Dual Carriageway at Collooney to the Curlews By-Pass, just south of Castlebaldwin village. This will complete the upgrade of the N4 to modern standards in County Sligo. Included in the Scheme is 8km of new and upgraded side roads, 12 Primary Bridge Structures and 3km of off-road cycleway.
Delivery of this Scheme will:
- Significantly improve safety, by reducing the number of fatalities and injuries on the N4 and the existing surrounding local road
- Reduce inter-urban journey times and improve journey time reliability, which will remove barriers to economic development of the
- Provide a corridor of transport infrastructure that will encourage and support existing investment and employment in Sligo and the North West.
- Improve Road based Public Transport, quality of life for residents and improve accessibility to work, education and other activities.
- Improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists wishing to access local services.
National Policy Context
The N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin Road Scheme was included in the Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment Capital Plan 2016-2021, as a key priority in the roads programme which will support economic growth. The Plan identified it as one of the “critical gaps” in our existing infrastructure, which needs to be upgraded.
A core priority under Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework is the essential requirement to enhance and upgrade accessibility between urban centres of population and their regions, in parallel with the initiation of compact growth of urban centres. This has a crucial role to play in maximising the growth potential of the regional urban centres, one of which is Sligo, and the economy as a whole. The delivery of the N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin Scheme is listed as one of the key Schemes to be delivered under Strategic Outcome No. 2 ‘Enhanced Regional Accessibility’ of the National Development Plan.
