Ballina 'needs second bypass'

A Ballina councillor has appealed for a second bypass of the town to be included alongside plans for the Ballina Western Bypass, stating that it is urgent enough for the project to be added on to the National Development Plan, with another local councillor saying the town is losing business due to traffic jams.

Cllr Marie Therese Duffy brought a notice of motion before last week's meeting of Mayo County Council, calling for “the Eastern Bypass of Ballina to be prioritised as the number one road project for Mayo" and asking that the local authority engage with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to have the project fast-tracked. 

“This motion might be centred around Ballina but it affects all of Mayo and anyone driving through Ballina and all of North Mayo," Cllr Duffy explained. "Ballina is the second largest town in Mayo with a population of 10,500 and that enjoys sustained growth with companies like Coca Cola and Hollister. On an average day it takes between 30 to 60 minutes to drive through the town and businesses and motorists are being affected by these delays. 

"Ballina has been designated as a strategic employment centre with potential for growth, along with Castlebar. We have thriving businesses but no orbital route. The main approach from Foxford carries 8,806 vehicles per day, one of the highest volumes in the county and up 2.4% on previous years. Traffic in Ballina is increasing by up to 5% on key routes. Castlebar has a bypass and there is a dual carriageway into Westport, but the only way to the Sligo Road is through Ballina town and over a bridge built in the 1800s.

“There is a Western Bypass project underway, however there is also a bypass for the eastern side of town included in the local transport plan. We just need to find the funding for the Eastern Bypass and I am calling on the council to engage with TII on this, to amend the 2026 grant allocations to include the Eastern Bypass as the top priority [in] Mayo into 2027 and for the project to commence without delay. I ask the council to support it and also for a letter to be sent to the Minister for Transport requesting it be added to the National Development Plan."

Cllr John O’Hara supported the motion, saying he too had been calling for such a project for the last twenty years. 

“The land is all sterilised along the route from Hollister right across to Church Road and from the Golf Links on to the Bonniconlon Road and also on to the Sligo Road, so this Eastern Bypass is needed badly. There is so much traffic coming in through the centre of town and that is why we cannot attract any more industry, because nobody can get through it.” 

He added that Ballina was losing out to places like Swinford and Sligo due to people wanting to avoid “the trouble of getting through town”, adding: “Down the Sligo Road as far as where our industrial park is supposed to go, it is logjammed, so the most important thing for Ballina is the Eastern Bypass.” 

Cllr Annie May Reape said it was important to remember that Ballina is “a fine shopping town” and she invited “everybody to come to Ballina to do their shopping".

In a written reply, the council's Head of Roads Paul Hyland stated: “While Mayo County Council recognises the strategic benefits an Eastern Bypass could bring to Ballina, the immediate priority remains the progression of the Western Bypass to statutory consent. This approach ensures a clear and deliverable project pipeline and positions the council to seek support for an Eastern Bypass at a time when such a proposal is most likely to receive favourable consideration.”

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.