Wicklow County Council is progressing the development of the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme (N11/M11 BPIS) in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport. Kildare National Roads Office have been appointed to project manage the delivery of the scheme.

The N11/M11 BPIS project commenced in 2020, with the primary objective of developing a proposal for the provision of bus priority measures in both directions on the N11/M11 National Road. Priority facilities can be used by buses and coaches to avoid congested traffic lanes during peak traffic periods and help to reduce the current unsustainable dependency on the private car. The scheme aims to increase the people-carrying capacity of the N11/M11 and the attractiveness of public transport services along the route. It also includes proposals to enhance the operation and safety of the existing corridor.

The N11/M11 BPIS project is being implemented in accordance with the TII Project Management Guidelines (PMGs). These guidelines provide a framework for the management, development and delivery of national road and public transport capital projects. The PMGs divide the evolution and progression of a project into an eight-phase process (Phase 0 – 7 inclusive) as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: TII PMG Project Phases

Phase 2 (Option Selection) was completed in April 2025 with the recommendation of a preferred option and the publication of an Option Selection Report, available at www.n11m11bpis.ie . Following a detailed option selection process, the preferred option included a range of intervention measures, including:

• Provision of bus priority measures, where feasible, to be implemented via widening and realignment of the existing hard shoulders to accommodate buses during peak periods.
• A rationalisation of existing minor junctions which directly access the N11, with the aim of reducing traffic weaving and disruption to flow, thereby enabling the safe provision of bus priority to be maximised. This proposal included the removal/closure of the following direct access onto the N11:
• Access to Silverbridge Halting Site
• Dargle Lane (L1522) junction
• Herbert Road (L1956) junction
• Enniskerry Road (R117) junction
• Moorepark (L95111) junction
• A number of private residential and commercial accesses
• A major upgrade of Junction 7 (Bray South) to improve operational performance and inclusive of new merge and diverge layouts to the N11.
• Provision of a northbound segregated service road at Junction 8 (Kilmacanogue).
• Provision of a northbound segregated service road linking Junction 7 (Bray South) to Junction 6 (Bray/Fassaroe)
• Provision of new off-line two-way active travel facilities, where feasible, along the eastern side of the N11. Details of the Phase 2 Preferred Option remain accessible on the project website (www.n11m11bpis.ie).

Amendments to Phase 2 Preferred Option

Following the completion of Phase 2 and the publication of the Option Selection Report, a number of amendments to the Phase 2 Preferred Option (as described above) have been made, as follows:

• Sub-Scheme B – Wicklow County Council acknowledges the clear public sentiment regarding the proposed closure of the Herbert Road junction. Accordingly, the retention of this junction has been accepted by the project team. All interventions previously proposed as part of the Phase 2 Preferred Option southbound between Junction 6 (Bray/Fassaroe) and Junction 7 (Bray South) will no longer be progressed within the scheme.
• Sub-Scheme C – It was considered that the intervention measures previously proposed between Junction 8 (Kilmacanogue) and Junction 9 (Glenview) would provide relatively lower bus priority benefits in comparison to the interventions proposed within Sub-Schemes A and B. Consequently, all previously recommended interventions between Junction 8 (Kilmacanogue) and Junction 9 (Glenview) will not be progressed at this time.

All other interventions included in the Phase 2 Preferred Option will be progressed to the next phases of the N11/M11 BPIS project, where these will be subject to further design, traffic and environmental analysis. The schematic map further below illustrates the elements of the scheme advanced to Phase 3.

Current Status and Commencement of Phase 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation)

Approval was granted by TII to progress the N11/M11 BPIS project from Phase 2 to Phase 3 in June 2025. Following the completion of a subsequent tender competition and evaluation process, WCC has recently appointed Arup as Technical Advisors to progress the delivery of the N11/M11 BPIS project through Phases 3 and 4 of the TII PMGs.

During Phase 3, the design of the preferred option will be developed in greater detail within the preferred corridor boundary. This will include more detailed developments of specific junction designs, access arrangements, structures, drainage and boundary treatment.

Drawing upon technical and environmental inputs, the Phase 3 design will enable any land acquisition requirements to be identified. As the design progresses, direct engagement with property owners and other stakeholders affected by the project will continue. In tandem with the design development, a detailed environmental evaluation of the scheme will also be undertaken during Phase 3. This will examine in detail the anticipated environmental impacts of the scheme and identify any mitigation measures required to minimise these impacts. Both the design and environmental evaluation processes will be iterative throughout Phase 3. For example, the environmental assessment may prompt design alterations which would avoid or reduce impacts.

Following an envisaged 24-month process, Phase 3 will conclude on completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the relevant Statutory Process documentation. Subject to further approvals and funding, the project will then proceed to Phase 4 (Statutory Processes) and the planning submission will be made to An Coimisiún Pleanála.