Enniskillen is a busy town because it is the crossing point of a number of main routes, most notably the A4 Belfast to Sligo route but also the A32 route north to Irvinestown. As the town lacks any bypasses (other than the Enniskillen Throughpass running parallel to the town centre) strategic traffic has to mingle with local traffic in the town. This scheme will allow traffic to move between the A4 east of the town and the A32 to the north without having to go close to the town centre. It consists of a 1.1km link road connecting the A32 to the B80 Tempo Road. Traffic will then use the existing B80 to reach the A4 road. (This part of the B80 is likely to be re-numbered as A32.) This map (not to scale) illustrates the proposals and shows the locations of the three new roundabouts that form part of the plan as well as the existing roundabout on the A32. A more detailed map can be seen in this Roads Service document published in November 2008.

(Map based on Google Earth imagery.)

The road will be build to 2 lane single carriageway standard (one lane each way) and will very likely include at least one footway and cycleway. Roads Service estimated in this press release that the new road will attract around 9,000 vehicles per day.

The Cherrymount Link scheme was included in the 2003 Regional Strategic Transport Network Plan which outlined the schemes that were to proceed within "the next ten years or so", which is taken to mean some time before 2015. Construction was to have begun in 2007-08, according to this parliamentary written answer from March 2006. However as of October 2009, work seems unlikely to begin before 2011 at the earliest.

The scheme as currently proposed (Nov 2007) follows a slightly different route than originally proposed. This new route, which runs a few hundred metres further east in the central stretch, "made use of better ground conditions and took advantage of anticipated reduced land purchase costs".

There is considerable anger in Fermanagh that of all road schemes proposed in the original RSTN, only 0.5% (ie this single scheme) are in Fermanagh. This editorial in a local newspaper in September 2003 demonstrates this depth of feeling. However in 2006 a further proposal was put forward to build a southern bypass to connect the A4 at each side of the town. Construction is anticipated by 2015. See the link above for more details.

Progress

16 Feb 2010: According to an article in the Fermanagh Herald, contractors have begun work preparing the ground along the route of the new road by infilling the soft, waterlogged land. This job will take about 12 months, and so it has begun now so that it is completed by the time construction on the actual road begins, currently estimated to be sometime in 2011. For clarity, this does NOT mark the commencement of construction of the new road itself, since this is an entirely separate contract. Construction of the road is currently waiting for the approval of funding, the timing of which is uncertain in the current financial climate. However, the work that has begun does strongly reassure the people of Enniskillen that Roads Service are committed to proceeding with the scheme. The article also notes that the scheme will include two footbridges - one near Coa Road, and another to give access to the playing fields of St Michael's College.

4 Dec 2009: In one of these Written Answers, the Minister of Regional Development has confirmed what we suspected in October, namely that construction has got pushed back into 2011. The Minister said "My Department’s Roads Service remains committed to the completion of this worthwhile project. The land required for the construction of the Cherrymount Link Road has been acquired, and construction work could start in 2011, subject to the level of funding available at that time." Even this statement is non-committal, and suggests that funding pressures are starting to show. Understandably, the local media is not impressed. Roads Service have also said that the land for the scheme has now been fully acquired.

18 Oct 2009: This scheme has appeared on the "future contracts" section of the Roads Service web site, and the news is not good in terms of timescale. Although Roads Service said in June that the scheme would hopefully get underway "during 2010" according to the tender information the tender is not even due to be released until December 2010, meaning that work will not begin until 2011 at the earliest. Interestingly, the tender says that there will be 500 metres of "single lane dualling" (ie one lane each way with a central barrier) and two footbridges. The contract duration has now been given as "30 months", ie 2.5 years. If this means the time it will take to construct the road, then it seems an awfully long time for such a small scheme. By this timetable the earliest we can expect completion of the road is mid 2013.

8 June 2009: At a meeting with Fermanagh District Council two weeks ago, Roads Service said that the Environmental Statement, Notice to Proceed with a Direction Order, and Vesting Order were published in March. They also said that the intention is to commence on the ground during 2010.

9 Mar 2009: The last time we were given an estimate of the cost of this scheme was in December 2006, when the cost was given as £8m. The DRD Minister has now updated this, and the new figure is £11m. This is likely due to the development of the design which tends to add new elements.

24 Feb 2009: Roads Service published their notice of intention to proceed with the scheme two weeks ago. The document gives a summary of the scheme, the environmental impact, and an outline of the process that was taken to arrive at the final proposal. The document states that the nothernmost 500 metres will be a single-lane dual-carriageway (ie one lane each way separated by a barrier) which is quite an unusual, but also very safe, design that eliminates accidents associated with right turns. Although information in April 2008 was that work would commence in "2008/09", this has now been pushed back a bit. According to the Roads Service report to Fermanagh District Council in November 2008, the land will be purchased by April 2009 and "It is hoped that an advanced earthworks contract can then commence on site during 2009/10." The final cost is also unclear, since the last published estimate of £8m was in 2006.

27 Jun 2008: As suspected, this Legal Order has been passed which will make the Cherrymount Link part of the A32. The part of the B80 Tempo Road that runs from the planned Cherrymount Link to the A4 Dublin Road will also be part of the A32. What will happen to the existing stretch of the A32 Irvinestown Road that will be bypassed by the Cherrymount Link is unclear, but it will likely be downgraded to a B-road once the new road is opened.

28 Apr 2008: According to the Investment Delivery Strategy for Roads of April 2008, the scheme is set to commence in "2008/09" with completion due in "2009/10".

4 Nov 2007: A public display of the selected route will take place in Erne Integrated College on 5th November. The timescale for commencement of construction is now slightly more specific with work due to begin in either the 2008/09 or 2009/10 financial years depending on how quickly the statutory processes are concluded.

14 Feb 2007: At a meeting between Fermanagh Council and the Roads Service on 6 December 2006, it was revealed that construction has been pushed well back from the April 2007-April 2008 slot claimed by Roads Service in 2006. They are now anticipating construction in the period 2010-2011. Also, they have revised the cost up from £3.8m to £8m which has been attributed to extending the scheme, undertaking widening work and increases in land value. The council has expressed its disapproval at the timescale of the whole project from planning to completion, currently said to be 2007-2011.

15 Nov 2006: According to this Parliamentary written answer, dating from March 2006, work is anticipated to begin in the 2007/08 financial year, which means between April 2007 and April 2008.