Although this scheme is being implemented by Donegal County Council, it is included on the site as it has a cross-border element that will be constructed within Northern Ireland. Essentially the scheme replaces the existing N14 road which connects Letterkenny in county Donegal to Northern Ireland and hence on to Dublin via Strabane. The whole scheme will be built to 2+1 standard (ie single lane with an alternating overtaking lane in the centre) and be 18km long.

Currently the N14 at the southeastern end enters Lifford town and then crosses the River Mourne/Foyle and joins the Strabane Bypass close to the town centre via the 1km A38. The current bridge over the river was built in 1964. This new scheme will see the N14 bypass Lifford to the south. This requires a new access to Northern Ireland which will also be on the Stabane Bypass but about 500 metres further south. The connection will be made via a standard roundabout. The other advantage is that, since the Bypass at this point is on the western bank of the River Mourne/Foyle, only a small bridge over the River Finn will be required to carry the new road.

The last 500 metres of this major road is in Northern Ireland. For an exact route map of the Northern Ireland portion, see the PDF file linked to above and see the map on page 11. The new link road is marked in green. It is unclear whether or not the Northern Ireland Roads Service is contributing any money to this scheme since it is being implemented by the Irish Republic and is required because of a change to the road system over the border. In any case, it is likely that no more than a few million of the total cost of this scheme will be spent on the portion in Northern Ireland.

Progress

23 Mar 2008: Construction of the scheme had been due to get underway in mid 2008. However, according to the Roads Service report to Strabane Borough Council in Autumn 2007, the scheme is now being reviewed by the authorities both North and South. This is because the scheme is due to tie in to the A5 Strabane Bypass. However, as of summer 2007 a plan is being progressed to upgrade the A5 to dual-carriageway and this will affect the design of the Strabane-Lifford link. Therefore construction is likely to be delayed. Donegal Council Council's web site is now giving a start date of "2013", considerably later than previously believed.