Sligo County Council has issued construction contract documents for the Eastern Garvogue Bridge and Approach Roads project on eTenders to shortlisted contractors, a step that opens a roughly €50m road and bridge package to bidders and sets a target start on site at the end of the first quarter of 2027.

Sligo County Council, the local authority for County Sligo, is the client and has completed detailed design, with Ministerial approval to publish the contract documents secured in September from the Department of Transport.

The scheme comprises about 1.8km of new road north of the Garavogue River, upgrades to existing road to the south, new cycle tracks and footpaths, and a 70m single-span tied arch bridge with a steel arch rib rising nearly 35m above the river deck.

Additional fencing works at the Short Walk junction are due to begin shortly to secure the site, and a dedicated project website, easterngarvogebridge.ie, carries an interactive route map, FAQs and will host traffic alerts and construction updates.

Cllr Fergal Nealon said the update marks the point at which the project stopped being a plan and became a build, and noted that the end-of-March start depends on the tender assessment, while Cllr Marie Casserly said the project will improve connectivity, address traffic pressures and support Sligo’s growth.

The project has repeatedly moved: local reporting in early 2026 pointed to a start in early Q3 2026, and a Minister’s statement in November 2025 had referred to works commencing by 2030.

Scrutiny remains: The Journal Investigates reported that the scheme was approved 17 years ago under the Roads Act 1993 and is exempt from the stricter environmental assessments that would apply to a major development today, while Sligo County Council has defended the project.

For the sector, a tender issued only to shortlisted contractors for a long-delayed bridge package signals a competitive but contained bidder field, and contractors with long-span steel arch experience and strong river-works methodologies are best placed once assessment begins.

Source: Irish Independent / Ocean FM / Donegal Daily / Midwest Radio