N20 (Republic of Ireland)

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N 20

Bóthar N20 (Irish)
Route information
Length96.45 km (59.93 mi)
Location
CountryRepublic of Ireland
Primary
destinations		(bypassed destinations in italics)
Highway system

The N20 is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Cork and Limerick. Buttevant, Croom, Charleville, Mallow and Blarney are major towns along the route. A short section of the route (from Limerick to Patrickswell) is motorway standard and is designated as the M20 Motorway.

Route

N20 on the dual carriageway bypass into Limerick, approaching the exit for Dooradoyle. As of 2009, this section has been designated motorway.

M20 Rosbrien Interchange (Limerick) to Patrickswell

The route starts at junction 1 at the Rosbrien interchange (south of Limerick city) where it connects to the M7 and the N18 which together form the Limerick Southern Ring Road. The route continues from this interchange as motorway. This route was redesignated as motorway in August 2009. The route bypasses Dooradoyle and Raheen, through which the old N20 route used to run until the early 2000s. Interchanges and link roads connect to these locations. Two further interchanges are located on the motorway, at either end of Patrickswell. At the latter, the N20 route leaves the main road (which continues as the N21 to Tralee), so one must diverge from the motorway to stay on the N20. The former route of the N20 before the M20 opened is now classified as the R526.[citation needed]

N20 Patrickswell to Cork City

A wide two lane road brings traffic along the Croom bypass (prior to the opening of this bypass at a cost of €20 million on 12 July 2001, the route went through the town).[1] Past this new section of road, narrow two-lane road commences, ending at Charleville. The route passes through the town, running along Main Street. The road between Charleville and Buttevant is of similar design. At Mallow a relatively high specification road is encountered, with an older bypass of the town (early 1990s) passing up the hill from it as dual carriageway. A viaduct brings the road across the Blackwater River and Valley. The rest of the route to Cork is two lanes wide, with a section of 2+1 road (a pilot installation) south of Mallow. The route becomes dual carriageway on the approach to Cork. Junctions on this dual carriageway section are not numbered.[citation needed] New relief roads in Cork bring the route into the city centre while avoiding the winding streets through which the route ran until around 2000. The route terminates at the city center with two lanes going in each direction.[citation needed]

M20

The M20 outside Limerick city approaching junction 2 northbound
A "Route Confirmatory Sign" on the M20 showing distances to destinations

M 20

Mótarbhealach M20 (Irish)
Route information
Part of IRL N20.svg
Length8 km (5.0 mi)
Planned length: 90 km (56 mi)
Existed2001–present
HistoryDeferred due to lack of funding (to "2030 or beyond")[2]
Major junctions
FromRossbrien
Major intersectionsMotorway Exit 1 Ireland.pngM7 reduced motorway IE.png
Motorway Exit 1 Ireland.pngIRL N18.svg
Motorway Exit 5 Ireland.PNGIRL N21.svg
Motorway Exit Blank Ireland.PNGIRL N72.svg
(Upon completion)
Motorway Exit Blank Ireland.PNGIRL N22.svg
(Upon completion)
ToAttyflin
Location
CountryRepublic of Ireland
Primary
destinations		Cork City, County Cork, Limerick
Highway system

Under the government's cancelled Transport 21 initiative,[3] the Atlantic Corridor road project aimed to link Letterkenny to Waterford via Limerick and Cork with high quality roadway. A major part of this proposal involved the potential upgrading of the N20 route between Cork and Limerick. It was proposed to upgrade or replace the entire N20 with a new M20, approximately 90 km (56 mi) in length. It was to be constructed in two stages: a southern section and a northern section.[4] It was suggested that the project could be progressed as a public-private partnership scheme.[5]

The first segment of M20 came into existence on 28 August 2009 following the redesignation of a 10 km (6 mi) stretch of existing N20 dual-carriageway, between Rossbrien and Attyflin, as a motorway.[6]

In October 2017, then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stated that the motorway project would be a "priority".[7] By late 2021, it was reported that there would not be a decision on a preferred route until at least early 2022.[8] The preferred M20 route was published in March 2022,[9] with the projected €1.5 billion project dated to "2030 or beyond".[2] In June 2024, the National Road Design team recommended that the revised 80km of the N20 be developed as a tolled motorway.[10] At that time, the project was estimated at €2 billion, and it was suggested that construction "could start in 2027 and be finished by 2031".[11]

Junctions

[12][13]

M20 reduced motorway IE.png
Northbound exits (read up) Junction Southbound exits (read down)
Dublin (M7 Motorway Exit 30 Ireland.PNG), Limerick, Ennis, Galway (N18) Motorway Exit 1 Ireland.png Start of motorway
Dooradoyle (R926) Motorway Exit 2 Ireland.png Dooradoyle(R926)
Parking
Lay-By Parking Ireland.png
 Parking
Raheen (R510) Motorway Exit 3 Ireland.PNG Raheen (R510)
Patrickswell (R526) Motorway Exit 4 Ireland.PNG Patrickswell (R526)
Start of motorway Motorway Exit 5 Ireland.PNG Cork, Mallow (N20)

Tralee, Castleisland, Adare (N21)

M20 reduced motorway IE.png( in planning)
Northbound exits (read up) Junction Southbound exits (read down)
Adare (N21), Croom Motorway Exit 6 Ireland.PNG Adare (N21), Croom
Bruree, Kilmallock (R518) Motorway Exit 7 Ireland.PNG Bruree, Kilmallock (R518)
Charleville Services Motorway Services Ireland.png Charleville Services
Charleville, Motorway Exit 8 Ireland.PNG Charleville,
Doneraile, Mallow East (N72) Motorway Exit 9 Ireland.PNG Doneraile, Mallow East (N72)
Mallow South Motorway Exit 10 Ireland.PNG Mallow South
Rathduff, Grenagh Motorway Exit 11 Ireland.PNG Rathduff, Grenagh
No exit Motorway Exit 12 Ireland.PNG Blarney Business Park
Blarney Motorway Exit 13 Ireland.PNG Blarney
Cork North Ring Road (N40) Motorway Exit 14 Ireland.PNG Cork North Ring Road (N40)

See also

References

  1. ^ The Irish Times, 13 July 2001, p. 2.
  2. ^ a b "Preferred route for new Limerick to Cork road revealed". rte.ie. RTÉ News. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  3. ^ Atlantic Corridor Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Minister Noel Dempsey announces €607.5 million for 2009 Regional and Local Roads Programme". Department of Transport. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009.
  5. ^ "M20 Cork Limerick Motorway Scheme Publications". Cork National Roads Office. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009.
  6. ^ Kelly, Olivia (14 July 2009). "300km of roads to be assigned as motorways". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Varadkar commits to prioritising M20 Limerick-Cork link". RTÉ News. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Disappointment expressed at delay in decision of preferred option for M20". echolive.ie. The Echo. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  9. ^ "N20 Cork-Limerick road seen as important step in linking two of Ireland's biggest city regions". thejournal.ie. Journal Media Ltd. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Proposed new Cork to Limerick route to be tolled motorway". rte.ie. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  11. ^ "€2bn Limerick-Cork M20 with cycle lanes to be first of its kind in Ireland". Irish Independent. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  12. ^ "M20 Cork - Limerick Motorway Scheme Drawing No. 1-2" (PDF). Cork County Council. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2014.
  13. ^ "M20 Cork - Limerick Motorway Scheme Drawing No. 3-4" (PDF). Cork County Council. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2014.

External links

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