N4 road
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| Image:N4 route marker.png Image:M4 route marker.png | |
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| Destinations (E to W) | |
| On route / bypassed / bypassed by M4 | |
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* 2+2 bypass completed November 2007. † Inner relief road ‡ Roosky itself is in County Roscommon. | |
The N4 road is a National Primary Route in the Republic of Ireland, running from Dublin to the northwest of Ireland and Sligo Town. The N6 road to Galway diverges from this route after Kinnegad, while the N5 road to Castlebar and Westport diverges at Longford town. The section of the N4 that is motorway standard is designated the M4 motorway.
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[edit] Road Standard
The road is a dual carriageway from Heuston Station, Dublin to Mullingar (including the motorway section). This section of road intersects with the M50 motorway at Junction 7. The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is located at this junction. It has three lanes and a bus lane in each direction between the M50 and east of Lucan. The speed limit was initially 40mph (60 km/h from January 2005) after its upgrade in 1999, despite the quality of the road. In June 2005, the speed limit was increased to 80 km/h. The N4 is the only one of the main inter-urban national routes whose dual carriageway section runs right into the city centre. For this reason, the start point of the N7 was changed to its junction with the M50 in 1994, with N7 traffic encouraged to use the M50 and N4 between the city centre and Red Cow rather than its original route through Inchicore.
After the motorway section (see below) ends west of Kinnegad, a low quality dual carriageway connects the M4 with the Mullingar bypass. This section has median crossings, at grade junctions, and in one section no hard shoulder. The Mullingar bypass is however grade separated and to near-motorway standard. The road becomes a dual carriageway again through Sligo town.
[edit] M4 Motorway
The section from west of Lucan to west of Kinnegad is now the M4 motorway, also dubbed the Leixlip-Maynooth-Kilcock Bypass (phase 1) and the Kinnegad-Enfield-Kilcock Motorway during its construction. The second section of the M4 opened on 12 December 2005 (see thumbnail). A toll of €2.70 for cars is charged at a toll plaza near Enfield (thus is it possible to drive on parts of the M4 without having to pay a toll). Eurolink operate this toll scheme, the first in Ireland not operated by NTR plc. From 2005 to 2007, NTR plc and Eurolink were in dispute over Eurolink's failure to accept NTR's EazyPass electronic toll system on the M4. This was resolved with the establishment of an electronic toll clearing system on 14 June 2007 [1], meaning that each toll company's electronic tag will work on all toll roads in the State.
Eurolink were slammed in the July 1st 2006 edition of the Meath Chronicle when a Meath County Councillor claimed that large sections of the new motorway had to be replaced within 6 months of the road being officially opened. “It is clear from an early stage of planning and construction that the principle criterion in the entire project was to get the road built as cheaply and as quickly as possible to start generating revenue,” Colr Carey, of Fine Gael claimed. He said that he feared shortcuts were taken and corners cut in haste to start collecting tolls. “Any legitimate queries raised during the construction were dismissed as crank or not addressed at all.” The paper claims up to 10% of the €420 million road project had "to be ripped up and replaced".
On September 19th 2006, Eurolink were announced as preferred tenderer for the M3 motorway also in County Meath.
The bypassed road (formerly the N4), has been reclassified as the R148 road.
[edit] Motorway Route
| M4 motorway | |
| Image:UK motorway M4.PNG | |
| Length | 34 miles (54.7 km) |
| Direction | East - West |
| Start | Lucan |
| Primary destinations | Leixlip Kilcock Enfield |
| End | Kinnegad |
| Construction dates | 1994 - 2003 - 2005 |
| Motorways joined | 1 - Image:UK motorway M6.PNG M6 motorway |
There are no junctions 4-7, though it is possible that these numbers will be later re-assigned to the existing junctions 2-3, with these numbers then possibly re-assigned to the Lucan interchange and the yet to be constructed Esker interchange on the N4. Currently, Junction 2a is the only motorway junction number in the Republic of Ireland to have a letter, as it was constructed later between the present junctions 2 and 3. The Mullingar bypass also has junction numbers, though these begin again at J9 and appear to be numbered according to the original scheme.
| M4 Motorway | ||
| Westbound | Junction | Eastbound |
| Start of motorway | 2 | Leixlip, Celbridge R148 |
| Leixlip West, Celbridge West R449 | 2a | Leixlip West, Celbridge West R449 |
| Maynooth, Clane, Naas | 3 | Maynooth, Naas |
| Kilcock, Clane R407 | 8 | Kilcock, Clane R407 |
| Toll plaza | ||
| Enfield, Edenderry R402 | 9 | Enfield, Edenderry R402 |
| Kinnegad R401 | 10 | Kinnegad R401 |
| Galway, Athlone N6 | 11 | No exit - traffic joins from M6 |
| Kinnegad | 12 | Start of motorway regulations |
[edit] Future upgrades
Work has begun on upgrading the N4/M50 interchange to a freeflowing fully grade separated interchange. For more details, see the M50 motorway article.
While no further motorway projects are at present planned on the N4, it is planned to upgrade the road between the M50 and Leixlip to fully grade separated standard, similar to the improved N7 Naas Road scheme. The road will be widened to three lanes in each direction also. Construction is due to start in 2007.
[edit] References
- Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006 (PDF)- Department of Transport
- Roads Act, 1993 (Classification of National Roads) (Kilkock - Kinnegad Route) Order, 2003
National primary roads of the Republic of Ireland |
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See also: National Development Plan · National Roads Authority |
no:N4 sv:N4
