IRL: N2 Ardee to Border

[c2R]

I think this is very complicated, as per much of the cross border stuff - however, there has been a lot of recent progress in terms of the A6 improvements between Belfast and Derry, and there are clearly further plans in progress as all-Ireland priorities. The A5 proposed project in the north, plus the improvements to the national road network in Donegal between Letterkenny, Derry, Ballybofey, and Strabane are the key next steps.

While linking directly with Dublin via the N2, or N2/N33 are important from a political perspective, and the west coast corridor is important to further develop the economy from the west - from a freight perspective, the ports are all on the east and south coasts, so linking with Belfast, Dublin, Rosslare are most important; with Larne, Warrenpoint, and Ringaskiddy being secondary objectives.

In broader terms, the government in the south need to decide on a few things....
* are they going to replace Dublin port with a deepwater port somewhere else along the eastern seaboard?
* is there appetite for an outer western orbital, potentially linking Drogheda with Naas?
* is the strategic objective for the N2 to bypass Slane and encourage traffic to shunpike the M1 toll at Drogheda, or is the strategic object to widen the M1 and take N2 traffic off at Ardee? Also, what's the priority of this versus other regional priorities?

[wallmeerkat]

* is there appetite for an outer western orbital, potentially linking Drogheda with Naas?

This ^ - The M50 was originally meant to be a bypass of Dublin city, but Dublin has now grown beyond it so it's also acting as a local distributor.

The last time I went to Galway (from NI/the North) I turned off the M1 took the N52 via Ardee and Mullingar and met the M6/N6 there. The hub and spoke model is alright if you're trying to get to/from Dublin, not so much cross country. Some extra links would be welcome.

[AndyB]

I would favour diverting the N2 over the N33, detrunking the old N2, and downgrading the Ashbourne bypass with it (but upsigning the lot to 100km/h). The rest of the N2 between Dublin and Ardee is more pleasant than the Drumcondra Road, but it’s still only a similar standard to the old N1 and other former national roads across Ireland.

[c2R]

I would favour diverting the N2 over the N33, detrunking the old N2, and downgrading the Ashbourne bypass with it (but upsigning the lot to 100km/h). The rest of the N2 between Dublin and Ardee is more pleasant than the Drumcondra Road, but it’s still only a similar standard to the old N1 and other former national roads across Ireland.

That's an interesting point - I would, at one time have agreed... but the M1 is suffering from heavy amounts of commuter traffic, and is slowly being widened... This is a combination of poor rail and light rail connectivity (remember the grand plans for the DART that were never realised, or the metro system that is mired in planning hell); also that house pricing in Dublin is horrendous, while in Down, Louth, Armagh, and Meath it is much cheaper - meaning that the new estates being built around Newry and Dundalk are basically full of commuters toward Dublin by road in the morning.

Some of the wealth of the island does need to be diverted to better metropolitan transit in Dublin (underground, and DART and LUAS extensions); probably an outer orbital; higher density housing in Dublin; consideration to moving the port out of the city; high speed rail; connecting the airport and port to the city by public transport.... but... the M1 corridor is a commuter magnet, and a strategic link between the two largest settlements on the island; and the current method of freight connectivity between the ports and those urban areas. Redundancy in the form of improvement of the N2 to motorway standard between Ardee and the M2 at Tayto Park would provide redundancy of routes and extra capacity at a relatively low cost compared with widening the M1 heading north.

[Bryn666]

I would favour diverting the N2 over the N33, detrunking the old N2, and downgrading the Ashbourne bypass with it (but upsigning the lot to 100km/h). The rest of the N2 between Dublin and Ardee is more pleasant than the Drumcondra Road, but it’s still only a similar standard to the old N1 and other former national roads across Ireland.

Re-route the N2, but perhaps renumber the existing corridor as N42 or something, it's still pretty important as a national primary route.

[nowster]

2. (b) The N2 is officially detrunked between Dublin and Ardee, and renumbered R135. The new route is numbered M2 in full, meaning that the M2 now starts at Drogheda, and runs into the northwest as a new motorway.

The way motorways work in Ireland is that any Mx is legally an Nx in a disguise which consists of blue signs and restrictions.

[bothar]

I would favour diverting the N2 over the N33, detrunking the old N2, and downgrading the Ashbourne bypass with it (but upsigning the lot to 100km/h). The rest of the N2 between Dublin and Ardee is more pleasant than the Drumcondra Road, but it’s still only a similar standard to the old N1 and other former national roads across Ireland.

I disagree, sending all traffic from a quarter of the island to one junction does not make sense, in my opinion. Also changing the speed limit on the M2 for no particular reason is what gives politicians a bad name. There is already a plan for dualling the 6km of the N2 from the M2 to the R152 and for the Slane bypass.

[AndyB]

2. (b) The N2 is officially detrunked between Dublin and Ardee, and renumbered R135. The new route is numbered M2 in full, meaning that the M2 now starts at Drogheda, and runs into the northwest as a new motorway.

The way motorways work in Ireland is that any Mx is legally an Nx in a disguise which consists of blue signs and restrictions.

Theoretically, an R road can be a motorway.

[nowster]

2. (b) The N2 is officially detrunked between Dublin and Ardee, and renumbered R135. The new route is numbered M2 in full, meaning that the M2 now starts at Drogheda, and runs into the northwest as a new motorway.

The way motorways work in Ireland is that any Mx is legally an Nx in a disguise which consists of blue signs and restrictions.

Theoretically, an R road can be a motorway.

True. I hadn't considered that there are no overlaps between the numbers: all N roads are 1 or 2 digits, all R roads are three digits, and L roads are probably 4 or more digits.

[DL_Michael]

* is the strategic objective for the N2 to bypass Slane and encourage traffic to shunpike the M1 toll at Drogheda, or is the strategic object to widen the M1 and take N2 traffic off at Ardee?

Thanks to everyone for your feedback.

• Based on your feedback, the big question seems to be cost.
  
  • Will it be cheaper to widen the M1 to D3M between Junction 4 and Junction 14 and build a motorway between Junction 14 and the northwest (Letterkenny and Derry/Londonderry)?
    
    Or.
  • Will it be cheaper to build a motorway between Ashbourne and the northwest (Letterkenny and Derry/Londonderry)?

Please reply with your feedback.

[Owain]

I would favour diverting the N2 over the N33, detrunking the old N2, and downgrading the Ashbourne bypass with it (but upsigning the lot to 100km/h). The rest of the N2 between Dublin and Ardee is more pleasant than the Drumcondra Road, but it’s still only a similar standard to the old N1 and other former national roads across Ireland.

Re-route the N2, but perhaps renumber the existing corridor as N42 or something, it's still pretty important as a national primary route.

N12.

(The existing one is a waste of a number, and means you have three numbers on the road between Cavan and Armagh, when you could get away with two.)