This article is about the M18 in the Republic of Ireland. For the similarly numbered motorway in England, see M18.
Looking north on the M18 towards Rathmorrissey.
The M18 is a motorway-standard upgrade of the N18 between Limerick and Galway. Currently, motorway restrictions start at Junction 9 with the N19 to Shannon, and continue until the road becomes the M17 at the Rathmorrisy Interchange.
The M18 was built in the early 21st century as a replacement for the sub-standard N18. The first section to open was junction 9 (Shannon) to 14 (Crusheen). The next was junctions 14 to 16 (Gort), which opened at 15:00 on 12 November 2010. There was a delay for the next section, and by this point the remaining N18 was seen as a congestion hot-spot, as a single carriageway road with several level crossings in between new motorways. The final section, junctions 16 to 18 (Rathmorrisy) began construction on 9 May 2014, and opened on 27 September 2017.
External links
Irish Statute Book
Roads Act 2007 (Declaration of Motorways) Order 2009 - This instrument converts the following sections of the N18 to motorway:Shannon to Ennis (known as Ballycasey to Dromoland), Ennis Bypass (also known as N18 Dromoland to Crusheen), Gort to Crusheen, Oranmore to Gort