R804

The start of Bridgefoot Street, from Mellowes Bridge.

The R804 is a cross-city route in Dublin, narrowly avoiding the core of the city. It is only possible to drive in the south-eastbound direction. Curiously, there is no clear alternative for the other direction, beyond taking a less direct route around city streets.

The road starts at a junction with Dorset Street. It then makes its way down the hill along Bolton Street and North King Street, picking up the Dublin Inner Orbital Route. This road, mostly dual carriageway, was intended to be a major route into the city from the north.

After crossing the R108 there are some complicated one way loops around Smithfield. These form useful routes around turning restrictions and are heavily used. This part of the R804, including Mellowes Bridge over the Liffey and Bridgefoot Street on the other side, was designated part of the main Inner Tangent in the 1960s and intended to be a dual carriageway.

Bridgefoot Street, in particular, stands out because of its dual carriageway section that is blocked by buildings on both sides. This was about as close as the Inner Tangent got to completion. A new route was chosen slightly east of here in 1973, which would have turned Smithfield Square into a large grade separated junction.

At the top of the hill, the R804 returns to being a narrower and one-way street. This was the start of the especially controversial dual carriageway project that never really stood a chance. It would have continued to Pimlico, where there may have been a large roundabout.

At this point the R804 takes a break from its affiliation with failed ring roads, although there was a plan to dual Marrowbone Lane, too. This brings the R804 to its end at McGoverns Corner, a junction with Cork Street.