N18 road (Ireland)
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The N18 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting the cities of Limerick and Galway. Ennis and Gort are two major towns on the route, and Shannon Airport is reached via the connecting N19. The west coast route continues on to Sligo as the N17. The section from Limerick to the N19 junction forms part of European route E20, and the entire route is part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor.[1] The section of motorway from Shannon to north of Gort is designated the M18 motorway. The tolled Limerick Tunnel forms part of the route.
Route
N18 Limerick to Shannon
As of 27 July 2010, the N18 commences at the Rosbrien interchange, a major interchange south of Limerick city, where it joins the M7 motorway to Dublin and M20 motorway towards Cork and Tralee. The dual carriageway continues north, intersecting with the N69 road, before crossing under the River Shannon using the Limerick Tunnel, this section of the route forms phase II of the Limerick Southern Ring Road. North of the River Shannon the N18 continues as dual-carriageway bypassing Cratloe, Sixmilebridge and Bunratty. The road passed alongside Bunratty Castle before the completion of the neighbouring dual-carriageway section in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The other nearby junctions were also converted to fly-overs in the 1990s.
The road continues north with junctions at Hurler's Cross and Shannon Town, there is a fly-over connecting Shannon Airport via the N19 dual-carriageway.
M18 Shannon to Gort
The N18 continues north of the N19 junction where motorway regulations are enforced and the N18 route is designated as the M18 bypassing the towns of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ennis and Gort. The motorway currently ends at Gort where the route continues as a single carriageway through County Galway. The dual-carriageway between Shannon and Ennis (including the Ennis bypass) has been included in the second tranche of motorway redesignations and gained motorway status on the 28th of August 2009.[2]
N18/M18 Exits
N18 Dual Carriageway
(01) M7 (Rosbrien Interchange) Dublin/ N20 Cork/ N21 Tralee Centre
(02) N69 (Dock Road Interchange) - (R527 Limerick City) /(N69 Foynes/ Listowel/ Tralee North)
(03) R527 Coonagh West/Caherdavin - Northbound Exit/Southbound Entry
(04) R445 Ennis Road Limerick - Southbound Exit/Northbound Entry
(05) R462 Cratloe/ Sixmilebridge South
(06) Bunratty North
(06a) Bunratty Southbound
(07) R471 Sixmilbridge Centre/ Shannon Town/ Hurlers Cross
(08) R471 Shannon Town/ Smithstown Northbound only
M18 Motorway
(09) N19 Shannon Airport
(10) R472 Newmarket on Fergus/Carraigoran
(11) R458 Quin/ Clarecastle/Ballygireen
(12) N085 Ennis South/ Ennistymon/Kilrush
(13) R352 Ennis Centre/Clooney/Tulla/Scarriff
(14) R458 Ennis North/ Barefield
(15) R458 Crusheen/Ballinruan/Tubber/Killanena
(16) R458 Gort/(N66 Loughrea)/(R461 Scariff)/(R462 Tulla)
Construction Iniment
17 N67 Kilcolgan/Kiltiernan/Ennistymon/Ballyvaughan 18 M6 Galway/Athlone/Dublin
N18 Gort to Claregalway
North of Gort the route continues north as single carriageway road and passes through several small towns, including Kilcolgan, where the N67 route through north County Clare connects. The N18 bypasses Oranmore, just outside Galway, and continues north to the M6 Dublin–Galway motorway. The interchange forms junction 19 on the M6. The N18 continues northwards to meet the N17 at Claregalway, where the route ends. The N17, coming from Galway city centre, continues into County Mayo towards Sligo.
History
Major improvements to the N18 route have been made over the past decade. Originally the route was a narrow single carriageway route that ran through all the main towns and villages between Limerick and Claregalway where the route terminates. The first improvements involved the dualling of the Limerick, Bunratty and Shannon route. The Newmarket on Fergus bypass opened in December 2002 and the Ennis bypass opened in 2007. Both were redesignated as motorway in August 2009. The Limerick Tunnel and phase II of the Limerick Southern Ring Road opened in July 2010 forming a continuous motorway dual-carriageway from the N/M18 to the M7 and M20 outside Limerick. On November 12, 2010 the €207 million Gort to Crusheen(M18) bypass was opened. The remaining single carriageway sections are due for upgradeing with construction due to begin in 2011.
Future Upgrades
Gort to Oranmore (Construction Scheduled To Begin January 2011)
The Gort to Tuam (M18/M17) route is 58 km (36 mi.) long and the BAM Balfour Beatty Consortium was to begin construction in January 2011. It was expected that work on the project would be completed by 2014. This project involves the proposed construction of a new standard 'High-quality dual carriageway' from Gort to Oranmore, a total distance of 27 km (17 mi). Balfour Beatty has financing issues which has prevented commencement as of March 2012 and which issues have also affected another contract of theirs on the M11 Motorway north of Arklow.
It will connect to the M17 Motorway where they cross the M6 Motorway. This has also been included in the second tranche of motorway redesignations and is likely to open as motorway.[3]
Junctions
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(M7 ) Rossbrien, Cork (M20  ) |
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Rossbrien, Limerick (city centre) (R509), Cork (M20 ) |
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| Dock Road (N69) |
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Dock Road (N69) | |
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Coonagh West  |
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| Ennis Road (former N18) |
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Ennis Road (former N18) | |
| Cratloe, Sixmilebridge (R462) |
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Cratloe, (Sixmilebridge) (R462) | |
| Bunratty |
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Bunratty | |
| Hurler's Cross, Shannon Town, (Sixmilebridge) (R471) |
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Hurler's Cross, Sixmilebridge, Shannon Town (R471) | |
| Shannon Town Centre (R471) |
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| Northbound exit | Junction | Southbound exit | |
| Shannon (N19) |
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Shannon (N19) | |
| Newmarket-on-Fergus (R472) |
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Newmarket-on-Fergus (R472) | |
| Clarecastle (R458) |
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Clarecastle (R458) | |
| Ennis (N85) |
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Ennis (N85) | |
| Ennis, Scarriff, Tulla (R352) |
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Ennis, Scarriff, Tulla (R352) | |
| Ennis (R458) |
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Ennis (R458) | |
| Crusheen (R458) |
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Crusheen (R458) | |
| Gort (R458) |
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Gort (R458) | |
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| Northbound exit | Junction | Southbound exit | Completion |
| Kiltiernan |
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Kiltiernan |
official date |
Galway, Athlone, Dublin (M6  ) |
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Galway, Athlone, Dublin (M6 ) |
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