N4 road (Ireland)




















N4 road shield}}


N4 road
Route information
Length 198.21 km (123.16 mi)
Location
Primary
destinations
(bypassed routes in italics)


  • County Dublin

    • M50

    • Lucan




  • County Kildare

    • Leixlip

    • Maynooth

    • Kilcock




  • County Meath

    • Enfield

    • Clonard




  • County Westmeath

    • M6


    • Kinnegad (M6 to Galway)

    • Mullingar

    • N52

    • Ballinalack

    • Rathowen




  • County Longford

    • Edgeworthstown

    • N63


    • Longford Town (N5 to Westport)

    • Ireland

    • Newtownforbes




  • County Leitrim

    • Roosky

    • Dromod

    • Aghamore

    • Drumsna

    • Jamestown

    • Carrick-on-Shannon

    • R280




  • County Roscommon

    • Cootehall

    • Boyle

    • N61




  • County Sligo

    • Ballinafad

    • Castlebaldwin

    • Riverstown

    • N17

    • Collooney

    • N59

    • Ballysadare


    • Sligo town

    • N16

    • N15





Road network

  • Roads in Ireland


  • Motorways

  • Primary

  • Secondary

  • Regional









































M4 motorway shield}}


M4 motorway
Route information
Part of IRL N4.svg
Length 62 km (39 mi)
Existed 1994–present
History Completed 1994–2006
Major junctions
From Lucan
 
Motorway Exit 11 Ireland.PNGM6 reduced motorway IE.png
To Kinnegad
Location
Primary
destinations

Leixlip, Kilcock, Enfield

Road network

  • Roads in Ireland


  • Motorways

  • Primary

  • Secondary

  • Regional





The 2+2 section of the N4.


The N4 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running from Dublin to the northwest of Ireland and Sligo town. The M6 to Galway diverges from this route after Kinnegad, while the N5 to Westport diverges at Longford town. The section of the N4 that is motorway-standard is designated the M4 motorway.




Contents






  • 1 Road standard


  • 2 Map of route


  • 3 M4 motorway


    • 3.1 Tolled section of the M4 motorway




  • 4 Junctions


    • 4.1 Motorway reclassification




  • 5 Bypasses


  • 6 Upgrades


    • 6.1 Planned improvements to the route




  • 7 See also


  • 8 References





Road standard


The N4 originates at an intersection with the M50 motorway at Junction 7. This is also Junction 1 of the N/M4. The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is located at junction 2. The road has three lanes and a bus lane in each direction between the M50 and start of the M4 at Leixlip.


The N4 was the only one of the main inter-urban national routes whose dual-carriageway section continued into the city centre; however, the section inside the M50 was re-classified as the R148 in 2012.[1]


Heading west, the PPP motorway section (see below) ends west of Kinnegad, and the motorway terminates 5 km further west; it continues as HQDC and bypasses Mullingar. From the Mullingar bypass to Edgeworthstown, the road is wide single carriageway with hard shoulders. Between Edgeworthstown and Longford, there is a lower standard single carriageway road. Between Longford and Rooskey single carriageway continues at a higher standard. Dromod and Rooskey were bypassed in late 2007. This section of road consists of three roundabouts and Type 2 dual carriageway, i.e.: two lanes in each direction and no hard shoulder. The road resumes as a single carriageway with hard shoulders until it reaches Carrick-on-Shannon, where it becomes a local urban road through five roundabouts, and passing over the River Shannon into County Roscommon. The road becomes high-quality single carriageway bypass 3 km outside of Boyle town, with periodic alternating overtaking lanes passing Lough Key Forest Park and Ballinafad until it reaches Castlebaldwin. From Castlebaldwin to the Collooney dual carriageway the road is a single narrow carriageway with intermittent hard shoulders and several dangerous bends. Funding for the expansion of this section was announced in October 2018.[2] The road becomes near-motorway standard dual carriageway again at Collooney, approaching Sligo town.



Map of route


  • Route of N4 overlaid on Google Maps


M4 motorway


The section from Leixlip to west of Kinnegad is the M4 motorway. The first section of this motorway (Leixlip - Kilcock) was opened on 19 December 1994.



Tolled section of the M4 motorway


Under the Government announcement of the pilot projects on 1 June 1999 this project was to be assessed by the NRA for its suitability to be advanced as a Public-private partnership (PPP). Subsequently the project was included as one of the projects approved under Tranche II of the PPP Roads programme as announced by the NRA in June 2000. The project involved the construction of 39 km of motorway from Kinnegad to Kilcock and is an extension of the Kilcock-Maynooth-Leixlip motorway on the N4/N6 Sligo/Galway to Dublin route. The motorway by-passes the towns of Enfield and Kinnegad.


The PPP contract was awarded in March 2003 to the EuroLink Consortium (SIAC Construction Ltd and Cintra - Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte S.A.) and allows for them to collect tolls for 30 years from that date.


This tolled section (from Kilcock to Kinnegad) opened on 30 January 2006, and is the second-most expensive toll road in Ireland (after the Dublin Port Tunnel). A toll of €2.90 (as of 2013) for cars is charged at a toll plaza just west of Kilcock and at smaller toll plazas at on and off ramps at Enfield. Between Enfield and Kinnegad no further access to the M4 is possible.


Eurolink operate this toll scheme, the first in Ireland not operated by NTR plc. From 2005 to 2007, Eurolink started to accept several tags issued by other motorways such as M1, M8, eTrip and Dublin Port Tunnel tags. Finally on 14 June 2007 NTR plc joined the Nationwide Electronic Toll Payment System introducing their popular EazyPass tags on the system and allowing all other toll plazas in the country (different from those owned by NTR plc) to accept them,[3] meaning that each toll company's electronic tag will work on all toll roads in the State.


In the 1 July 2006 edition of the Meath Chronicle it was claimed that up to 10% of the €420 million road project had "to be ripped up and replaced" shortly after it opened due to rushed construction, however this cost would have had to be carried by the toll operators, not the state, as per the contract.


The bypassed former N4 road has been reclassified as the R148.



Junctions























































































































IRL N4.svg
Westbound exit
Junction
Eastbound exit

M50 motorway Motorway Exit 7 Ireland.PNG: Dublin Port, Bray and ALL OTHER ROUTES M50

Motorway Exit 1 Ireland.png

M50 motorway Motorway Exit 7 Ireland.PNG: Dublin Port, Bray and ALL OTHER ROUTES M50

Liffey Valley Interchange: Fonthill, Liffey Valley R113

Motorway Exit 2 Ireland.png

Liffey Valley Interchange: Fonthill, Liffey Valley R113

Ballydowd Interchange: Ballyowen, Lucan R136

Motorway Exit 3 Ireland.PNG

Ballydowd Interchange: Ballyowen, Lucan R136

Newcastle Road Interchange: Lucan, Adamstown R120

Motorway Exit 4 Ireland.PNG

Newcastle Road Interchange: Lucan, Adamstown R120
Dodsboro, Kew Park L1018

Motorway Exit 4A Ireland.png
Dodsboro L1018

Leixlip Interchange: Celbridge, Leixlip R148

Motorway Exit 5 Ireland.PNG

Leixlip Interchange: Leixlip (East), Celbridge (East) R148

M4 reduced motorway IE.png
Westbound exit
Junction
Eastbound exit
Leixlip West, Celbridge West R449

Motorway Exit 6 Ireland.PNG
Leixlip West, Celbridge West R449

Maynooth, Naas R406

Motorway Exit 7 Ireland.PNG

Maynooth, Naas R406

Clane, Kilcock R407

Motorway Exit 8 Ireland.PNG

Clane, Kilcock, Trim R407

Ireland Road Toll Symbol.png

Enfield, Edenderry R402

Motorway Exit 9 Ireland.PNG

Enfield, Edenderry R402

Enfield services

Motorway Services Ireland.png

Enfield services
Kinnegad R401

Motorway Exit 10 Ireland.PNG
Kinnegad R401

Galway, Athlone (M6 Motorway Exit 1 Ireland.png)

Motorway Exit 11 Ireland.PNG

No access
Kinnegad

Motorway Exit 12 Ireland.PNG

Kinnegad
McNead's Bridge

Motorway Exit 13 Ireland.PNG
McNead's Bridge

M4 reduced motorway IE.png (in planning)
Westbound exit
Junction
Eastbound exit
The Downs R156

Motorway Exit 14 Ireland.PNG
The Downs R156

Mullingar South, Tullamore N52

Motorway Exit 15 Ireland.PNG

Mullingar South, Tullamore N52

Mullingar, Delvin N52

Motorway Exit 16 Ireland.PNG

Mullingar, Delvin N52

Mullingar North, Castlepollard N52

Motorway Exit 17 Ireland.PNG

Mullingar North, Castlepollard N52

Road continues as N4 for Mullingar, Longford, (N5), Sligo


Motorway reclassification


On 28 August 2009 the Department of Transport implemented the second round of proposed reclassifications of dual carriageways as motorways under the Roads Act 2007. A short section of the N4 between Kinnegad (J12) and McNead's Bridge (J13) was affected by this. This extended the M4 westward by 6.8 km.



Bypasses




Travelling East along the upgraded Lucan Bypass in west Dublin.




The N4 at the conclusion of the Lucan Bypass.



  • Palmerstown – 1984

  • Lucan – 1988

  • Leixlip, Maynooth, Kilcock – 1994

  • Mullingar – 1994

  • Longford – 1995

  • Drumsna, Jamestown – 1997

  • Collooney, Ballisodare – January 1998

  • Boyle, Ballinafad – 1998-1999

  • Sligo (Partially) – September 2005

  • Enfield, Kinnegad – January 2006

  • Edgeworthstown – July 2006

  • Dromod, Roosky – December 2007



Upgrades




J11; M6/M4 junction (prior to redesignation of the N6 → M6).


In July 2009 an upgrade of the section between the M50 junction and the Leixlip interchange was completed. On this section the road is three lanes in each direction, the median crossings were removed and the junction with the R120 is a fully grade-separated junction. Private accesses and some left turns remain preventing the section from being designated a motorway. The speed limit is 80 km/h. [1][permanent dead link] There are currently no signal-controlled junctions on the N/M4 between the M50 motorway and the Sligo throughpass.


In 2013 a 5km stretch of dual carriageway with at-grade crossover junctions between the M4 and the Mullingar bypass was upgraded to HQDC.



Planned improvements to the route




N4 between Kinnegad and Mullingar; former N4 (now R148) in left of picture. (This section was redesignated as motorway in August 2009)



  • Mullingar bypass to Longford; 40 km dual carriageway ; at constraints study stage[4]


  • Dromod to Carrick-on-Shannon; 11 km; at feasibility study stage[5]

  • Carrick-on-Shannon Bypass; 10 km; preliminary design stage[6]

  • Cortober to Castlebaldwin; 28 km retro upgrade of standard single carriageway road to 2+1 road; at constraints study stage[7]

  • Collooney to Castlebaldwin; 15 km greenfield 2+2 road; at preliminary design stage[8]

  • Sligo Western Relief Road; 8 km; at feasibility study stage[9]

  • The motorway-style dual carriageway of the N4, running from Collooney—15 km outside Sligo—to Summerhill in Sligo town is not expected to be re-classified as motorway in the near future.



See also



  • Roads in Ireland

  • Motorways in Ireland

  • National secondary road

  • Regional road



References




  • Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006 – Department of Transport

  • Roads Act, 1993 (Classification of National Roads) (Kilkock – Kinnegad Route) Order, 2003

  • Eurolink Motorway M4 website





  1. ^ Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2012


  2. ^ "#Budget19 Live: The main points from today's budget". IrishExaminer.ie. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-11-18. Retrieved 2008-02-11.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  4. ^ N4 Mullingar to Longford[permanent dead link]


  5. ^ N4 Carrick on Shannon to Dromod[permanent dead link]


  6. ^ N4 Carrick on Shannon Bypass[permanent dead link]


  7. ^ N4 Cortober to Castlebaldwin[permanent dead link]


  8. ^ N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin[permanent dead link]


  9. ^ N4 Sligo Western Relief Road[permanent dead link]










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