Limerick County Council has advised motorists that increased speed limits will come into effect on a number of national routes in and around County Limerick from Friday, August 28th 2009.
The Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey, T.D., last month declared a total of 294km of national roads as new motorway sections under SI No. 255 of 2009. Under the changeover plans, new 120 km/h speed limits will into effect on sections of the N7 Dublin to Limerick, N20 Cork to Limerick, N18 Oranmore to Limerick and N8 Dublin to Cork roads. Special speed limits, such as construction zones, will remain in place beyond August 28th.
According to Mr. Paul Crowe, Director of Services, Limerick County Council: “The design speed of 120kph will apply to all newly declared motorway sections unless special speed limits are in operation. In addition, the designation to motorway status will also serve to protect the route against inappropriate development, including multiple access points, which would have road safety implications and affect the efficiency and service life of the route.”
He explained: “The changeover to Motorway status applies only to dual carriageways (or integrated parts thereof) that were already built, were under construction or in planning when the Roads Act 2007 was enacted. Drivers using the existing open sections of these routes should note, that until 28 August 2009, the current speed limit will apply.”
Mr Crowe advised that certain categories of road users were prohibited from using motorways. They include cyclists, pedestrians, animals, invalid-carriages, vehicles with an engine capacity of 50cc or less, people driving on “L” plates, vehicles that do not use inflated tyres, vehicles incapable of a speed of at least 50km/h, and people who do not hold a full driving licence for the category of vehicle they drive.
National Roads Affected By Motorway Changeover:
N7 Dublin to Limerick
- Limerick Southern Ring Road (Phase 1) (open to traffic) 8.5 km
- N7/N20 Rossbrien Interchange (under construction) 1.5 km
N20 Cork to Limerick
- Limerick to Attyflin (N20/N21 Junction) (open to traffic) 5 km
N18 Oranmore to Limerick
- Shannon to Ennis (open to traffic) 8.3 km
- Ennis Bypass (open to traffic) 12.5 km
- Gort to Crusheen (under construction) 22 km
- Oranmore to Gort (in planning) 28 km
N8 Dublin to Cork
- Watergrasshill to Glanmire (open to traffic) 7 km
- Glanmire Bypass (open to traffic) 6.3 km
Specific details of the affected sections of roadway are available to view and download on the Departments website at www.transport.ie
