N8/N25/N40 - Dunkettle Interchange [open to traffic]

The bit that keeps causing me issues is the merge just before the tunnel mouth. It's just really uncomfortable and traffic doesn't always behave calmly, even though they know the junction's a work in progress.

KrisW1001

Large groups of people gravitate toward the intelligence level of the most stupid member.

It's going to take a while for people to figure out that the lane they'e been using for 20 years has now changed.

DylanQuestion

They need to rip down most of the signage and re-do it. Good luck to anyone coming from the east trying to figure out the sign saying

CITY CENTRE

------------------

CORK | LIMERICK

I was on the M50 today and they used City Centre throughout instead of Dublin, including signs with names of other cities. Why the N8 isn't City Centre, and why Glanmire isn't part of Cork, I'll never get

Mushy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123708#Comment_121123708

Oddly enough, one of the gantry signs eastbound beside Lilly (maybe bit after) was nearly all torn down and the few place names were all painted over

Just drove from N40 through the tunnel and headed towards the city centre. The temporary arrangement into the N8 to the city centre isn’t adequately signed. It doesn’t even look like it’s a road. I wasn’t sure for a moment if I was just driving into a construction entrance as there was little traffic and it was dark.

They need a marker at the junction.

Also there’s a horrifically bad hidden dip in the surface just as you exit the construction work back onto the N8. Even as slow speed it made one hell of a bang.

DylanQuestion

I was heading to the city centre on the aircoach from the M8. The driver first ended up in Little Island, then in the tunnel. I’m not sure if he was confused by the signage or what

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121123708#Comment_121123708

It’s a pedantic signage policy and it’s even made worse by the fact that Irish cities tend to be within large counties of the same same.

DylanQuestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124163#Comment_121124163

Is the M50 an exception, or was it just done before the policy?

KrisW1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121124163#Comment_121124163

Counties are never given as destinations on signage. If they were, "Co. Cork" and "Cork" are clearly different. The real problem is the lack of an explicit way of specifying the way to the centre of a destination.

The current rules say that for cities, you use "An Lár / NAME" and for towns you use "Ainm / TOWN CENTRE". This has the problem of relying on city visitors knowing Irish, and town visitors knowing the original Irish names of places...a problem for a country that has so many tourists...good luck with places like Wexford or Portarlington whose Irish names bear no relation to the ones used by English speakers.

Oddly the rules allow "East/West/North/South" modifiers to names, but not "Centre".

I posted here (ages ago) that we should use the place name with the Italian "bullseye" symbol to indicate that it's the route to the centre - I still think it would be good.

Chris_5339762

Traffic backed up from the Douglas Flyover to the tunnel this morning - I hate to say it but just as I predicted.

Argue all you want about the policies for signage in Ireland, the dual language requirements, and comparisons with Europe, but the problem here at Dunkettle is that it is just plain wrong.

cork_south

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121125041#Comment_121125041

It is backed up to Kinsale flyover in the evenings. It's not looking too good but still need to wait for the temp speed limits around Mahon to be removed before judging the outcome of the project.

DylanQuestion

The N40 has CORK (West) by Ballincollig, CORK (Centre) by Kinsale Road and CORK (East) by Mahon/Dunkettle - except by Glanmire, where it says CORK (Centre). Now CORK (East) by Mahon has been replaced with just CORK. Once you get off the N40 and onto the N27, the CORK (Centre) changes to City Centre. There are signs with CORK (Centre) right next to signs for UCC and Turner’s Cross. Painted lettering on the N27 road surface says CITY N27, while the M50 says CITY CENTRE. Not to mention the absolute mess of N25 by Little Island having a sign for CORK and CITY CENTRE. It makes no sense to me, especially as all the signage for Cork Airport just says AIRPORT. If people are expected to know what AIRPORT means, they can know what CITY CENTRE means. Same with CITY and AIRPORT on the VMS Signs

I emailed TII about this back in 2021 and was assured my recommendations would be taken on board. Any reference to the N8, N27 and N22 within the Cork City boundary should read CITY CENTRE. Any reference to the N28 and N71 within the Cork City boundary should reference SOUTH RING and the nearest national road to CITY CENTRE. The tunnel from Dunkettle should direct road users to WESTBOUND and SOUTHSIDE. This would all be consistent, easily understood, and correct. Instead, we have signs on the N25 saying CITY CENTRE above CORK and LIMERICK, signs on the M8 saying CORK kilometres after the WELCOME TO CORK CITY sign, signs on the N8 saying CORK, CORK (Centre) and CITY CENTRE… it’s a complete mess

Finally, the VMS signs need to elaborate beyond Junction numbers. I doubt many people know N40 J11 means Dunkettle, M8 J18 means Glanmire and N25 J2 means Little Island. They should just be

DUNKETTLE

GLANMIRE (M8)

LITTLE ISLAND (N25)

Like how they have no issue using J10 MAHON or RINGASKIDDY

niloc1951

FWIW, I reckon the placement, design, and procurement of signage for the project was delegated to a person who doesn't drive and has no understanding of lane and road space management.

cork_south

The colleges are back and it's a wet morning, westbound traffic backed up from Bloomfield to the tunnel having a knock-on effect towards Carrigtwohill and up the M8.

As predicted, the free flow at Dunettle is mute (even when the junction is fully complete). Just wait for the M28 to be done to see even worse delays at Bloomfield.

Chris_5339762

I called that some time ago as being the worst bottleneck in the country once the M28 is built.

All for the sake of less than 1 mile of dual carriageway. But admittedly over Douglas which will be extremely difficult to solve - albeit easy enough from the engineering side.

Chris_5339762

Change afoot tonight... looks like N40 to N25E traffic will be shunted to the right as we come out of the tunnel over the coming days. Could see newly lined lanes waiting to be applied - but I was driving so couldn't really see detail.

Outkast_IRE

As a local living in Little Island / Glounthaune I notice a huge increase in traffic using glounthaune and little island to access the new bridge to little island and join the N25 west , queue skipping essentially .

A traffic survey on this road may be needed eventually as it's gone mad busy at peak times .

Corkladddd!!

Came through the new alignment, my thought is it should make a significant difference after this morning once people see it, the N23E and M8N connects are still acute turns but expect this will improve over the coming days/weeks?

Also unrelated but jesus people need to turn on their lights.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121131619#Comment_121131619

I know you like patting yourself on the back, but "repainting the lines" is what plenty on here have been saying the past few weeks. It was the obvious answer to all the issues

hans aus dtschl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121128971#Comment_121128971

I don't see the value in widening Douglas. It's a single point of failure for the entire Cork transport network. What we need to put money into now after Dunkettle is alternatives and redundancy. Northern Bypass and Distributor, yes, but even more urgently other modes. It's not OK that 100k vehicles are traveling through the tunnel each day when the population of the Cork metro area is around 300-350k.

Markcheese

Either a Northern distributor, and or a north ring will take decades to come through ,

We're just not great with public transport , and once the public have pushed to drive everywhere ,they're not going back.

hans aus dtschl

Yes but any Douglas widening would also likely take decades to come through.

We need to do the sustainable transport bit. The tunnel provides a link for drivers (and car passengers) whereas all others have no river crossing between Michael Collins Bridge and Passage. Not even a bus. That's madness. Basically it's a case of "the only mode of transport we have provided infrastructure for is cars", with the obvious result that an enormous amount of people are now locked into car ownership.

If anyone thinks we can "more of same" our way out of this they're mistaken, because the tunnel is near its throughput design limit. The time for sticking plasters is over, and it's now time to start investing in more efficient systems. That's without talking about the environment, emissions, quality of life, health, lifestyles, blah blah blah.

niloc1951

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134373#Comment_121134373

Here's an answer. I've traveled on it last June, in a double-decker bus, it's part of a local bus route https://www.google.com/maps/@50.6831192,-1.9487024,3a,75y,205.15h,94.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1scDDfAh8tFuH0Gp0YK_MNLg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu

cork_south

Filter lane from N40 to town closed off until very close to the turn off.

Predicting carnage on the South Ring after 5pm.

niloc1951

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134530#Comment_121134530

The eastbound side is already backed up to before Bloomfield, Jct 9.

Markcheese

I still think there should be a south ring / tunnel dunkettke orbital bus route - possibly with hard shoulder running ,and a stop at each junction ,

A bit tricky now with the dunkettke works ..

cork_south

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121134629#Comment_121134629

Backed up west of Kinsale flyover now.

8km tailback from the free flow junction.

flexcon

Seriously. All evening this left hand lane coming from tunnel is just empty....This signage is not working.?

Chris_5339762

I came through about 7pm and it was still backed up to Bloomfield. I just got into the right hand lane and, with just a few stops, coasted all the way to Dunkettle at 50 or 60kmh.

The new lane arrangement feels very tight in places though. But at least BOTH lanes go to N25 now, which can't be taken away really.

niloc1951

So, when are they going to change the stupid signs and road markings which say the righthand lane is for the M8 only 🤔