How much did Motorways improve the driving times

Gusser09 · 19-05-2023 3:13pm

The N4 from Mullingar to Sligo is a nightmare still. It needs attention. No reason why that trip could be brought down to 90 mins. I done it recently at it was approx 2hrs30. Donegal should be factored into this also.

recyclops · 19-05-2023 3:16pm

Ashford and Rathnew were the bane of my childhood and I always thought they were absolutely miles apart, live nearby now and its crazy really, Arklow was mental on a bank holiday weekend.

this is a great resource for layering over the latest aerial photos and maps

https://webapps.geohive.ie/mapviewer/index.html

L1011 · 19-05-2023 4:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120616896#Comment_120616896

DC the entire way is planned but Ryan is not putting any effort in to even letting stuff go to planning.

The last lethal bit (beyond Castlebaldwin) was done, now Mullingar to Longford, and Carrick need to be prioritised

Jayuu · 19-05-2023 7:01pm

Mother Hubbards in Enfield used to be our regular stop for breakfast on the way to Athlone/Galway before the M6.

I remember the old N9 as well. That was a nightmare in places especially the bit from Waterford to Kilkenny especially and in around Moone/Timolin or Kilcullen.

I'm sure the people who live in these bypassed places don't miss the traffic either. Improved infrastructure doesn't just benefit the drivers, it also makes those place more pleasant for those who live in them.

19-05-2023 7:08pm

You really needed those breaks back in the day.

I remember Cork-Dublin stop off at Urlingford and some very heavy meals.

Sam Russell · 19-05-2023 8:42pm

About a month ago I had to get my NCT done before the end of April, and any local test centres (Dublin) were offering dates of Nov. I kept looking at every centre - some offering Aug. I found Tuam offering Early April with a few days notice, So I booked and headed west. Up and down in one day.

At Athlone, I decided to go the back road across the bog. It was a delight to get off the boring motorway and onto a real road - with nearly no traffic. It took no longer than going to the M6 and M17, and the test centre was on the eastern side of Tuam. I returned the same way. A delightful drive.

The car passed.

19-05-2023 9:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120618062#Comment_120618062

They are delightful drives now. Not when you were stuck between a plonker doing 50 in a 100KM area and a hundred cars behind him

Jim_Hodge · 19-05-2023 9:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120618062#Comment_120618062

Only a delight now because the motorways have taken the bulk of the traffic off them.

Sam Russell · 19-05-2023 10:12pm

Well, yes the lack of the motorway traffic probably helped. However, most times when I drive west past Athlone on the M6, there is very little traffic anyway. So there cannot be that much diversion.

However, the rise in the price of fuel may have reduced the traffic on these roads, and it was pre-contractor/tractor time as well.

20-05-2023 12:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120618382#Comment_120618382

You only need on fool ignoring his rearview to cause a massive tail back

08-06-2023 12:01am

I remember being in the car on journeys from Dublin-Cork as a kid and it was an epic journey. It certainly took more than 4 hours.

It's gotta be stressful driving on busy single carriageway for over 250 km

SeanW · 11-06-2023 12:39am

I remember once needing 2 hours or more to get through Loughrea. You wouldn't have wanted to be in any hurry going anywhere in Ireland before the motorways were built. They were and are a complete godsend.

mikep · 11-06-2023 12:49am

For me it used to be an hour and a half from Fermoy to Thurles at the worst. Bank holiday Fridays were a disaster.

Now it's 40 mins and way, way safer

The motorways are one of the most successful infrastructure projects delivered in Ireland.

Mushy · 13-06-2023 7:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120616908#Comment_120616908

The cullenmore bends dear god...was so close to home yet sat there for so long. Or would walk down to the shop on a Friday/coming out of school and just bumper to bumper traffic non-stop.

Marcusm · 15-06-2023 11:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120606007#Comment_120606007

Interesting you say that; we went south Wicklow to north Connemara every weekend or every second weekend throughout 1980s. 180 miles total and I can clearly remember it as an average 55 miles an hour for a particular 165 mile stretch my father would always time.

L1011 · 16-06-2023 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120720521#Comment_120720521

Volume of vehicles on the roads in the 1980s versus the early-mid 00s just before the motorway network mostly opened would probably have been a third. There were still masses of delays though.

And with a 55mph speed limit 1979-1990, plus all the 30s in towns on the way, your father was speeding on any of the open road sections - naughty naughty! :P

Count Dracula · 18-06-2023 10:49am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120700306#Comment_120700306

I lost my virginity in Loughrea.

Just saying.

magicbastarder · 18-06-2023 10:56am

you got so bored queueing that you took time out to pop your cherry?

How much did Motorways improve the driving times

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