M20 - Cork to Limerick [preferred route chosen; in design - phase 3]

Design will almost certainly be a Type 1 DC - the kind of road the general public calls a "motorway", but there's no guarantee that all of it will be subject to motorway restrictions. Cork County Council has form in this area (e.g., N22, N25)

You won't get to draw the little blue line all the way along the route on your map, but that'll be the only difference.

As for timelines, Back in 2000, I remember showing a friend the final design for the Waterford Bypass, a road that did not open until 2009. That was about the norm in those days, but yes, it has got a lot worse these days: projects used to take 7-10 years from final design to opening, now it's over 15.

Easy-target merchants are blaming Eamon Ryan, as if he somehow has unlimited power. But that's not the problem. The planning system is screwed, but it's hiding an underlying lack of money for transport, and I think the reason why these budgets are being squeezed is debt. As a country, we're carrying a lot of external debt, at a time when rates are rising globally: when it comes to re-finance our current debt, we will end up paying more. Given that the current, low-interest, debt costs us 10 billion a year to service, I think the prospect of higher debt costs in future is why the government is quietly squeezing capital spending: we might have the income today, but in three to four years, it's not guaranteed at all.

If it really was the minister, then we'd be seeing public transport project funds being spent at a higher rate as roads are scaled back, but that's really not happening: all the PT and active-travel projects are being cut back, long-fingered, or stuck in planning hell.

The motorway designation does have one significant consequence. It means that access restrictions (tractors, cyclists, e-scooters, L drivers, etc.) are on a watertight legal basis. Restricting access on non-motorway roads is more complicated than one might expect. Just putting up a sign isn’t sufficient.

Two trucks have collided at New Twopothouse, northbound traffic backing up south of Annabella and west on the N72 beyond the racecourse.

This madness will never end.

Sustainable transport funding can reasonably spill into the main budget. Perhaps that's part of what's being discussed. If the whole thing progresses as a project (sustainable & road all at once) it passes planning much easier. Alternatively, is there perhaps a Co Co funding element expected here?

No idea whether these funding discussions mean that it's closer to planning submission though I'm afraid.

There is no chance that senior civil and public servants are aiming Ministerial decisions to go to the next Minister. They have no idea who the next Minister will be and whether they will be more "favourable/friendly" or not. If SF lead the next government, all bets are off as to what kind of Minister they will get.

I disagree. TII want to get projects done, if they have to bide their time for a year or two they will.

And we currently have a green minister who is totally against road transport and is in favour of public.

You actually couldn’t ask for a worse minister from a road delivery perspective.

Ross had no interest in Transport at all. Minister for Stepaside Garda Station would be a better description of his role as a minister.

I don't see what the alternative to the M20 is to be honest. The idea that you can put in bypasses of Mallow, Buttevant, Charleville, and resolve all the safety issues on the route for cheaper than doing the M20 seems nonsensical to me. I'm fine with it being done piecemeal, but it needs to be done.

I believe that there isn't a great degree of appreciation about the state of the current road.

I know someone from Wicklow who needed to be reassured several times during the journey that they were indeed on the primary route between the second and third cities. "Should I really be in Charleville?" "Should I really be in Buttevant?" "Are you sure I haven't taken a wrong turn?" etc Literally didn't believe that the windy one-lane road was the primary route.

How quickly we sometimes forget that half the country's critical infrastructure has not yet begun construction.

A story for another thread, but visiting German friends in 1996 who had driven from Stuttgart got quite the unpleasant surprise when they arrived in Rosslare and headed to Cork. They couldn't understand how the 150km journey would be more than 4 hours. The N25 wasn't even open at that stage remember.

Anyway, TLDR, when M20 is done Cork and Limerick will actually feel some bit connected, and hopefully will somewhat align towards each other. The country really needs this to be honest.

It not just the three cities, you are putting a lot of substantial towns in the mix as well. Ennis, Tuam Charlesville and Mallow directly, but also Nenagh, Tralee and Killarney, smaller towns like Kilmallock, Newcastlewest, Gort, Kanturk

Directly on the corridor will be 500k+ with another 250k within 30-40 minutes of the corridor. 750+k population within probably 60-80 minutes max of either end of the corridor

It's not even a question of doing it piecemeal or in phases. Based on the published route there is almost no opportunity to build short segments of the road which would connect with the existing N20 and server as interim bypasses without a huge amount of additional wasted/redundant development. This is simply a factor of the chosen route. The much touted example of the Cashel bypass, which was built years ahed of the M8 was a very unusual case where the proposed M8 route interfaced with the old N8 at both sides of Cashel. Accelerating its construction made perfect sense, it functioned as a bypass for a number of years alleviating the traffic nightmare that was Cashel town, it involved little additional/wasted/redundant expenditure, and when the M8 developments on either side of it were complete it integrated seamlessly. There is almost no opportunity to do the same based on the line of the current N20 and the proposed new N/M20 corridor.

There's big plans for the Shannon Estauary also in wind energy and green hydrogen.

I think this is the last big road project in Ireland anyway.

It's just bypasses from now on and upgrades.