N22 - Macroom to Ballyvourney (Macroom Bypass) [open to traffic]

KrisW1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120282010#Comment_120282010

That’s not a temporary layout, btw - those two roundabouts are permanent, and will be part of the junction for Baile Bhuirne.

niloc1951

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120282561#Comment_120282561

Ah the memories, Colthurst Bridge!, I can remember heading up that road back in the early 1970s before the current road from there to Killarney was built. If you drive it today you can still see the remnants of the continuous white line and the cat's eyes in places.

And, not forgetting the old bridge over The Flesk at Cloghane, now the L7068

yerwanthere123

Any substance to this worry, or just an effort to try and keep the Carrigaphooca roundabout?

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/corkman/news/benefits-of-macrooms-300m-bypass-could-be-lost-when-temporary-roundabout-is-removed-says-councillor-42357982.html

serfboard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120288368#Comment_120288368

I saw that article myself and thought about posting it here, but when I read it and saw how idiotic it was, I decided not to.

Local councillor proving, yet again, how poor our local government is in this country. Who the hell votes for these people?

johnfrank1967

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120288368#Comment_120288368

There should have been a slip on and off from the word go that was a no brainer. The millstreet junction is a disaster, a national school class could have designed that one better.

niloc1951

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120288368#Comment_120288368

Idiot, Trucks from Killarney would be using the N22 the whole way. Trucks from Castletownbere would be on the R584 or R585 (Ballingeary route) neither of which join the N22 until east of Macroom.

BagofWeed

Grand road, 1st time I drove it today and was very impressed by it. The Kilgarvan turn onto the N22 at Loo's Cross struck me as being very dangerous, only 2nd time ever on it earlier. But a lot of traffic was turning on and off the N22 there.

smokie72

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120367649#Comment_120367649

It can be a bit hairy if you are heading towards Cork and have to turn right at the junction (R569). Even turning left towards Glenflesk and Killarney have to deal with fast traffic sometimes coming from the Cork side. A lot of traffic to and from Kenmare especially during tourist season. Would a roundabout at that junction make it better?

BagofWeed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120367691#Comment_120367691

Yea that's the movement I had to make and the R569 bound traffic was building up in their right turn lane but that was blocking my view of traffic going towards Cork so it was hairy ok. A roundabout would be a good idea as I can only imagine it during the tourist season with a lot of buses turning. Yea the N22 there is very fast moving too.

Chris_5339762

...and that junction is, and will be, a lot busier in future as going to a lot of west Cork will be quickest via the bypass and Kilgarvan, rather than the N71 or N22 and Crookstown to Bantry.

KrisW1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120369370#Comment_120369370

No, it won’t. People heading for West Cork don’t leave N22 at Crookstown to avoid Macroom, they do it because it’s a much shorter route. Also, going from Kilgarvan to Bantry means using this road: Google Maps.

If you insist on using the new road to get to Bantry, you'd be better off to leave N22 at the Toonlane junction, and head for Ballingeary, then Kealkill via R584, but you’ll have taken a 20km diversion to do end up on the same road you’d be on if you’d just turned off N22 at Crookstown, and you won’t make up that lost time.

AugustusMinimus

I think you’d want to be mad to go to Bantry via Kilgarvan. The road through Coppeen is a much better option.

hans aus dtschl

Yeah Bantry is too far. But maybe people going to Adrigole, Eyeries etc will go via Loos Bridge. Glengarriff would be a serious push I'd say, only if there was something wrong with the Coppeen road. Bantry no way.

CB19Kevo

Any updated videos recently of progress?

I wonder are they ahead of schedule at this stage, updates have been a little slower since the Macroom segment opened up.

cork_south

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120402274#Comment_120402274

https://youtu.be/DdJ5rkf75qs

Recent enough

confidentjosh

https://youtu.be/rNBOtQMicw4

DEN TV Drive along the eastern section of the bypass heading eastwards.

confidentjosh

https://youtu.be/VJq_Ymyy5To?t=2823

DEN TV Drive along the eastern section of the bypass heading westwards.

AugustusMinimus

Why did they go with an at-level roundabout at the eastern tie in but a split level interchange at the Western tie in?

KrisW1001

For a couple of reasons, I think:

First, the existing N22 at the Eastern end is of significantly lower standard than at the western end. The western end is a change from 2+2 to wide single carriageway with hard shoulders and climbing lanes, but there’s a really big drop in standard at the eastern side: from a 2+2 to a narrow winding single carriageway with no hard shoulders. A roundabout interchange makes good safety sense as it will slow eastbound traffic sufficiently so that they don’t get caught out by the narrow, twisty section and Two Mile Bridge.

Second, the western tie-in isn’t likely to be replaced in the medium or even long term, so it makes sense to provide a free-flow merge into it now. If N22 westward to Killarney is improved, it will at most be brought up to 2+2. In contrast, the final route of N22 Eastward toward Ovens is not yet finalised, so a separated junction here could end up limiting the options for N22 Macroom-Ovens.

Chris_5339762

Dronehawk has been out again.

Fantastic progress on the temp roundabout to Ballyvourney junction - that really has moved on in the last while. I reckon that'll open this summer. There still seems to be a bit of work to do on The Big Cut, which is part of the Ballyvourney bypass itself.

My GUESS is that there'll be a sectional opening to the Ballyvourney junction next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGEqYdUXNzg

marno21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120459871#Comment_120459871

Wow. It certainly is looking fantastic.

I believe the last mentioned plan is to have it open to Toonlane in July and beyond that later in the year.

AugustusMinimus

I didn’t realise the big cut was 30m. That terrain is hugely troublesome though. I assume that was part of the reason why the bypass is only happening now.

KrisW1001

It’s definitely one of the reasons why just 22km of road has cost €280 million to build, or €12.7 million per kilometre. For comparison, the 2+2 N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin road came in at around €8.9m per km. Twelve million per kilometre is more like the cost to build a motorway.

M11 Gorey-Enniscorthy, opened in 2019, was around €10m per km overall (for 26 km of motorway, 4km of 2+2 and 8km of Type 1 single carriageway), and the M17 Gort to Kilmore motorway, opened in 2017, cost €10.3 million per km. The only recent project to cost more was another 2+2 road, the N25 New Ross Bypass, at €15m per km, but that project included building Ireland’s longest bridge.

niloc1951

TomTom sat nav is seriously out of date. When driving the route over the weekend it was continuously trying to take me off it onto the old road when traveling west. It also isn't showing a through route at the tie-in to the west of Ballyvourney.

Before anyone asks, I do have the latest available map updates installed.

cantalach

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120466848#Comment_120466848

Yeah, some of the supposedly “latest” maps are still hopelessly out of date. My car gets over-the-air map updates every few months but it took two years before it started showing the New Ross bypass.

AugustusMinimus

Much better using a phone app via Bluetooth. At least those apps get updated usually within a week or 2.

dmeehan

The latest newsletter from the N22 construction project: http://www.n22bbm.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/N22BBM-Newsletter-April-2023-English-1.pdf

Jayuu

Question regarding travelling to Killarney from Dublin in June. Would this bypass make Dublin > Cork > Killarney a more usable route than Dublin > Limerick > Killarney?

cork_south

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120507846#Comment_120507846

I'd say not by June 2023.

Possibly by March 2024 when Dunkettle is done and the Macroom bypass is fully done it would take around the same time (or even quicker) going via Cork.

Chris_5339762

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120507846#Comment_120507846

For sure when this is open.

Once the next section is open (current temp roundabout west of Macroom bypass to the Ballyvourney junction) I reckon it already would be for a weekend trip. It'd be fine if you just avoid hitting Dunkettle at rush hour.