N roads you hate

Amtmann

For whatever reason -- bends, bad surface, towns you have to drive through, dreary surroundings, or just the fact that you have to commute it every day. So what's your most hated N road?

I hate the N seventies in general, but particularly the N74 from Cashel to Tipperary Town and the N73 from Mitchelstown to Mallow.

I hate the N24 for loads of reasons: its pathetic, primitive alignment, the fact that it goes through Carrick, Tipp Town and Oola, its weird junction with the M8, and its dire junction with the M7.

corktina

N73 definately the worst road I have come across and Ive been up and down the country a time or two.
N72 not great either side of Mallow

(work in hand on parts of both these so just maybe they may improve)

N20 either side of Buttevant
N20 2+1 section (grr) mostly because of the drivers though rather than the road

yes Im from North Cork

CerebralCortex

I could rant forever about the stupidity that is the N18 between Shannon and Limerick. Most especially the houses carelessly built along it also the roller coaster ride near Bunratty. It's a disgrace! The N18 to north of Barefield and the N20 are also embarrassing.

jwcurtin

N18 Gort


The WORSTsurface in the country!

JustAddWater

the N82!

Ireland's smallest N road! Goes for about 500m (seriously!)

mike65

N24 obviously!

munchkin_utd

jwcurtin wrote: »

N18 Gort
The WORSTsurface in the country!

you sure?

ever see the N22 through Ballyvourney?
Its a close call between the 2!!

Either way.
a) within weeks it'll no longer be an N road
b) its due to be resurfaced when the by pass is opened.
( c) as is Ballyvourney in the coming weeks once they have laid a water main there)

Mr McBoatface

I don't hate it because the road it great, but I hate the idiots that didn't take the opportunity to bypass Athy and it's ridiculous 40min - 1 hour tailbacks when the new N78 was constructed from the M9.

A golden opportunity and money wasted if you ask me.

Tech3

N56, N84, N16, N52, N72, N73, N21, N24 and some of the N17.

L1011

N56. With the exception of the two bypasses (the N56 arm of the Donegal BP and the Mountcharles BP) it appears to be an alignment dating from the days of donkey and cart. That one of the few safe overtaking sections is over a bridge says it all! (the Gweebarra Bridge).

Along the straight bits near Dungloe you have to keep it very handy with speed or else the profile of the road will throw you in to the other lane or in to the fields.

Some lower traffic R roads in Donegal where Donegal CC has full control over planning of upgrades, etc, are in far better condition than the N56, the counties longest N road!

Must also be one of the few N roads where an R road is signed as the priority route at one point (R262, signs tell you to use it to get to Dungloe/Donegal and not the N56 itself).

Dilbert75

N24 almost all of the way from Waterford to Limerick.

flickarius

N52 especially between Dundalk & Mullingar, it's like having to drive a roller coaster!

icdg

JustAddWater wrote: »

the N82!

Ireland's smallest N road! Goes for about 500m (seriously!)

A little bit longer, but it does qualify as a pathetic N-road by virtue of being a private road through a business park! And in that short distance it has about ten roundabouts on it!

As far bad N-roads, well the N81 south of Tallaght naturally...

Nice Uncle P

N84 esp the crazy bands between Clonboo and Headford. And between Ballinrobe and Kilmaine. The regional road that connects Ballinrobe and Headford via the Neale and Cross is far safer than the so called "N" road goat track via Kilmaine

Berty

N52 for me especially from Borrisokane to Birr. :mad:

marmurr1916

Nice Uncle P wrote: »

N84 esp the crazy bands between Clonboo and Headford. And between Ballinrobe and Kilmaine. The regional road that connects Ballinrobe and Headford via the Neale and Cross is far safer than the so called "N" road goat track via Kilmaine

Should never have been classified as an N road in the first place - a fine example of parish pump politics.

I suspect that the original N8x routes (apart from the N80) were all classified as such because of parish pump lobbying.

The N85, N86 and N87 were reclassified from regional roads in the 1990s. The N87 should be turned back into a regional road. It's pretty much redundant as an N road since the re-opening of Aghalane Bridge on the N3/A509.

There are lots of N roads that are still fairly crappy - most National Secondary routes need major work.

The worst National Primary section that I know of is the N22 between Macroom and Ballymakeera: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.926908,-9.120369&spn=0.052082,0.338173&t=h&z=12&layer=c&cbll=51.926959,-9.120416&panoid=z0TUo4BIjI_YW9TIMpgelQ&cbp=11,295.92,,0,9.29

When a National Primary route is so narrow that trucks can't use it without hitting signs then something's seriously wrong.

TestTransmission

Berty wrote: »

N52 for me especially from Borrisokane to Birr. :mad:

Driving this tomorrow,quite possibly one of the worst stretches of n road in the country.

Berty

TestTransmission wrote: »

Driving this tomorrow,quite possibly one of the worst stretches of n road in the country.

This used to be the route from Limerick to Dundalk I used to take for 3 years. Nightmare of a road.

BluntGuy

Ah, the N52. Truly terrible piece of roadway. The N51 isn't far behind.

My personal least favourite though is the N24. Not only is the road bad, but it's just... depressing, having to drive through towns like Carrick On Suir and Tipp. From the perspective of infrastructure, it has the whole package of awfulness. A wildly inconsistent layout with hard shoulders vanishing, poor sightlines etc., two failed 2+1 sections, navigation of about 700 roundabouts on the clonmel "bypass", the dreadful termini, one of the clunkiest junctions in Ireland (I think Furet mentioned the M8 one in the OP).

I can't wait for the day (if ever) that road is upgraded.

Stark

N81. Can't remember the last time I got above 60km/hr on it especially the section north of Blessington thanks to the standard of driver that lives in that town. I've become quite aggressive regards not letting people out in Blessington any time I'm heading northwards these days as you're guaranteed to have at least one who will do a snail's pace in front of you all the way to Tallaght.

N72/N73.

Cork side of N22. Much better quality than the N72/N73 but still infested with Uncle Gaybo's children so can make for a frustrating drive if you get unlucky on a weekend afternoon.

trad

N31 if anyone can find it.

KevR

N84

N18 in Gort town and between Gort and Crusheen.

limklad

jwcurtin wrote: »

N18 Gort


The WORSTsurface in the country!

No It not the Worst surface, It is called "automatic speed limiters" or " Auto-mobile suspension testers. they just can't decide which it is.


2 weeks, you will not have to travel through Gort and you can adjust your speed to 120kph rather than 15kph through Gort.


N18: Crusheen to Gort road is bad mainly because of bends and poor drivers (Both very slow and fast drivers).
N20: Buttervent (Both sides, bad bends) & Mallow to Blarney Surface is poor. Last April when I last travelled it, there was strips of tar lifted of the road like someone peel it off.
N24 one of the most dangerous roads in Ireland, entire length.

fricatus

Got to agree with comments on the N24 above. It's a disgrace, because of all the reasons mentioned above, but don't forget that this is (at least theoretically) one of the most important and strategic routes in the country, since it links the ports of Rosslare, New Ross and Waterford, plus the city of Waterford, to large areas of the west and mid-west, viz. Limerick, Shannon, Galway and arguably Sligo!

limklad

JustAddWater wrote: »

the N82!

Ireland's smallest N road! Goes for about 500m (seriously!)

It is not 500m, it is 2.2 km, I measure it.

limklad

trad wrote: »

N31 if anyone can find it.

Dun Laoghaire pier (Ferry Terminal) (heading North west ) to Monkstown, to Blackrock then heads west on Mount Merrion Ave to join the N11, Roughly 5.4km

medoc

As above the N52 Birr to Borrisakane/Neenagh is a terrible example of a National (Secondry) road but there are many such examples all over the country. The N62 from Birr to Athlone is bad also especially the section from the N52/N62 junction to Ferbane.

-Corkie-

Berty wrote: »

N52 for me especially from Borrisokane to Birr. :mad:

Oddly enough I like it..:o.

In saying that if your stuck behind a truck thats loaded or a tractor its not much fun. I prefer the Borrisakane to Cloghan road though. My wife dont like it very much though...:D.

I hate every N road the N72 being my most hated..

charlemont

N58 is one joke of a road i was only on it once but it was a terrible road, also same day i was on the N84 all i can remember of it was going through what looked like a deserted town possibly headford ..

i almost forgot the N71, a disgraceful road its not too bad till Innishannon then it gets interesting with a series of bends on a very narrow road, the rest of it from Bandon to Skibbereen is horrid, its been a while since i was on the Skib to Killarney section but i guess its still just as bad.

the Clonakilty to Newmills section should be enough to make anyone not want to drive it a second time

kensutz

Dilbert75 wrote: »

N24 almost all of the way from Waterford to Limerick.

I call the drive the "soul destroying" drive.

Brabus

JustAddWater wrote: »

the N82!

Ireland's smallest N road! Goes for about 500m (seriously!)

Where is the N82? I'm guessing in the Dublin area but I searched the map and couldn't find it.

Found the N32 which goes from the junction of M1 & M50 to the Malahide road and thats only 3km!!

lottpaul

Brabus wrote: »

Where is the N82? I'm guessing in the Dublin area but I searched the map and couldn't find it.

Found the N32 which goes from the junction of M1 & M50 to the Malahide road and thats only 3km!!

The N82 links the N7 and the N81 through Citywest industrial estate. It's pretty short and doesn't resemble most N roads I'm familiar with. I'd guess it's a few km in length at most - several roundabouts etc too.

Carawaystick

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Either way.
a) within weeks it'll no longer be an N road

It'll become the N66, from the end of the N66 to the M18

mk6705

N22, both from Farranfore to Killarney and from Ballvourney to Cork, 7km of non-stop sharp bends, tiny narrow S2 road. Not up to spec at all.

icdg

lottpaul wrote: »

The N82 links the N7 and the N81 through Citywest industrial estate. It's pretty short and doesn't resemble most N roads I'm familiar with. I'd guess it's a few km in length at most - several roundabouts etc too.

Like I said, its' a strange anomaly. It shouldn't even be a classified road at all, it is almost entirely in a business park! I'd have assigned N82 to R113 or R136 (although political considerations would not premit the latter) both of which do the same route, but are public roads and dual carraigeways to boot!

The N32 has even less reason to be a national road. In fact the only reason I can think of for it to be one is that it was constructed as part of a national road project (the M50). It is only 3km long, is a WS2 (with a bus lane that has no buses running on it!) and links an R-road with the M50. Its' of no national importance whatsoever and I see no good reason for the NRA rather than Fingal County Council to be the road authority for it.

marmurr1916

icdg wrote: »

Like I said, its' a strange anomaly. It shouldn't even be a classified road at all, it is almost entirely in a business park! I'd have assigned N82 to R113 or R136 (although political considerations would not premit the latter) both of which do the same route, but are public roads and dual carraigeways to boot!

The business park wasn't there when the N82 was first designated. In fact, the original N82 didn't follow this route at all.

I'm not sure if the R113 or R136 were dual-carriageways (or even existed) when the N82 was first designated.

That said, I don't see a problem with having the Belgard Road section of the R113 from Newland's Cross (N7) to the Tallaght Bypass (N81) re-numbered as the N82, with the existing N82 assigned a completely new regional road number. Maybe this will happen when the Newland's Cross upgrade is finished.

icdg wrote: »

The N32 has even less reason to be a national road. In fact the only reason I can think of for it to be one is that it was constructed as part of a national road project (the M50). It is only 3km long, is a WS2 (with a bus lane that has no buses running on it!) and links an R-road with the M50. Its' of no national importance whatsoever and I see no good reason for the NRA rather than Fingal County Council to be the road authority for it.

Agreed. It's high time the NRA sat down and did a thorough re-appraisal of the national route network. There are plenty of existing national routes which are prime candidates for downgrading to regional roads, either immediately or when road projects are completed.

JupiterKid

The N52 - especially the section between Kells and Mullingar.

Apart from a few very short recently improved sections just outside Delvin, this road a narrow, twisty, hedgerow enclosed death trap with the most atrocious standard of driving I have ever seen. Also full of lorries and trucks too.

Benny_Cake

I have a real hate for the N62 from Roscrea to Thurles, probably because i drive it a fair bit. The stretch from Templemore to Thurles is particularly awful, drivers pulling out of laneways, dangerous bends, surface quality extremely poor at times.

brandon_flowers

OK I'm from North Kerry so to get to anywhere other than Dublin means an N road or an R road. In the past 18 months I've been working in Kinsale, Lisdoonvarna, Barna in Galway, Carrick-on-Shannon and a small place just outside Waterford city.

So to get to Kinsale the N22 from Farranfore to Killarney was the first killer, then the section from Ballyvourney all the way to the Ballincollig bypass was torture.

Lisdoonvarna - across the ferry at Tarbert and the N67, not a bad surface but no one takes any notice of keeping to their own side of the road or pulling out of gaps without looking. Crazy stuff.

Barna in Galway - The N18 from Crusheen to Oranmore is just cruel and then the N6 with all the f****** roundabouts to get to the far side of the city. It was fine at 7 in the morning but any other time was 5kph stuff.

Carrick-on-Shannon - the furthest and by far the easiest drive. Limerick-Borrisokane (R438)-Athlone-Ballymahon-Longford-Carrick.

And finally the N24 which I spent the most time driving in the past 8-9 months. Initially I went to Limerick on the N69 and then M7 as far as the Ballysimon junction. From then on it was just hell. Murroe, Boher, Pallasgreen, Oola, Monard, Dromkeen, Limerick Junction, Tipp town, Bansha, Clonmel, Kilsheelan, Carrick-on-Suir, Mooncoin and then Waterford. Bad drivers, tractors with no lights, hedge-cutting, lethal junctions, the surface at the lights in Carrick-on-Suir, the little roundabouts in Carrick, the roundabouts in Clonmel, the travellers sulky racing near Gortnafleur, the stupid 2+1 at Piltown and I could go on and on. In the past few months I started cutting across country to Mitchelstown and up the M8 as far as the N24 junction but still have Clonmel-Waterford section which is completely unavoidable. For the volume of traffic it takes it is definitely the most neglected road in the country.

Conclusion: The N24 wins this argument by about 80 miles.

Edit: That road between Tipp town and Cashel (N77 I think) is a hopeless version of an N road, traffic was diverted along this for a while that is what made me drive to Mitchelstown instead.

JupiterKid

There should be a poll on this thread. The National Secondaries don't come out well, but it looks like the N24 wins hands down for being way below the standard it should be.

Danno

n77

icdg

marmurr1916 wrote: »

The business park wasn't there when the N82 was first designated. In fact, the original N82 didn't follow this route at all.

I'm not sure if the R113 or R136 were dual-carriageways (or even existed) when the N82 was first designated.

When the original N82 through Saggart was designated in 1977, the R136 certainly didn't exist - it was almost entirely new build and only built in the last five years. Unfortunately the planning conditions attached to the route would almost certainly prevent it from being designated N82.

Parts of the R113 would have alright, I'm not sure what date the Belgard Road was constructed though it would have been in the 1970s I think?

Having said that, when Citywest was opened, a deliberate decision was made to route the N82 through the business park instead of its old route through Saggart, rather than designate one of the alternatives available. Indeed to my mind the M50 has perhaps made the N82 redundant as a cross-city route in any case.

The R-roads only existed on an administrative basis until 1994 and often during the 1980s weren't signed at all (or blank patches were left to be filled in later).

Mike 1972

For me it would have to be the N16 (Enniskillen/Sligo)
Used to travel the N52 (Dundalk/Mullingar) years ago and it was pretty terrible as well

Developed countries dont have roads like these.

Tech3

JupiterKid wrote: »

There should be a poll on this thread. The National Secondaries don't come out well, but it looks like the N24 wins hands down for being way below the standard it should be.

The N24 might be the most hated national primary road but the worst primary in the country is the N16 by a good margin.

saywhatyousee

Mike 1972 wrote: »

For me it would have to be the N16 (Enniskillen/Sligo)
Used to travel the N52 (Dundalk/Mullingar) years ago and it was pretty terrible as well

Developed countries dont have roads like these.

have to agree about the n16/a4 terrible from sligo to the belfast side of enniskillen
the n17 colloney to tubbercurry is terrible

Mike 1972

Other thing about the N16(/A4) is that a lot of other bad roads would have alternatives one could take even if it meant taking longer and going out of ones way a bit.

But this isint really the case here.

But at least we have the small mercy of the Sligo bypass (originally mooted in the early seventies) opening a few years ago.

Tech3

I agree with the N17 Tubbercurry-Collooney section being a really hated road. I drive this often enough and is the most dangerous part of the N17. Ballindine-Milltown is also reckless but doesn't run as long as the other section. We should create a thread for the N roads we love now!

TestTransmission

Berty wrote: »

This used to be the route from Limerick to Dundalk I used to take for 3 years. Nightmare of a road.

BluntGuy wrote: »

Ah, the N52. Truly terrible piece of roadway. The N51 isn't far behind.

My personal least favourite though is the N24. Not only is the road bad, but it's just... depressing, having to drive through towns like Carrick On Suir and Tipp. From the perspective of infrastructure, it has the whole package of awfulness. A wildly inconsistent layout with hard shoulders vanishing, poor sightlines etc., two failed 2+1 sections, navigation of about 700 roundabouts on the clonmel "bypass", the dreadful termini, one of the clunkiest junctions in Ireland (I think Furet mentioned the M8 one in the OP).

I can't wait for the day (if ever) that road is upgraded.

medoc wrote: »

As above the N52 Birr to Borrisakane/Neenagh is a terrible example of a National (Secondry) road but there are many such examples all over the country. The N62 from Birr to Athlone is bad also especially the section from the N52/N62 junction to Ferbane.

Drove the stretch between Birr and Borrisokane twice over the weekend.It's being greatly improved,alot of it has been resurfacted and widened in places.
Has this only been done in the last month or two?

slinky2000

Mike 1972 wrote: »

For me it would have to be the N16 (Enniskillen/Sligo)
Used to travel the N52 (Dundalk/Mullingar) years ago and it was pretty terrible as well

Developed countries dont have roads like these.

No way! The n16 is a great road, I love driving it when there's no traffic. It's one of the n roads I actually like driving on.

Mike 1972

Ummm I think you might be lost.The S&M forum is that way >>>>>

slinky2000

I used to drive twice weekly from Enniskillen to Galway at 5am. Was a great drive! Stop in Tuam for a breakfast roll :P