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

personally i prefer to use my mirrors for merging because there is less of a blind spot, but there is the OP that bad drivers are bad drivers, but bad drivers in a bad junction is a dangerous recipe.

There is a small merging lane onto the south link inbound where cars frequently get to the end of the short merging lane and have to stop, traffic volumes are a different level but

I can see the junction being an issue, i travel the road a small bit but havent been on it yet.

Also its not just the entrance to the new road that could cause problems, the exit could be problematic, lead to late breaking, confusion, drastic lane changing and exiting at high speeds

I would have said 9 out of 10 don't move over, that road must have an exceptionally high proportion of courteous drivers.

IMHO the majority of Irish drivers seem to have a box 'em in mentality when it comes to merging traffic or drivers indicating to move to the overtaking lane to get past slower traffic, a sort of this is my lane stay away thinking.

I would have said something similar having driven the bypass a few times…until I actually used the junction the other day. If I can borrow lingo from another branch of engineering, even a good design pattern can have a poor implementation, and I think that is the case here.

thanks to a little bunch of 4 cars in the slow lane, none of whom moved over to the fast lane to let me join (as is their prerogative)

It's not really their prerogative, it's a display of bad driving without consideration for other road users.

Being a regular driver in other countries I'm always disappointed by the 'box 'em in' attitude of most drivers here, moving across to the next lane to allow other drivers to merge or momentarily easing off on the throttle to allow a vehicle ahead to overtake a slower vehicle seems to be a no-no here but is commonplace elsewhere.

2+1 section on the Cork - mallow road probably the most anger inducing section of road I can think of.

People will do 80kph on the single section but will suddenly jump to 110kph on the 2 lane sections, especially if they think you might want to overtake.

That little section of the N25 is a shocking mess of minor junctions. Kilmacthomas bypass to the Luffany roundabout at the start of the Waterford bypass should be 2+2 and that little bit there should probably all be tacked onto one roundabout on the mainline.

A recent press release from TII mentions "Autumn 2023"

I'd take the new route and then return to the Abbey Hotel. I always found that to be an excellent place to stop for food.

TLDR: Temporary traffic management is currently in place which will be adjusted significantly on Tuesday 7th February 2023, with a temporary speed limit of 60km/h in operation. Existing N22 traffic will be diverted onto a diversion road, to facilitate road construction works on the new N22 road. These roadworks, including the traffic diversion, will be on-going at this location until Sept. 2023.

How the hell did you spot that... it's you isn't it?

Have to say macroom itself is a different town now, dont have to clock watch for a time to go in or sit in traffic, it also seems like the guards are driving up and down a lot more, if it takes 2 minutes to do a drive around as opposed to 20 minutes before, i might be imagining that though.

When is the other section due to open?

It will be made up for by locals, or people specifically diverting to go to the town. This is what has happened in every other town that has been bypassed.

“Passing trade” really applies only to people on foot. If you’re driving a long distance, you’ve already decided on where you’re going to stop to eat before you set out. And heavy traffic through a town actually discourages people from stopping there, because it will makes it harder to get back on the road afterwards.

If we’re heading further west than Kenmare on a holiday, we usually stop in to the Mills in Baile Bhuirne for lunch. When the new road opens, I’ll do the same - it’ll be much nicer without the traffic streaming past the window.

I know you both will only visit Ballyvourney for Shani Kebab House, under the guise of "shop" or "mills" visit. Own up.

Seriously though, the towns will actually become proper towns again. It might take a few years (Fermoy as an example) but trade will become much better and people will properly visit the town.

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

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?

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.

...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.