N72 Dungarvan - Lismore – Fermoy – Mallow – Rathmore – Killarney – Killorglin

Fabio · 13-07-2023 5:19pm #1

Does anyone use this road on a regular basis?

I travelled along the N72 between Fermoy and Mallow today and it's an absolutely shameful state. Many parts are quite narrow and are, literally, sinking with potholes and surface imperfections that mean you really have to slow down to about half, or less, of the posted speed limit.

Some sections have been improved over the years but the bad sections are truly awful.

AugustusMinimus · 13-07-2023 5:37pm

I’ve mentioned it in here in separate threads before but always told that the traffic volume is too low and it’s not a priority.

Fermoy to Tallow in particular is dreadful. The road surface is 3rd world in places and the alignments are also terrible, especially coming out of Fermoy and for 3 or 4 miles before Tallow.

Fabio · 13-07-2023 5:57pm

It's shocking. Fermoy is still heavily chocked up with lorries and general traffic on many afternoons (try a Friday afternoon going through when the schools have just emptied out!).

I know the Fermoy to Tallow bit is very poor. Fermoy to Mallow has very few good sections, it's extremely bad on approaches to Castletownroche and on approaches to Mallow.

marno21 · 14-07-2023 6:26am

Ideally, some of the long distance traffic will start routing via Cork and it’ll free up the road some bit for more local use.

I don’t know where to start with it though. The only project active along the whole route is the Mallow relief road which has been defunded. Kerry want to move on the few km between the 2021 realignment west of Rathmore and Barraduff village but no movement, and it’ll be pricey as it’ll require likely 2 bridges (one river, one rail). There should be a link to the new N22 around Killarney but that has also been defunded.

hans aus dtschl · 14-07-2023 9:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058304944/n72-dungarvan-lismore-fermoy-mallow-rathmore-killarney-killorglin

I'd say R666 to Lismore is nearly better than the N72 between Fermoy and Tallow.

I'd have said Tallow to Lismore N72 is pretty good too. I haven't done the stretch between Fermoy and Tallow in years, I've always been using the R666 and R628.

marno21 · 14-07-2023 10:02am

Would there be anything to be said for sending the R666 via Ballyduff and significantly simplifying the process of bypassing Fermoy?

hans aus dtschl · 14-07-2023 12:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120849453#Comment_120849453

Sort of yep. I wouldn't even go to that effort tbh. Most of the traffic I see going through Tallow is going onwards towards Lismore anyway.

So for instance you have significant traffic on the R628. Most people I know would use that road between Cork and Lismore. The only people who actually want to be on the N72 are heading from Fermoy and west of Fermoy to Tallow itself, a very very small number. So I'd suggest a re-designation of R666 as the N road and associated upgrades, personally. And maybe do up the bit from Ballyduff to Tallow as an afterthought for the people whose destination is Tallow.

KrisW1001 · 14-07-2023 1:54pm

I don't think we've ever swapped the route of any national road onto a nearby, pre-existing road... any time a section of national route has been de-listed, it has been due to a newly-built road carrying the route.

Interesting if anyone knows any examples of it happening, though..

marno21 · 14-07-2023 2:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120850671#Comment_120850671

I'd only suggest it happening as part of a Fermoy bypass/relief road.

Probably be dead on arrival due to Tallow and Lismore objections of being bypassed by the N72 routing then.

AugustusMinimus · 14-07-2023 2:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120849453#Comment_120849453

This was a suggestion I made in a thread about 5 years ago.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057885547/n72-fernoy-bypass

I believe Lismore was originally to be bypassed by the N72 continuining on straight at Tallow Bridge and coming out again just south of Cappoquin. It would have required a new bridge over the Blackwater.

Talking of the N72. The R628 goes from Tallow to Rathcormac and carries even more traffic than the N72 and little is being done on it.

cjpm · 15-07-2023 11:02pm

Having driven from Killarney to Fermoy today I’ve come to the conclusion that Cork Co Co have used Prit Stick when they were resurfacing some sections of the N72.

15-07-2023 11:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120847328#Comment_120847328

Yeah because they slapped a toll on a, relatively, quickly bypassed section. Trucks should be free on the Watergrasshill toll

Fabio · 17-07-2023 9:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120856870#Comment_120856870

Completely agree with you. Should be similar to the Port Tunnel in Dublin in that regard.

Fabio · 17-07-2023 9:34am

To be honest I'd be happy enough if they just did a proper resurfacing job on the areas between Ballyhooley to Castletownroche and from Castletownroche on to Mallow.

No realigning etc, just a proper resurfacing job and line the whole thing properly so you can at least know where the verge is on a rainy night!

hans aus dtschl · 17-07-2023 2:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120856870#Comment_120856870

Need serious traffic calming measures on the old Cork-Dublin road too. The number of rat-runners at high speeds is huge. Loads of crashes too because the road's not able for their high speed.

Fabio · 17-07-2023 4:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120862884#Comment_120862884

I think the section between Fermoy and Watergrasshill is alright - it's actually better than some national roads with fairly wide lanes and good sight lines to most junctions.

I'm familiar with the village of Rathcormac and it really suffers from the traffic passing through it as part of the old Cork-Dublin main road. That village could really do with junctions tightened and space reduced to slow people passing through it.

hans aus dtschl · 18-07-2023 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120863466#Comment_120863466

You're 100% right on both counts: some of Rathcormac's older buildings are literally cracking apart due to the HGV's. On the stretch between Rathcormac and Watergrasshill, my problem is more that a small subset of people are regularly trying to do 100kmh+ on it. The wide hard shoulders at least makes that road speed some bit safer but there's (for instance) a football pitch on one side and a GAA pitch on the other and people are sometimes whipping past. A bit more traffic calming might be good here rather than trying to retain the high-speed design of old.

My bigger issue/complaint is definitely South of Watergrasshill though. There's a steady stream of cars at rush hour heading for the R616, it's surprising how busy it can be. I've seen the results of a good few single-vehicle crashes.

Anyway, my whole thinking was that I reckon traffic calming on the old road might kill two birds with one stone: remove the HGV's and rat-runners.

Fabio · 18-07-2023 5:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120865670#Comment_120865670

Yeah the R616 can be mad busy - which is strange considering how poor(ish)a road it is really. It is a handy shortcut into the northside of the city from Watergrasshill though. I suppose people find these kinda routes when something like a proper north ring road isn't yet available!

Also, I know what you meant about the football pitch at Watergrasshill FC. Unfortunately, due to a complete failure to fund facilities properly or get sports to share facilities for the benefit of the community, that club are doing the best they can with what they have and there's just no room for a car park to prevent the on-road parking that currently takes place. People don't tend to slow for that either, it can be dodgy alright.

My big solution to a lot of this is to move the toll north of Mitchelstown but I know that ain't never gonna happen.

N72 Dungarvan - Lismore – Fermoy – Mallow – Rathmore – Killarney – Killorglin

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