M28 - Cork to Ringaskiddy [advance works ongoing; 2025 start; 2028 completion]

The lack of a safe crossing there is crazy. Unfortunately, it's a disaster waiting to happen for some poor person thinking they'll make it across and being mowed down.

Every tree lining Maryborough Ridge is now gone, the wall is mostly complete but stops at the junction of An Radharc and Aspen Drive for some reason

No idea Marno...doesn't seem very effcient to to it that way, but...who knows?

Has the planned route changed ? The drawings I saw showed the single carriageway protected road scheme as an entirely new route through “green fields” in its entirety (i.e. from Barnahely onwards)

I think the only online upgrade is between the N40 and Carr's Hill. I think the old road will be downgraded then (probably as an extension of the R609) and be a more active friendly route. I imagine those wishing to get from Carrigaline to Cork who can't go on motorways (e.g. learners) will use that road

The tender process for the main contract (which involves construction of 10.9km of dual carriageway motorway from the N40 Bloomfield Interchange to Barnahely) happened towards the end of last year. Unless they scrapped that and there will be another tender for Barnahely roundabout to the port, then the funding has to be for the Bloomfield - Barnahely section.

While that’s possible, that slip road will be closing with the motorway. I’m not complaining (I’m delighted, it was so outdated before), just confused why they went to the effort when there are so many sings all over Douglas, Rochestown and Grange that still use N25

That slip road was an after thought after the Mulcon Valley section was built, if memory serves me correctly I think that slip was commissioned in the mid to late 90's, this would have been after Broadale was more or less completed.

Normal practice for Type 1 DCs says that there will be, and that they will be numbered from Cork outwards, as you have them listed.

Nine juctions in 12.5 km is about five too many already. This is claimed to be a motorway, but it will end up having slightly more juctions per km than N40, and twice as many per km as M50.

I still can’t believe the Mount Oval slip road was allowed. The current slip road is so dangerous, going from 100km/h to 30km/h on a tight bend. I imagine the new one will be a lot safer, but still. How many motorways in the country have off ramps to the middle of a housing estate?

Residents campaigned and won to keep it. A crazy decision all told.

A more sensible idea would have been to build a new entrance / exit onto Maryborough Hill as part of this build.

I wonder have they identified in the detailed design a new merge onto the N40. Obviously trees were going to be felled to accommodate the new road regardless, but they’ve felled trees all the way up to the Rochestown gantry sign, including behind the hotel. Seems excessive based on the original drawings?

It’ll be worse than ever. You’ll have 2 lanes from M28 and 1 lane from Rochestown all trying to merge into the N40 mainline.

The merge from N28 needs to continue as an auxiliary lane over the Douglas Flyover until merging into mainline after this.

I can’t see that glover ever being widened to 3 lanes though.

I love trees, and live next to the road, so I'm devastated to see them go. However, it is a necessary evil. It was also clearly obvious that the trees would have to go. Mount Oval wanted their slip road, what did they expect? Plus, the Steering Group complained about the trees going as a reason to reject it

A shame because there was plenty of space to do it and it would have take stress off Clarke’s Hill.

Agree that it is a real shame to see those trees go, we have already seen far too many trees disappear from the southern hills and these ones were particularly visually significant. Also agree that it was obvious that they had to go to facilitate the off ramp and widening of the carriageway.

I think it's disingenuous to hold the residents of Mount Oval or anywhere else accountable for the decision regarding the retention and upgrading of the Mount Oval exit. When the NRA and Cork County Council presented their plans for the M28 in 2015, including the closure of the off ramp, they were confronted with the proposed rerouting of this traffic via the exit at Rochestown Church, onward to the Rochestown Road and up Clarkes Hill. The issues raised were the existing queueing on the N28 mainline and the existing capacity constraints at a number subsequent points, and how much worse these would become with the additional traffic. They readily admitted that the proposed improvements (traffic lights to replace the roundabout, traffic lights at the base of Clarkes Hill and a right turn lane on the Rochestown Road at the base of Clarkes Hill with a capacity for 4/5 cars) were inadequate, and would cause gridlock during rush hours. They also accepted that the video/model they had produced showing 3/4 cars per minute flowing smoothly from the N28 exit to Clarkes Hill was wildly unrealistic. I was present when they agreed to take this back to the drawing board and come up with a workable alternative. Certainly there were some who wanted the exit to remain open, but the NRA engineers were adamant that it was substandard and couldn't be done. There was a lot of surprise at the time when the revised plan was published showing the upgraded exit, especially as it still went straight into a housing estate. No other alternative was proposed by the NRA as far as I am aware.