N25 - Midleton to Youghal [planning and design to commence 2023]

Yes you are missing something.

M9 is a more important route, nationally, as it connects Waterford to Dublin via Kilkenny, Carlow and onward to M7, the major approach road to Dublin. N25 is less important, as it connects Waterford with Cork (okay, Rosslare harbour with Cork!), a much smaller population centre, and only Dungarvan and Youghal in between.

Traffic volume on M9 might be lower, but the type of traffic is very different. M9’s is more evenly spread throughout the day - also note that the “% HGV” is twice that of N25. That section of N25, on the other hand, has extreme peaks in morning and evening, but is very quiet at other times (I know, because I regularly use this road, and I make sure to avoid those peak times).

The plan for this part of N25 is a 2+2 dual carriageway, but the very high traffic on this road is not a sign of population growth that must be accommodated so much as a dysfunctional housing market that has forced people who work or study in Cork to live very far away from the city (that annual figure will drop a little as the year progresses and the months without students are included in the total). The only thing driving traffic growth on this road is a lack of housing closer to Cork