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Going East and getting on to M9 from M7

muchos04

Hi Guys,

I was just taking a look at the motorway system of the M7 and M9 on OSM. If I am coming from Limerick and then heading to Kilkenny and want to take both M7 and M9, do i have to head north of where they cross over as this is what it looks like on the map or what junction can i get off M7 to head south on the M9?

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corktina

it obviously never occured to anyone that anyone would want to come UP the M7 and DOWN the M8 or 9..or vice versa. You'll have to go past the intersection to the next exit and back down again OR cut across country from (say ) Portlaoise).Bad planning I guess.

Jimbob1977

Hi,

1) For the best roads, probably take the M7 as far as Portlaoise. After passing through the toll plaza, take Exit 17 for Durrow (N77). This is the defunct Cork Road (before the M8 motorway replaced it). In Durrow, take the Kilkenny Road.

2) If you absolutely have to travel on the M9 (it's unnecessary), you would take Exit 12 for the Curragh. Drive cross-country across the open flatlands to Kilcullen and then take M9 Southbound.

3) AA Roadwatch recommends N24 to Tipperary Town, N74 to Cashel, join M8 towards Dublin. Hop off at M8 Exit 4 and follow the Kilkenny signposts

muchos04

Thanks for the info guys,

but i'm not getting something here. As the M9 and M7 merge further south why wasn't there an exit off the M7 coming from Limerick where you could head southbound on the M9?

Tech3

muchos04 wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys,

but i'm not getting something here. As the M9 and M7 merge further south why wasn't there an exit off the M7 coming from Limerick where you could head southbound on the M9?

Mainly due to very little traffic needs to get from M7E -> M9S. Same on the M8 junction as well.

veryangryman

tech2 wrote: »

Mainly due to very little traffic needs to get from M7E -> M9S. Same on the M8 junction as well.

The rule of thumb taken directly from NRA website* is....

"If your not going to/from Dublin, get bent"

* may or may not be true

fricatus

tech2 wrote: »

Mainly due to very little traffic needs to get from M7E -> M9S. Same on the M8 junction as well.

Whether you're right or wrong, it does sort of fly in the face of the whole thing being a motorway network though. Surely a network should allow the highest feasible level of connectivity? So what if comparatively little traffic wants to travel this route? It's not like it would take a lot to rectify it!

It really does smack of Dublin-centricity of the worst kind. Do they think nobody at all wants to go from Kildare to Waterford? Newbridge to Carlow?

Bloody ridiculous! :mad:

corktina

couldnt agree more....what about someone living 10 miles down the M7 wanting to go to Cork for the weekend? surely there must be quite a few people wanting to do the journey the OP is doing.

tharlear

Whether you're right or wrong, it does sort of fly in the face of the whole thing being a motorway network though. Surely a network should allow the highest feasible level of connectivity? So what if comparatively little traffic wants to travel this route? It's not like it would take a lot to rectify it!

It really does smack of Dublin-centricity of the worst kind.

If you look at the motorway "network" in the country by
where it goes?
when it was built?
how much was spent on it ?
how much was spent on upgradinfg after it was built?

you will notice that most is Dublin centric. Most of the money was spent and is being spent in Dublin. The majority of the motorway sytem in Dublin is a commuter motorway system and not a national system.

the roads become toll roads once outside the communter belt.

If it was a national system the M1 from the docks would go north 3 lanes and divide into the M2 and M3

the m4 would go west from hueston 3 lanes and divide going to the m5, m6, m7, m8, m9

the m11 would go south.

Only 3 large national motorways out of dublin would have been at lot less expensive in building a national system

But that would not have helped the developers build housing estates.

Dublin would then have had to plead for money for its own commuter roads like evey other city and town in the country. By calling these commuter roads, national motoways they got priority.

Tech3

tharlear wrote: »

the roads become toll roads once outside the communter belt.

That is untrue. There are many tolls in the commuter area around Dublin. The M50, M4 and M3.

Also if there was only 3 routes out of Dublin 4 lane dual carriageway would be required.

Benny_Cake

OP, if you must go via the M7/M9,its only 5 km further to the Naas South junction,so I'd just continue on,over the bridge and back onto the motoray. And yes, they should have finished the junction properly. That said,if I were you I'd take the N77 from Portlaoise as mentioned by Jimbob, it should work out quicker.

tharlear

That is untrue. There are many tolls in the commuter area around Dublin. The M50, M4 and M3.

How is it not true, m50 westlink, eastlink port tunnel

M4: Toll on m4 is between enfiled and kilcock, approx 34KM Dublin city center (google)

M3: Toll on m3 is near rathbaggen approx 20km from Dublin Center (google)

east link is tolled built 1984
M50 Toll on westlink bridge was built by NTR plc in Dublin 1990 expanded to 2 bridges in 2003. Only reason it tolled is it was build in 1990 when Ireland was broke (plus ca change)

Dulin port tunnel is tolled, to keep traffic from using it as a commuter road.

My overall point is that many of the so called national motorways in the Dublin areas are commuter roads not needed for a national mototrway system.
I'm not saying these roads are not needed for Dublin just there are not needed in the terms of a national system.

The tolls in Dublin, eastlink and westlink bridges are because they were built preboom.The arterial roads into Dublin are in general toll free until you are well outside of dublin city into semi rural areas. This was done to allow developer make a fortune by opening up areas to allow Dublin grow out instead of up

Only toll road added in Dublin during the boom years was the port tunnel (1995/6 to september 2008)

Brabus

muchos04 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I was just taking a look at the motorway system of the M7 and M9 on OSM. If I am coming from Limerick and then heading to Kilkenny and want to take both M7 and M9, do i have to head north of where they cross over as this is what it looks like on the map or what junction can i get off M7 to head south on the M9?

Looking at the map myself, if Castletown-Nenagh section of M7 was open, I'd exit at junction 21, take Rathdowney R435,then Ballacolla R433, Durrow R434 and finally N77 to Kilkenny.

Another alternative would be after Rathdowney, head for M8 (should be sign posted in Rathdowney) and enter M8 at junction 3 continue to junction 4 exit at Urlingford and take R693 to Kilkenny.
This route would mean you would be using more motorway than the first suggestion I mentioned.
And you would be avoiding the tolls too!!
Though it does mean not using the M9 in this way.

Jayuu

It was really short-termism not to build complete access at the M7/M8 and the M7/M9 interchanges. I can't imagine it would have cost a huge amount to have done this.

I mean they did on the M4/M6 road, albeit by a complicated set of roundabouts and the M4 only continues for a mile of two after that junction.

flazio

Jayuu wrote: »

It was really short-termism not to build complete access at the M7/M8 and the M7/M9 interchanges. I can't imagine it would have cost a huge amount to have done this.

I mean they did on the M4/M6 road, albeit by a complicated set of roundabouts and the M4 only continues for a mile of two after that junction.

Not quite, if you want to go back west towards Mullingar after travelling eastbound on the M6, you still have to get off the motorway to hop across to the other motorway.

Jayuu

flazio wrote: »

Not quite, if you want to go back west towards Mullingar after travelling eastbound on the M6, you still have to get off the motorway to hop across to the other motorway.

I know that is not a direct interchange which would have been better but at least you can change directions quite close to point where the motorways join as opposed to the M7/M8 and M7/M9 where you have to go several miles further on in order to come back to the other motorway.