| N25 road | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Part of | |
| Length: | 196 km (122 mi) |
| Location | |
| Primary destinations: |
(bypassed routes in italics) |
| Road network | |
The N25 road is a national primary road in Ireland, forming the route from Cork to Rosslare Europort via Waterford City. The road is part of the E30 European route and a short section is also part of the E01 European route. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route.[1]
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The section of the route around Cork city forms the Southern Ring ring road dual-carriageway. The Ring starts as the N22 until the N22/N25 interchange. At the Bandon road roundabout the N71 from the South continues North onto Bishopstown road. The Southern Ring runs east over the Kinsale Road Interchange by flyover. It also meets the N27 to Cork International Airport, Kinsale Road and the South Link Road to the city centre by exiting onto the Kinsale Road Roundabout by slip road. Originating at this Interchange, the 200-km long N25 heads East - on the way it overpasses Douglas and meets the N28 to Ringaskiddy (Carrigaline Road). From here the road passes under the River Lee through the Jack Lynch Tunnel. On 4 August 2006, a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) flyover of the Kinsale Road Roundabout was opened to traffic 6 months ahead of schedule. The project cost 55 million euro and consists of 3 lanes eastbound, 2 lanes west-bound and four off-ramps connecting the dual-carriageway to the roundabout. The opening of this flyover now allows traffic to flow continuously from the Jack Lynch Tunnel to the Sarsfield Road Roundabout without stopping. Some work has already begun on building flyovers over the Sarsfield Road and Bandon Road Roundabouts but is set to fully begin in December 2010. North of the tunnel, the South Ring Road ends at an interchange with the M8 to Dublin and the N8 to the city centre. From here the N25 runs east as the East Cork Parkway dual-carriageway, with interchanges for Fota Island and Cóbh, and also Carrigtwohill. The next major destination on the route is Midleton.
The dual-carriageway ends after bypassing Midleton with an ordinary two-lane road continuing east to Youghal. At Youghal a single carriageway bypass was completed in 2003, bringing the road around the west of the town to the northern side of Youghal. Here the road crosses the River Blackwater into County Waterford. Northeast of this, the road was widened as part of the N25 Kinsalebeg project. This consisted of widening of 3.5 kilometers of single carriageway to include a hard shoulder on both sides of the road. The route passes Dungarvan with a future bypass at preliminary design stage[2]. before reaching Kilmeaden west of Waterford city and onto the Waterford City Bypass. Beginning at Kilmeaden the bypass passes the Woodstown historic settlement, before crossing the River Suir (via a cable stay bridge of about 475m in length) between Gracedieu in County Waterford and Grannagh in County Kilkenny. The bypass meets the M9 Motorway and N24 at the Grannagh interchange, before joining the old N25 east of Slieverue. The bypass connects to the Outer Ring Road and the old N25 via a road known as the Western Link. (The bypass as a whole contains 23 km (14 mi) of dual carriageway* and 14 km (8.7 mi) of single carriageway.) The bypass is a tolled road.[3]
From Waterford, the N25 moves north to cross the River Nore into County Wexford further up its estuary at New Ross, with a future bypass at preliminary design stage[4]. East of the town, the N30 diverges and connects northeast to Enniscorthy on the N11 Dublin – Wexford route. The N25 continues east to Wexford and meets the end of the N11 road west of the town. The N25 skirts the edge of the town around to the south and passes west of Rosslare to reach Rosslare Harbour.
Other sections of the route may become motorway. Part of the N25 dual carriageway in Midleton is to have all its junctions grade-separated and all direct accesses removed from the route (by the construction of a parallel road), thus making it suitable for upgrade to motorway status.
The NRA is examining the possibility of a new road from Midleton to Youghal, with route options being investigated.[5]
As part of the Atlantic Corridor road scheme the section of road between Waterford and Rosslare Europort will be built as high quality dual carrage way or motorway standard. Some parts are currently in planning and design stages.[6] However due to deterioration of the Irish economy and the scaling back of the road building programme the proposed 2015 completion date on these projects is now unlikely.
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