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The M6 motorway ( ga, Mótarbhealach M6) is a
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, which runs (together with the M4) from
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
to
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...
. The M6 extends from its junction with the M4 at
Kinnegad Kinnegad or Kinagad () is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is on the border with County Meath, near the junction of the M6 and the M4 motorways - two of Ireland's main east–west roads. It is roughly 60 km from the capital, Dubli ...
all the way west to the outskirts of Galway City, but the
Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...
bypass and the approach to Galway city - while of dual carriageway standard - have not been designated motorway and are still signed as N6. The motorway was officially completed and opened to traffic on 18 December 2009, and was the first city-to-city direct major inter-urban route to be completed in Ireland. The M6 and M4, which form the
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...
-
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
route, consist of a grade-separated 2+2 dual carriageway road with a top speed limit of 120 km/h. At approximately 144 km (90 mi), the M6 is the third longest motorway in the state and will be 159 km.


Route

Near
Kinnegad Kinnegad or Kinagad () is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is on the border with County Meath, near the junction of the M6 and the M4 motorways - two of Ireland's main east–west roads. It is roughly 60 km from the capital, Dubli ...
, the M6 motorway diverges from the M4 at a restricted access junction. From here it proceeds westward, passing through counties
Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...
,
Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...
,
Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...
and
Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...
before terminating just east of Galway City near Doughiska.


History

The present-day M6 was constructed in five stages between 2005 and late 2009. Some of the sections which now form part of the M6 were initially opened as dual-carriageway and previously formed part of the N6, while other sections were opened as motorway. In chronological order, the various sections opened as follows (status on opening in brackets): * Kinnegad-Tyrrellspass (5 December 2006, as dual carriageway); * Tyrrellspass-Kilbeggan (16 May 2007, as dual carriageway); * Kilbeggan-Athlone (16 July 2008, as dual carriageway); * Athlone-Ballinasloe (23 July 2009, as motorway); * Ballinasloe-Galway (18 December 2009, as motorway).


Kinnegad-Athlone

From 24 September 2008, motorway regulations were applied from Kinnegad to the eastern end of the Athlone bypass. The Kinnegad-Athlone scheme was signed as a motorway (and numbered "M6"). Its
road markings Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information; they are commonly placed with road marking machines (also referred to as road marking equipment or pavement marking e ...
were already appropriate to a motorway prior to the change in designation coming into effect; however, motorway regulations were not in force and the
speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...
was 100 km/h until 24 September of that year.


Athlone-Ballinasloe

Construction of this 19-km section of road commenced on 3 September 2007 and opened to traffic on 23 July 2009. It was built as a grade separated
HQDC A High-quality dual carriageway (HQDC) is a road category in Ireland. It is defined as an all-purpose dual carriageway road type built to near motorway standards, but without motorway classification or motorway restrictions. High-quality dual car ...
to motorway standard and was redesignated a motorway on 28 August 2009. Prior to this date, the scheme was subject to a reduced speed limit of 100 km/h. The central barrier on this road is a traditional metal barrier rather than the Concrete step barriers, which have become standard on all new dual-carriageways in Ireland and UK in recent years. The Athlone to Ballinasloe scheme was built by SIAC-Willis JV.


Ballinasloe-Galway

Construction of this 56-km section of M6 began in 2007. This section lies between the town of
Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-c ...
and Galway City, running between junctions 14 and 20 on the M6 corridor. The road is a tolled Public-private partnership scheme, and opened under motorway restrictions. The PPP contract was awarded to N6 Concession Limited in April 2007 which comprised FCC Construction S.A. and Itinere Infraestructuras (both major companies from Spain) and P.J. Hegarty & Sons who are a leading Irish Contractor. The contract was signed on 4 April 2007 for 30 years from that date. The construction took approximately 3 years to be completed and the N6 Concessions Limited will be responsible for collection of tolls for a period of approximately 27 years. This scheme was a matter of some controversy at its planning stage. The environmental agency An Taisce claimed that the
National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) ( ga, An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) was a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December ...
's planned route would be "particularly destructive" in passing the site of the 17th-century
Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivalent ...
. The decision to toll the route is also controversial, as the M4 motorway to/from
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, which connects with the N6/M6 route, is also tolled. This meant that motorists would have to pay two tolls when driving between Dublin and Galway. It was pointed out, however, that this corresponds with the Authority's plan to have two tolls on each of the main interurban routes. The new section of N6/M6 between Ballinasloe and Galway was also quite unusual in another way: Unlike most national road upgrade projects in Ireland, the new route differed significantly from that of the original N6. The new route runs roughly east–west between the two destinations, rather than dipping south to Loughrea, as the former alignment N6 did. The N65 was extended from Loughrea to the new M6 was constructed to cater for this change. As an emergency measure to restore access from Dublin to Galway after severe flooding at Craughwell on Friday 20 November 2009, an incomplete section of this scheme between Loughrea and Galway Clinic (Doughiska) was opened temporarily.


Junctions

Until 2011 there were two junction numbering schemes on the N6 route. The M6 junction numbers below are used on the entire length of the road. The Athlone bypass had a separate numbering scheme (J1–J6) but was renumbered to its current form (J8–J13) following the upgrade of the bypass in 2011.


Motorway Service Area

Transport Infrastructure Ireland Transport Infrastructure Ireland ( ga, Bonneagar Iompair Éireann) is a state agency in Ireland dealing with road and public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit ...
(TII) is constructing Motorway Service Areas at approximately 60 kilometre intervals along each of Ireland's interurban routes. Under this plan, the M6 has one such area. It is located just east of
Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...
(see here, p. 25). The EIS for the M6 Athlone
Motorway Service Area Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The v ...
was issued in 2014. It was officially opened on 12 September 2019.


Tolls

Although the M6 is a tolled motorway, there is only a single toll plaza, located at Cappataggle, between junctions 15
Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-c ...
West & 16 Loughrea. Hence there is no toll payable to travel between the eastern end of the motorway and Ballinasloe and also between Loughrea and the western end at Galway city. Tolls may be paid by cash, credit card or through the use of an electronic tag.Operating Company Website FAQs


Future


Motorway redesignations affecting the M6

At present, the M6 motorway leads into the non-motorway Athlone bypass and continues again west of the bypass to Galway. Subject to improvements, the Athlone Bypass may yet come under motorway regulations and be incorporated into the rest of the M6 route.


See also

*
Roads in Ireland The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from tr ...
*
Motorways in Ireland In Ireland, the highest category of road is a motorway (''mótarbhealach'', plural: ''mótarbhealaí''), indicated by the prefix M followed by a one- or two-digit number (the number of the national route of which each motorway forms a part). Th ...
*
National primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649  km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...
*
National secondary road A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national ...
*
Regional road The term regional road (or route) is used in a number of places to designate roads of more than purely ''local'' but less than ''national'' strategic importance in a country's highway network. It is used formally and officially in reference to: *R ...


References


External links


Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006
Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The ...

Scheme Activity 2006
National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) ( ga, An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) was a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December ...
(road projects under construction)
N6 Galway to Ballinasloe

Galway County Council

Roscommon County CouncilNRA map of the Athlone – Kilbeggan sectionM6 Toll operator website
{{DEFAULTSORT:M6 Motorway (Ireland) M06 Roads in County Meath Roads in County Westmeath Roads in County Offaly Roads in County Roscommon Roads in County Galway ga:N6