The N26 road is a national primary road in northeast

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

in Ireland connecting the N5 road at

Swinford Swinford () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is surrounded by a number of smaller villages, including Midfield and Meelick. It is just off the N5 road, located 18 km (11 mi) from Ireland West Airport Knock (formerly known as K ...

with the N58 at Foxford and then on to the

N59 road The N59 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It commences in County Sligo, south of Sligo Town at the Belladrehid interchange with the N4 north of Ballysadare. The route circles around the west of Ireland, passing west from Sligo into ...

at Ballina.S.I. No. 53/2012 — Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2012
, ''

Irish Statute Book The Irish Statute Book, also known as the electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), is a database produced by the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. It contains copies of Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments.

'', 2012-02-28. The road also meets six regional roads along its route, and it is long
map
. The government legislation that defines the N26, the ''S.I. No. 53/2012 — Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2012'', provides the following official description: :N26: Swinford — Ballina, County Mayo :Between its junction with N5 at Kilbride in the county of Mayo and its junction with N59 at Lord Edward Street in the town of Ballina via Back Street and Main Street at Swinford; Clongullane Bridge, Callow; Chapel Road and Bridge Street at Foxford; Bellass, Drumrevagh, Carrowntreila and Rahans in the county of Mayo: Rahans Bridge at the boundary between the county of Mayo and the town of Ballina; Foxford Road, Station Road and Kevin Barry Street in the town of Ballina. This route was previously a national secondary road known as the N57 (leaving the N57 as a defunct route allocation). The route is Mayo's second busiest road after the N5, with almost 10,000 vehicles daily using the route between Ballina and Foxford. The route diverges from the N5 near

and passes through that town. It runs northwest to Foxford, where the road meets the N58 (which runs south back to the N5). From here the route turns north to Ballina. At Ballina the road meets the N59, which runs east–west through the town. The section between Foxford and Swinford is of very sub-standard quality and has an extremely narrow bridge over the River Moy at Callow, where two large vehicles cannot pass at the same time. The dangerous bridge is located on a double bend and interrupts the flow of traffic hugely. The N26 is the first "extra" allocation of a national primary route other than the original 25. There are now primary routes up to N33. The physical upgrading, or modernisation, of the road has been in the planning stages for over 10 years. The proposed upgrading of the N26 was divided into two phases with the first phase (5 km) just south of Ballina opening to traffic in December 2004, this new section eliminated a dangerous stretch and has much improved the approach into Ballina town. The second phase (19 km in length) from Carrowntrella-Bohola was planned to be of type two dual-carriageway standard and would have bypassed Foxford and Swinford. It would also have been the first dual carriageway ever constructed in Co Mayo and was to join the N5 just west of Bohola. However, planning permission for the project was denied by An Bord Pleanala in 2010 and the road is now being redesigned.

References

{{coord, 54.02270, N, 8.93600, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki, display=title 26 Roads in County Mayo

See also

References