The N16 road is a

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 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It begins in County Sligo in the northwest of

, and ends at

Blacklion Blacklion (; also ''An Leargaidh'') is a border village in west County Cavan, Ireland. It is situated on the N16 national primary road, just across the border from the County Fermanagh village of Belcoo. History The village is within the ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréi ...

, at the border with

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, where it becomes the A4 road. At , The N16 is one of the shorter national primary routes, as it forms only part of a major route from Sligo to

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

and onwards to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Route

The N16 begins at the junction of the N15 at Cartron,

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban c ...

, and travels northeast, past the

Institute of Technology, Sligo The Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta, Sligeach) was an Institutes of technology in the Republic of Ireland, institute of technology, located in Sligo, Ireland. In April 2022, it was formally dissolved, and ...

and onwards, passing above

Glencar Lake Glencar Lough (), locally known as Glencar Lake, is a freshwater lake in the northwest of Ireland. It covers an area of and lies mostly in County Leitrim with a smaller part in County Sligo. Glencar Waterfall is located near the lake's north s ...

and entering

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of ...

Manorhamilton Manorhamilton () is the second-largest town in County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 from Sligo and from Enniskillen. History Before the Plantations of Ireland, the settlement was known, and continues to be known in the Iri ...

and Glenfarne are the only towns passed through in County Leitrim, until the road reaches

, and crosses the border into

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,80 ...

at Belcoo, where the road becomes the A4. The route continues to

and further east towards

as the A4 and the

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which l ...

. Compared with many other national primary roads in Ireland, long sections of the N16 are narrow and twisty which can make travelling on it slow and difficult. In recent years improvements have been made to short sections of it but the geography of many of the areas it passes through (deep valleys and steep hills) places some limits on the improvements that can be made without a wholesale realignment of parts of the route (i.e., finding less difficult terrain nearby to build a new road through). As of December 2019, upgrades to further sections of the N16 were planned.

References

External links

Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006
– Department of Transport * http://www.leitrimcoco.ie/eng/Services_A-Z/Roads/National_Primary_Roads/Existing_Ongoing_Projects.html {{Roads in Ireland 16 Roads in County Sligo Roads in County Leitrim Roads in County Cavan

Route

See also

References

External links