The N18 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 ro ...

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 ...

, connecting the cities of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

and

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

are two major towns on the route, and

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

is reached via the connecting N19. The west coast route continues on to

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 List of urban areas ...

as the N17. The section from Limerick to the N19 junction forms part of

European route E20 European route E20 is a part of the United Nations International E-road network. It runs roughly west–east through Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, and Russia. Its length is but it is not continuous; at three points, a ...

, and the entire route is part of the proposed

Atlantic Corridor The Atlantic corridor or Atlantic motorway is a proposed road project in Ireland. The scheme, announced in 2005, was intended to link Waterford in the South-East to Letterkenny in the North-West via motorway or dual carriageway by 2015. However, ...

. The section of

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 i ...

from Shannon to

Claregalway Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe (anglicized Claregalway) is a Gaeltacht village about 10 km north of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Claregalway was founded on the banks of the River Clare, hence the derivation of its ...

is designated the

M18 motorway This is a list of roads designated M18. Road entries are sorted in the countries alphabetical order. * M-18 road (Bosnia and Herzegovina) a road connecting Sarajevo, Trnovo, Foča and Trebinje * M18 motorway (Great Britain), a road connecting Ro ...

. The tolled

Limerick Tunnel The Limerick Tunnel () is a , twin bore road tunnel underneath the River Shannon on the outskirts of Limerick city. The tunnel forms part of the N18 Limerick Southern Ring Road. The tunnel is tolled. Construction Construction was carried out b ...

forms part of the route.

Route

N18 looking south from the Ennis junction

N18 Limerick to Shannon

As of 27 July 2010, the N18 commences at the Rosbrien interchange, a major interchange south of

city, where it joins the M7 motorway to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and M20 motorway towards

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

. The dual carriageway continues north, intersecting with the N69 road, before crossing under the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

using the

, this section of the route forms phase II of the Limerick Southern Ring Road and is tolled between junctions 2-4. North of the

the N18 continues as dual-carriageway bypassing

Cratloe Cratloe () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, situated between Limerick and Shannon in the mid-west of Ireland. It is possible that the name derives from ''Croit-shliabh'' meaning "hump-backed hill", referring to Woodcock Hill. The present ...

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge (), is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road. Sixmilebridge partly serves as a dormitory village for workers in the ...

and

Bunratty Bunratty (, meaning "end of the Raite") is a village in County Clare, Ireland, near Bunratty Castle. It is connected by the N18 road to Limerick and Galway. The Raite river defines the parish's eastern boundary and flows into the Shannon Estu ...

. The road passed alongside

Bunratty Castle Bunratty Castle (, meaning "castle at the mouth of the Ratty") is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village ( ga, Bun Ráite), by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Sha ...

before the completion of the neighbouring dual-carriageway section in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The other nearby junctions were also converted to fly-overs in the 1990s. N18 Southbound Near Shannon

The road continues north with junctions at Hurler's Cross and

Shannon Town Shannon () or Shannon Town (), named after the river near which it stands, is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It was given town status on 1 January 1982. The town is located just off the N19 road, a spur of the N18/M18 road between Limeric ...

, there is a fly-over connecting

via the N19 dual-carriageway.

M18 Shannon to Gort

The N18 continues north of the N19 junction where motorway regulations are enforced and the N18 route is designated as the M18 bypassing the towns of

Newmarket-on-Fergus Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is 13 kilometres from Ennis, 8 kilometres from Shannon Airport, and 24 kilometres from Limerick. History The English rendering of the name 'Newm ...

and

. The motorway currently ends at Gort where the route continues as a single carriageway through County Galway. The dual-carriageway between Shannon and

(including the Ennis bypass) was included in the second tranche of motorway redesignations and gained motorway status on 28 August 2009.

M18 Gort to Claregalway

The Gort to Tuam (M18/M17) scheme consists of of motorway and of Type 2 dual-carriageway. DirectRoute (Tuam) Ltd., a consortium consisting of Marguerite Fund, InfraRed Capital Partners,

Sisk Group Sisk Group is a construction and property company founded in Cork, Ireland in 1859 with operations in Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, Sweden and the Middle East. History After an apprenticeship as a plasterer and at the age of 22, Joh ...

, Lagan Construction Group, Roadbridge and Strabag began construction of the scheme in 2015 and was officially opened on 27 September 2017. It completed the existing M18 motorway, bypassing the towns of

Kilcolgan Kilcolgan (), is a village on the mouth of the Kilcolgan River at Dunkellin Bay in County Galway, Ireland. The settlement is at the junction of the N67 and R458 roads, which lies between Gort and Clarinbridge. The village is near the site of ...

and

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ''Úarán Mór'') is a town near the city of Galway in County Galway, Ireland. It is also the name of the civil parish and Roman Catholic parish in which the town lies. It is east of Galway city on the edge of Oranmore Bay, an ...

. The route then continues north to the M6

–Galway motorway, forming interchange junction 19 on the M6. It then continues northwards bypassing

. The M18 had terminated at a temporary junction near

. In addition, a new section of the N17 was constructed as motorway. This motorway begins at a new junction with the M6 near

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

, and ends with a dual-carriageway bypass of

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

, which was also constructed as part of the scheme but was not designated a motorway. The N17 then continues into

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 ...

towards

History

Major improvements to the N18 route have been made over the past decade. Originally the route was a narrow single carriageway route that ran through all the main towns and villages between Limerick and Claregalway where the route terminates. The first improvements involved the dualling of the Limerick, Bunratty and Shannon route. The Newmarket on Fergus bypass opened in December 2002 and the Ennis bypass opened in 2007. Both were redesignated as motorway in August 2009. The Limerick Tunnel and phase II of the Limerick Southern Ring Road opened in July 2010 forming a continuous motorway dual-carriageway from the N/M18 to the M7 and M20 outside Limerick. On 12 November 2010 the €207 million Gort to Crusheen(M18) bypass was opened. The remaining single carriageway sections from Gort to Claregalway have been upgraded to motorway standard and were officially opened on 27 September 2017.

Junctions

References

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 d ...

External links

Ennisbypass.ie – N18 website

{{DEFAULTSORT:N18 Road (Ireland) 18 Roads in County Clare Roads in County Limerick Roads in County Galway