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M6 motorway (Ireland)
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The M6 motorway is a motorway in Ireland, forming part of the N6 Dublin to Galway national primary road. Substantial works are underway to extend the M6 from its junction with the M4 at Kinnegad all the way to Galway City. By late 2010 the motorway will have replaced almost all of the single carriageway N6.
Kinnegad, the M6 motorway emerges from the M4 at a restricted access junction.
torway reaches from this point to the start of the Athlone bypass.
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The M6 motorway is a motorway in Ireland, forming part of the N6 Dublin to Galway national primary road. Substantial works are underway to extend the M6 from its junction with the M4 at Kinnegad all the way to Galway City. By late 2010 the motorway will have replaced almost all of the single carriageway N6.
Route
Near Kinnegad, the M6 motorway emerges from the M4 at a restricted access junction.
Kinnegad to Athlone
A Motorway reaches from this point to the start of the Athlone bypass. The route opened in stages.
- The first section, from Kinnegad to Tyrrellspass, opened on 5 December 2006.
- The next section, a stretch from Tyrellspass to Kilbeggan, opened on 16 May 2007.
- The section connecting Kilbeggan to the eastern end of the Athlone by-pass opened on 16 July 2008. As of 24 September 2008, motorway regulations apply from Kinnegad to the eastern end of the Athlone bypass. . The Kinnegad-Athlone had been signed as a motorway (and numbered "M6") and had the road markings appropriate to a motorway in preparation for this - however motorway regulations were not in force and the speed limit was 100 km/h until 24 September.
Junctions
There are two junction numbering schemes on the N6 route. The M6 junction numbers below are used on the Kinnegad-Athlone section. The Athlone bypass has a separate numbering scheme (J1-J6) but this is likely to be renumbered.
Future
Motorway redesignations affecting the M6
On 30 September, the Irish National Roads Authority released the second tranche of potential motorway redesignations. These include parts of the present N6/M6 route.
The M6 currently ends where it meets the N6 Athlone bypass. If the redesignations go ahead (they are subject to ministerial approval), then the 6.8 km Athlone bypass and 71 km of under-construction high quality dual-carriageway between Athlone and Galway would be made motorway.)
Sections under construction
At present, the M6 motorway leads into the non-motorway Athlone bypass. Two schemes will extend motorway from the western end of the bypass to Galway city. By the end of 2010, the M6 will be completed and will include up to 22 junctions.
- As of June 2008, an upgrade of the route between Athlone and Ballinasloe is under construction. It is being built as a grade separated HQDC. When the 20km (12.5 mi) scheme is complete, it will lie between Junctions 13 and 14 on the N6/M6 corridor. The section is likely to be given motorway status by Statutory Instrument before it opens.
- Construction began in 2007 on the final section of the M6 route. This section lies between the towns of Ballinasloe and Galway. When complete it will be 56km in length and lie between Junctions 14 and 20 on the M6 corridor. The road is proceeding as a tolled Public-private partnership scheme, and will therefore open under motorway restrictions. This scheme has been the matter of some controversy. The environmental agency An Taisce claimed that the National Roads Authority's planned M6 route would be "particularly destructive" in passing the site of the 17th century Battle of Aughrim The tolling of the route is also controversial, as the M4 motorway to/from Dublin, which connects with the N6/M6 route, is also tolled, meaning that motorists will have to pay two tolls when driving between Dublin and Galway. However, this ties in 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 also quite unusual in another way: Unlike most national road upgrade projects in the state, the new route will differ significantly from that of the original N6. The route will run roughly east-west between the two destinations, rather than dipping south to Loughrea as the current N6 does. A link road from the new M6 to Loughrea is being constructed to cater for this change. The altered nature of the route means that the town of Athenry will be located near to a national primary route for the first time.
- Upon completion, the M6 will be approximately 144 km (90 mi) in length making it the third longest motorway in the state.
Proposed Motorway Service Areas
The National Roads Authority (NRA) has planned the construction Motorway Service Areas at approximately 60 kilometre intervals along each of Ireland's interurban routes. Under this plan, the M6 will have two such areas. One will be located just east of Athlone, while the other will be sited west of Oranmore (see here, p.25). The second is quite controversial, as its proposed location is on a three-level stacked roundabout interchange of the M6, M17 and M18 motorways. The EIS for the M6 Athlone Motorway Service Area is now available at the NRA website (scroll down to the bottom here). As of January 2009, no details regarding the construction of the other M6 service area have been announced.
See also
External links
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