N11 road
Encyclopedia : N : N1 : N11 : N11 road
 
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The N11 is a National Primary Route in Ireland, running along the east side of Ireland from Dublin to Wexford. It passes close to Bray, Greystones, Wicklow and Arklow, from which many commute to Dublin, and also passes through Gorey and Enniscorthy amongst others. Beyond Wexford, the route continues to Rosslare as the N25. The route forms part of European route E1. As of 2006 the N11 is of dual carriageway or motorway standard from Dublin as far as Rathnew in County Wicklow.
Route out of (and into) Dublin
The N11 commences where it meets the N4 on the north end of O'Connell Bridge in Dublin city centre. The route proceeds along D'Olier Street, College Street (and in the opposite direction, Westmoreland Street). The route continues around College Green and Grafton Street (and in the other direction, Suffolk Street, Church Lane and Dame Street). From here, the route continues out of the city via Nassau Street, Kildare Street, North side of St. Stephen's Green, Merrion Row, Baggot Street Lower, Pembroke Street Lower, Fitzwilliam Square West and Pembroke Street Upper. This route section in the other direction (into the city centre) runs via Leeson Street Lower, East and North sides of St. Stephen's Green, and Dawson Street. The N11 runs in both directions along Leeson Street Lower after the junction with Pembroke Street. Having crossed the Grand Canal the route divides again for a portion of Leeson Street Upper, with outbound traffic proceeding via Sussex Road. The route continues via Morehampton Road and Donnybrook Road, through Donnybrook, with the route becoming dual carriageway at the beginning of the Stillorgan Road.The Stillorgan Road brings the road past Belfield, where University College Dublin is located (and accessed from a grade-separated interchange on the dual carriageway). North of Stillorgan, the N31 to Dun Laoghaire port commences, leaving the N11 to the east via Mount Merrion Avenue. Stillorgan is bypassed to the east by the N11 dual carriageway, which proceeds south and then southeast, bypassing Leopardstown to the east also. The Cabinteely Bypass and part of the Bray Road bring the N11 via Loughlinstown and Shanganagh to north of Shankill, where the M11 motorway commences as the Shankill Bypass.
Link with M50
Along the Shankill Bypass, the M11 is joined by the Dublin's M50 motorway ring road, which terminates at a major junction along the M11, opened in June 2005 after many years of planning. This link allows motorists to drive on continuous motorway and dual carriageway all the way from Rathnew, Co. Wicklow to various destinations around the country via the M50 and the national roads it serves. These include Portlaoise via the N7/M7, Kinnegad, County Meath via the M4, north of Ashbourne, County Meath via the N2, and north of Dundalk, County Louth (near the border with Northern Ireland) via the M1.
Traffic proceeding north on the M11 is given a choice to stay on the main carriageway (which becomes the M50), or take the exit at what is junction 17 on the M50, in order to stay on the M11, following the N11 into the city centre. Traffic on the N11 inside Dublin proper is expected to ease due to traffic being given other route options before entering the city.
Route through Wicklow and Wexford
West of Bray in County Wicklow, the motorway ends, with the N11 continuing south as dual carriageway through the Glen of the Downs. The upgrading of the road to dual carriageway through the Glen of the Downs was controversial, as the valley is a wooded area. Expanding the road resulted in the removal of some woodland. A campaign of protests, mainly by English activists, led to long delays in the construction of this section of road, but the work was eventually completed with a minimal disruption to the woodland. After Glen of the Downs the N11 continues south to bypass Kilpedder, Newtownmountkennedy, Ashford and Rathnew. The dual carriageway ends after Rathnew. The route continues as single carriageway south towards Arklow. Arklow is bypassed by a dual-carriageway route opened in 1999.
Just north of Inch, the N11 enters County Wexford. The route continues south to Gorey. Clogh, Camolin, and Ferns lie along the route south towards Enniscorthy. North of Enniscorthy, the N80 from Moate joins the N11. At Enniscorthy itself, the N30 from Waterford joins the N11. South of here, the N11 passes through Oilgate, continuing south through Ferrycarrig, and crossing the River Slaney to terminate on a bypass west of Wexford where it meets the N25 from Waterford.
Upgrades
With Bray, Newtownmountkennedy, Ashford, Rathnew and Arklow all having been bypassed, the biggest remaining bottle-neck to traffic on the N11, as of 2006, is the County Wexford town of Gorey. A bypass of Gorey is under construction as of 2006, which will provide 23 km of dual carriageway from the southern end of the Arklow bypass, to south of Clogh. This project is due for completion at the end of 2007.
A separate project is in planning to provide 14 km of dual carriageway from Rathnew to Arklow. This project has been approved by An Bord Pleanala but start of construction is not scheduled for 2006. Once completed, dual carriageway or motorway would extend from inside Dublin, right through to south of Clogh. Upgrade projects on the N11 have been publicly funded and no road tolls are planned.
A further project is in planning to provide a wide two lane road bypass around Enniscorthy, of 20 km along the N11 and the N30.
References
- [Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006] (PDF)- [Department of Transport]
- [Scheme Activity 2006] - [National Roads Authority] (road projects under construction or to start 2006)
- [Major Road Schemes in Planning] - [National Roads Authority]
| National Primary Routes of the Republic of Ireland |
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| N1(M1) - N2 - N3(M3) - N4(M4) - N5 - N6(M6) - N7(M7) - N8(M8) - N9(M9) - N10 - N11(M11) - N12 - N13 - N14 - N15 - N16 - N17 - N18 - N19 - N20 - N21 - N22 - N23 - N24 - N25 - N26 - N27 - N28 - N29 - N30 - N31 - N32 - N33 - M50 |
| Roads in Ireland - National Secondary Routes - Regional Roads |
| See also: National Development Plan, National Roads Authority |
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