N2 road

In Belgium, the N2 is the old road from Brussels to Maastricht passing Leuven, Diest, Hasselt.


Destinations (SE to NW)
On route / bypassed
County Dublin * Dublin City * Phibsboro * Finglas County Meath * Ashbourne * Balrath * Slane	County Louth * Collon * Ardee County Monaghan * Carrickmacross * Castleblayney * * Monaghan †
* To be bypassed, Quarter 3, 2007 2+1 lanes. † To be bypassed Quarter 2, 2006.

The N2 road is a National Primary Route in the Republic of Ireland, running from Dublin to the border at Moy Bridge near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone to connect Dublin with Derry via the A5 in Northern Ireland.

Route

The N2 commences at a junction with the N1 along Dorset Street Upper. From here the route goes to Drumcondra, via St. Mary's Place, Western Way and the Phibsborough Road (and also in the opposite direction; North Circular Road, Berkeley Road, Berkeley Street and Blessington Street). The route leaves the city past Glasnevin via Prospect Road, and Finglas via the Finglas Road. The N2 meets the M50 motorway at Junction 5.

The N2 runs as a dual-carriageway for 17 km from the M50 to north of Ashbourne in County Meath. This project was opened on 25th May 2006, and includes 3.5 km of three lane dual carriageway built to motorway standard. The route is the first to have a 120 km/h special speed limit (this was previously reserved for motorways, see Road speed limits in the Republic of Ireland for particulars).

The route continues through Balrath towards Slane, where a dangerous bridge brings the road through the town by the historic Hill of Slane, now home to the occasional rock festival. The N2 continues through Collon in County Louth. Just after Ardee the N2 meets the N33 road, which connects the N2 to the nearby M1 motorway. North of this, in County Monaghan, the N2 bypasses Carrickmacross to the east, along a bypass opened on 21 January 2005. This 9km wide single carriageway has been named The Kavanagh Way, after Monaghan writer and poet Patrick Kavanagh. The route passes through Castleblayney and Clontibret on the way to Monaghan. North of the town, the N12 diverges east to the border. The N2 continues north through Emyvale to reach the border at Moy Bridge directly south of Aughnacloy, County Tyrone. From here, the road becomes the A5 road to Omagh and Derry.

Upgrades

Projects under construction on the N2 include a 16 kilometre 2+1 carriageway bypass of Castleblayney and three kilometre single carriageway bypass of Monaghan town to the east.

Planned projects along the N2 include a 9 km bypass of Ardee, 4 km bypass of Slane and 9 km bypass of Belturbet. All these projects are to be standard two lane road.

There have been calls (by both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland political parties) to upgrade the whole Dublin–Derry route to dual carriageway, including the A5 in Northern Ireland.

External links

[Official site of the N2 Ashbourne Bypass/M50 Junction project]
[Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006] (PDF)- [Department of Transport]
[National Roads Authority] (details of projects completed, under construction, and planned on the N2, and other routes)

National Primary Routes of the Republic of Ireland
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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