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N7 road

Encyclopedia : N : N7 : N7R : N7 road

 

''In Belgium, the N7 is the old road from Brussels to Doornik passing Halle and Ath.
N7    N7
Destinations (E to W)
On route / bypassed / bypassed by M7
* To be bypassed by M7 Portlaoise - Castletown [link].
† To be bypassed by N7 Nenagh to Limerick dual-carriageway scheme.
‡ Route (now R445) bypassing Annacotty, passing through Castletroy, Limerick and Caherdavin is still mostly signposted as N7, in addition to N7 Southern Ring Road.

The N7 road is a National Primary Route in the Republic of Ireland, connecting Dublin and Limerick. The road passes through the midlands of Ireland, and acts as a trunk route out of Dublin for the N8 and N9 roads to Cork and Waterford respectively. It forms part of European route E20.

Contents

Naas Road

The N7 route commences on the outskirts of Dublin at the Red Cow Roundabout (often termed the "Mad Cow Roundabout" due to traffic problems), an intersection with the M50 motorway. The Red Cow Roundabout is to be replaced with a near-freeflow interchange, as part of a €1.1 billion project to upgrade the M50.

From the M50, the N7 passes south of Clondalkin leaving the city as the "Naas Road". A 15 kilometre section of the N7 south of the M50 junction is currently being upgraded to three lanes of dual-carriageway (i.e. an extra lane on each side), with work having commenced on the 4 January 2005 and scheduled to be complete by July 2006. This section of the N7 bypasses Kill and Johnstown in County Kildare. As part of the upgrade, grade-separated interchanges are under construction. The old junctions consisted of traffic lights with a break in the dual-carriageway median.

New signage erected as part of this scheme includes junction numbers (previously the only numbered N7 junctions were some of the interchanges on the M7 motorway).

M7 motorway

M7 motorway
Length 40 miles
63 km
Direction Northeast-Southwest
Start (N7 from Dublin) Naas
Primary destinations Newbridge, Kildare, Monastervin, Portlaoise (N8 to Cork)
End Mountrath (N7 to Limerick)
Construction dates 1983 (Naas Bypass/J7-J8)
1993 (Newbridge Bypass/J8-J10)
1997 (Portlaoise Bypass)
2003 (Kildare Bypass)
2004 (Monasterevin Bypass) -
Motorways joined 9 - 45px
M9 motorway
Main article: M7 motorway (Republic of Ireland)
Outside Dublin, five consecutive bypass projects lasting from 1983 to 2004, around Naas, Newbridge, Kildare, Monasterevin and Portlaoise, have replaced the single carriageway road with motorway. The N7 road originally passed through the town centres of each these towns. This route section is designated the M7 motorway, and is continuous between north of Naas and south of Portlaoise, following the opening of the Monasterevin bypass in late 2004. The bypassed roads that used to be the N7 at various times are all now classified as the R445 road. The N7 is noted for two firsts in the history of Irish roads - the first substantial length of dual carriageway in the Republic of Ireland, running 26 kilometres from Dublin to Naas which was completed in 1968 and also Ireland's first section of motorway, the 8 kilometre Naas Bypass, opened in 1983 bypassing the original route through the town.

Portlaoise to Limerick

South of Portlaoise, the N7 passes through Mountrath, Castletown and Borris-in-Ossory (a stopover for Dublin–Limerick Bus Éireann services). A bypass skirts Roscrea, although the road is close to the town, necessitating a low speed limit, and a number of roundabout junctions. The N7 passes through Dunkerrin, Moneygall and Toomevara, all small villages along the route. A couple of kilometres after Toomevara, the route proceeds along a 10 km bypass of Nenagh. There are junctions at either end of the bypass, but no junction for the R498 to Thurles.

The only major settlement between Nenagh and Limerick is at Birdhill. Traffic calming and speed limits also apply at Daly's Cross, a much smaller settlement close to Limerick. The N7 route officially follows the Southern Ring Road around Limerick City to meet the N20 near Carew Park. As of 2006, most signage in Limerick City has not been upgraded to reflect this, and the R445 (old N7 route through the city) [Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2006] (PDF) - [Department of Transport] is mostly still signposted as the N7. The R445 is properly signposted from the N7 at the beginning of the Southern Ring Road.

Junctions

As of 2006, junctions are properly numbered, according to a national scheme being implemented as of 2006, only on the Naas Road dual-carriageway (junctions under construction) and on some new signage being erected on the M7 motorway. The junctions on the Naas Bypass and Newbridge Bypass sections were previously numbered J7-J11, in the expectation that an M7 motorway would be built along a new alignment, instead of the upgrade of the existing dual carrigeway. These are to be renumbered. The R113 junction (Newlands Cross) is, and for the foreseeable future, will remain, an at-grade junction, with traffic lights and a break in central median. There also remain some private accesses and minor exits prior to J9, the beginning of the motorway.

N7 National Primary Route

Southbound Junction Northbound

N/A 1 M50 motorway J9
Newlands Cross (at grade): Belgard Road for Tallaght and Fonthill Road for , Clondalkin R113 - Newlands Cross (at grade): Belgard Road for Tallaght and Fonthill Road for , Clondalkin R113
Kingswood Interchange: Outer Ring Road R136 2 Kingswood Interchange: Outer Ring Road R136
N82 Citywest Road 3 N82 Citywest Road
Junctions 4-8 under construction/partly operational as of 2006
Rathcoole 4 Rathcoole
Steelstown Interchange: Steelstown 5 Steelstown Interchange: Steelstown
Castlewarden Interchange: Castlewarden R445 6 Castlewarden Interchange: Castlewarden R445
Kill Interchange: Kill R445 7 Kill Interchange: Kill R445
Johnstown Interchange: Johnstown R445 8 Johnstown Interchange: Johnstown R445
M7 motorway
Maudlin's Interchange: Naas R445 9 (was 7) Maudlin's Interchange: Naas R445
Newbridge and Togher services R445 10 (was 8) Newbridge and Togher services R445
The SOUTH EAST M9 (J1) - Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, Athy 11 (was 9) No access
The Curragh R445 12 (was 10) The Curragh, Newbridge R445
Kildare R445 13 (was 11) Kildare R445
Monasterevin R445 14 Monasterevin R445
Emo service area R445 15 Emo service area R445
N80 Portlaoise, Carlow, Tullamore 16 N80 Portlaoise, Carlow, Tullamore
N8 Cork, Cashel 17 N8 Cork, Cashel
No access 18 Portlaoise
Junctions 19 - 30 planned and/or under construction as of 2006

References

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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