N4 Road (Ireland) - Road Standard

Road Standard

The road is a dual carriageway from O'Connell Bridge, Dublin to Mullingar (including the motorway section). The section following the north and south quays in Dublin between O'Connell Bridge and Heuston Station has the River Liffey as its median. It continues as dual-carriageway with several signal controlled junctions until it intersects with the M50 motorway at Junction 7. This is also Junction 1 of the N/M4. The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is located at junction 2. The road has three lanes and a bus lane in each direction between the M50 and start of the M4 at Leixlip. The N4 is the only one of the main inter-urban national routes whose dual carriageway section runs right into the city centre.

Heading west, the PPP motorway section (see below) ends west of Kinnegad, 5 km of road built to motorway standard (i.e. grade separated, no junctions and no median crossings) connects the M4 to an 5 km stretch of low-grade dual-carriageway with crossings which connects in turn to the Mullingar bypass. The Mullingar bypass is grade separated and to near-motorway standard. From Mullingar to Edgeworthstown, the road is wide single carriageway with hard shoulders. Between Edgeworthstown and Longford, there is a lower standard single carriageway road. Between Longford and Rooskey single carriageway continues at a higher standard. Dromod and Rooskey were bypassed in late 2007. This section of road consists of 3 roundabouts and Type 2 Dual Carriageway, i.e.: 2 lanes in each direction and no hard shoulder. The road becomes near-motorway standard dual carriageway again at Collooney, approaching Sligo town.