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|---|---|
| Bóthar N20 | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 96.45 km (59.93 mi) |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Primary destinations | (bypassed destinations initalics)
|
| Highway system | |
TheN20 road is anational primary road inIreland, connecting the cities ofCork andLimerick.Buttevant,Croom,Charleville,Mallow andBlarney are major towns along the route. A short section of the route (fromLimerick toPatrickswell) is motorway standard and is designated as theM20 Motorway.
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The route starts at junction 1 at the Rosbrien interchange (south of Limerick city) where it connects to theM7 and theN18 which together form the Limerick Southern Ring Road. The route continues from this interchange asmotorway. This route was redesignated as motorway in August 2009. The route bypassesDooradoyle andRaheen, through which the old N20 route used to run until the early 2000s. Interchanges and link roads connect to these locations. Two further interchanges are located on the motorway, at either end of Patrickswell. At the latter, the N20 route leaves the main road (which continues as theN21 toTralee), so one must diverge from the motorway to stay on the N20. The former route of the N20 before the M20 opened is now classified as theR526.[citation needed]
A wide two lane road brings traffic along the Croom bypass (prior to the opening of this bypass at a cost of €20 million on 12 July 2001, the route went through the town).[1] Past this new section of road, narrow two-lane road commences, ending at Charleville. The route passes through the town, running along Main Street. The road between Charleville and Buttevant is of similar design. At Mallow a relatively high specification road is encountered, with an older bypass of the town (early 1990s) passing up the hill from it asdual carriageway. A viaduct brings the road across theBlackwater River and Valley. The rest of the route to Cork is two lanes wide, with a section of2+1 road (a pilot installation) south of Mallow.[citation needed] The route becomes dual carriageway on the approach to Cork. Junctions on this dual carriageway section are not numbered.[citation needed] New relief roads in Cork bring the route into the city centre while avoiding the winding streets through which the route ran until around 2000. The route terminates at the city center with two lanes going in each direction.[citation needed]
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|---|---|
| Mótarbhealach M20 | |
| Route information | |
| Length | 8 km (5.0 mi) Planned length: 90 km (56 mi) |
| Existed | 2001–present |
| History | Expected Opening Date 2035[2] |
| Major junctions | |
| From | Rossbrien |
| Major intersections |    J1 →M7 motorway,N18 road   J5 →N21 road |
| To | Attyflin |
| Location | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Primary destinations | Cork City,County Cork,Limerick |
| Highway system | |
Under the government's cancelledTransport 21 initiative,[3] theAtlantic Corridor road project aimed to linkLetterkenny toWaterford viaLimerick andCork with high quality roadway. A major part of this proposal involved the potential upgrading of the N20 route between Cork and Limerick. It was proposed to upgrade or replace the entire N20 with a new M20 motorway, approximately 90 km (56 mi) in length. It was to be constructed in two stages: a southern section and a northern section.[4] It was suggested that the project could be progressed as apublic-private partnership scheme.[5]
The first segment of M20 motorway came into existence on 28 August 2009 following the redesignation of a 10 km (6 mi) stretch of existing N20 dual-carriageway, between Rossbrien and Attyflin, as a motorway.[6]
In October 2017, thenTaoiseachLeo Varadkar stated that the motorway project would be a "priority".[7] By late 2021, it was reported that there would not be a decision on a preferred route until at least early 2022.[8] The preferred M20 route was published in March 2022,[9] with the projected €1.5 billion project dated to "2030 or beyond".[10] In June 2024, the National Road Design team recommended that the revised 80km of the N20 be developed as a tolled motorway.[11] At that time, the project was estimated at €2 billion, and it was suggested that construction "could start in 2027 and be finished by 2031".[12]
 | This sectionis missing kilometre posts for junctions. Please helpadd them. |
| County | km | mi | Junction | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Limerick | ||||||
| 1 | M7 ‒Dublin,Limerick (East) (N69)N18 –Galway, Limerick (Centre) (N24) | |||||
| 2 |  R926 ‒Dooradoyle | |||||
| 3 |  R510 –Raheen,Foynes (N69) | Raheen Business Park | ||||
| 4 |  R526 –Patrickswell | |||||
| 5 | N21 –Tralee,Killarney,Adare | Continues as N20 single carriageway towards Cork. | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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