Border to Dundalk

Details of a project on the N1 national primary road.

Description:

New build of high quality dual carriageway (HQDC) along the N1 route from the M1 north of Dundalk, to the border with Northern Ireland. The project is a joint undertaking with authorities in Northern Ireland, and also includes replacement of the A1 north of the border with dual carriageway to Newry.

Status:

Under construction (commenced February 2005).

Project details:

The project constitutes 9.4 km of HQDC in County Louth, and a further 4.6 km across the border in County Armagh.

Total project cost was given as €121.9 million in Feb 2005. This cost is shared between the two authorities, with an estimated €91.4 million to be spent south of the border according to the NRA Annual Report 2005. [1]

Junctions will be at either end of the scheme, with four partial junctions along the new route.

Route description:

The following observations are based on the route map for the project.

The route will commence at Ballymacscanlan as a full grade separated interchange. The motorway (M1) route section will end at this point, with the road continuing after the interchange as non-motorway N1. The Ballymacscanlan interchange will need to cater for traffic travelling between the M1, new N1, old N1, the R132 into Dundalk, N52 Dundalk Eastern Relief Road, two local roads to the north and the R173 to the west. The current Ballymacscanlan Roundabout at the end of the M1 Dundalk Western Bypass has six exits; and the M1 southbound does not connect to it, but rather a subsidiary roundabout east on the current N1.

The new route will be west of the current N1 as far as Feed Cross. Here a partial interchange will allow traffic southbound on the dual carriageway to follow the old N1 (which will likely be R132). Traffic from a local road will be able to join the new N1 northbound at this junction also.

The dual carriageway will continue north mostly online with the existing road, through Ravensdale forest. Another partial interchange will be provided at Flurry Bridge; this time allowing traffic from the old N1 to join the new route southbound. Traffic northbound on the new route will be able to leave at this intersection also.

The route continues north across the border (becoming the A1), again west of the current N1 and A1. A partial junction will allow traffic from local roads at Newtown Bridge to join northbound. Further north, another partial junction will offer access to the old A1. The final route section to the existing Cloghoge Roundabout (at the start of the Newry Bypass) will be online with the existing A1.

Footnotes:

[1] Annual Report 2005 [PDF - 4.22 MB], NRA, page 23, NRA website, accessed 26 Nov 2006.

References:

Minister Cullen Turns Sod on €122m Newry-Dundalk Road, Press Release, 28 Feb 2005, NRA website, accessed 25 Nov 2006.

Map of N1 Border to Dundalk project [PDF - 536kB], NRA website, accessed 26 Nov 2006.