N18 road (Ireland)
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The N18 road is a National Primary Route in Ireland, connecting the cities of Limerick and Galway. Ennis and Gort are two major towns on the route, and Shannon Airport is reached via the connecting N19 road. The west coast route continues on to Sligo as the N17. The section from Limerick to the N19 junction forms part of European route E20.
The route leaves Limerick city near Henry Street, Mallow Street and the Dock Road, heading across the Shannon Bridge. As the Condell Road the route skirts the northside of Limerick by passing through Westfield's bird sanctuary on the north bank of the River Shannon. Further along, the Clonmacken Roundabout provides a connection to the Caherdavin area of the city, and the Condell Road ends at the Coonagh Roundabout, where it meets the Ennis Road. As the N18, the Ennis Road leaves the city as dual-carriageway.
Junctions along the route serve Cratloe, Sixmilebridge and Bunratty. The road passed alongside Bunratty Castle before the completion of the neighbouring dual-carriageway section in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The other nearby junctions were also converted to fly-overs in the 1990s.
Following the junction replacing Hurler's Cross, other junctions serve Shannon Town and Shannon Airport, the latter via the N19. The interchanges here, and sections of dual-carriageway continuing to Shannon Airport and Ennis were completed in 2004. The new stretch of dual-carriageway continues on past Newmarket-on-Fergus and Dromoland, ending just after the latter. On January 26 2007 construction was completed on a further section of dual-carriageway which bypasses Ennis.
The N68 connects from here to Kilrush.
The N85 connects to Ennistymon and the coast, and an N85 bypass to the south of Ennis was opened towards the end of 2006.
The N18 continues north as a poor quality two-lane road to Crusheen, and across into County Galway. Gort is the next town through which the route passes, with the connecting N66 running northeast to Loughrea. Several small towns are along the route north of this, including Kilcolgan, where the N67 route through north County Clare connects. The N18 passes by Oranmore, just outside Galway, where it meets the main N6 Dublin–Galway road. This route continues into the city centre. The N18, however, continues north to meet the N17 at Claregalway, where the N18 ends. The N17, coming from the city centre, continues north into County Mayo.
There are 2 future upgrade projects on the N18. The first is the construction of a new dual carriageway running from Crusheen to Gort, a total distance of Template:Km to mi. This section of dual carriageway will bypass both Gort and Crusheen. Construction on this project is hoped to commence in 2008, with completion scheduled for 2011. If recent trends in motorway re-designations are followed, then this section will re-designated.
The second project is the construction of a new high quality dual carriageway from Gort to Oranmore, a total distance of Template:Km to mi. If recent trends in motorway re-designations are to be believed, than this section will re-designated M18. This is incredibly likely to happen considering that at least part of the route will have to be designated motorway as it will blend into the M17 Galway to Tuam scheme, with no exit for non-motorway traffic. It will link with the M17 and M6 at a major three level junction near Oranmore.