High-quality Dual Carriageway - Redesignation As Motorway

Redesignation As Motorway

In 2007 new legislation was introduced to allow the Government to designate HQDCs as motorways and thus avoid the risk of permission for direct access being granted by local planning authorities. The Roads Act 2007 was passed by the Oireachtas in early 2007 and signed into law to by the President of Ireland on 11 July 2007. The Act introduced powers for the Minister for Transport (on the recommendation of the National Roads Authority) to re-designate high quality dual carriageways as motorways, following a public consultation process. It is possible that in the future a majority of HQDCs will be reclassified as motorways.

A number of the former high-quality dual carriageway schemes proceeded as tolled motorway PPPs (Public Private Partnerships) despite not being originally planned as motorway schemes. Such roads include the M6 Galway - Ballinasloe project. The N25 Waterford City bypass is the only HQDC planned at present to be tolled. Almost all other Irish toll roads are motorways, although the East-Link toll bridge which is a regional road is also tolled.

The Roads Act 2007 was passed into law in mid-2007. This Act made provision for the redesignation of suitable dual carriageways to motorway status. The National Roads Authority made formal applications under Section 8 of the Act to the Minister for Transport on 16 October 2007 regarding dual carriageways which the authority believed to be suitable for redesignation as motorways. On 29 January 2008, the Department of Transport published notice of the Minister's intention to make the orders being sought and invited submissions or observations to be made to the Minister regarding the NRA's applications. The initial applications proposed the following roads be redesignated as motorways:

The consultation procession lasted until 28 March 2008. On 17 July 2008 the Minister signed a statutory instrument reclassifying all the HQDCs then either under construction or recently completed on the N7/M7, and N8/M8 as well as parts of the N6/M6 and N9/M9 as motorway. The redesignations came into effect on September 24, 2008. The Carlow bypass and Kilbeggan-Athlone roads opened with motorway signage but with temporary 100 km/h (62 mph) general speed limits between their opening and their official re-designation as motorways. These roads now operate under motorway restrictions with motorway signage and use the M prefix. The standard speed limit on these roads is now 120 km/h (75 mph).

On 30 September 2008, the NRA proposed that the following dual-carriageways be re-designated as motorways:

The closing date for submissions was 14 November 2008. The statutory instrument passed in early 2009 and will came into effect in mid-2009, with the exception of the N6 Athlone Bypass (remains dual-carriageway/HQDC).