Roads
- Total - 117,318 km (72,898 mi)
- South: 92,500 km (57,500 mi) including 1,015 km (631 mi) of motorway (2010)
- North: 24,818 km (15,421 mi) including 148 km (92 mi) of motorway (2008)
- paved - 87,043 km (54,086 mi), unpaved - 5,457 km (3,391 mi)
Ireland's roads link Dublin with all the major cities (Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway, and Waterford). Driving is on the left. Signposts in the Republic of Ireland are shown in kilometres and speed limits in kilometres per hour. Distance and speed limit signs in Northern Ireland use imperial units in common with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Historically, land owners developed most roads and later Turnpike Trusts collected tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 16,100 kilometres (10,000 mi) road network. In 2005 the Irish Government launched Transport 21, a plan envisaging the investment of €34 billion in transport infrastructure from 2006 until 2015. Several road projects were progressed but the economic crisis that began in 2008-09 has prevented its full implementation.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Ireland
Famous quotes containing the word roads:
“Lift your eyes
Where the roads dip and where the roads rise
Seek only there
Where the grey light meets the green air
The hermit’s chapel, the pilgrim’s prayer.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“There are three roads to ruin; women, gambling and technicians. The most pleasant is with women, the quickest is with gambling, but the surest is with technicians.”
—Georges Pompidou (1911–1974)
“Pioneers lay the roads for those who follow to walk on.”
—Chinese proverb.