With schools returning this week Irish towns and cities are preparing for the seasonal return of traffic jams. But Ireland’s traffic and travel information service, AA Roadwatch, is forecasting that traffic congestion is likely to improve significantly and that the coming ‘traffic season’ will be the lightest that we have had in many years.
“Two main factors are in play,” says AA Roadwatch Controller Nicola Hudson.
“Firstly, there is the downturn. Car traffic on our roads has reduced by 4 per cent since 2008, and more notably the volume of trucks is down by almost 13 per cent according to NRA data. Secondly, there have been very significant infrastructure improvements which have come on line in recent months.”
Ireland now has 738 kilometres of motorway, and 188 kilometres of that opened in 2010. More important than the length of motorway is the elimination of key bottlenecks and the completion of inter-urban connections.
These include the connections between Dublin and Cork, Galway, Waterford and (by the end of the year) Limerick. Major pinch points that used to cause so much frustration, such as Abbeyleix, will disappear off the map in terms of traffic jams.
One of the most significant changes will be the completion of the M50 upgrade, due on Wednesday of this week with the opening of the last parts of the M50 / N3 Blanchardstown interchange.
“This means that the busiest interchanges on the M50, the N4, N7 (Red Cow) and N3 Blanchardstown junctions, will all now be free flowing” says Hudson. “The motorway now also has three lanes in its busiest locations. The M50 traffic volumes are actually rising, but the road is better able to cope.”
“The M50’s Westlink toll bridge used to be the worst traffic bottleneck in Ireland” Says Hudson. “Motorists are still paying tolls but the barriers, and the traffic jams, have gone.”
The completion of the Dublin to Cork Motorway linking those two major cities is very significant. The new Limerick Tunnel opened in July, bringing major relief to areas of the city like the Dock Road. Likewise the new bridge in Waterford will bring significant local relief.
“We are not saying that Ireland will be free of traffic jams, but the pattern will be different,” Hudson added. “Established ‘stars’ of AA Roadwatch bulletins, like the Red Cow Roundabout or the Dock Road, will seldom be heard any longer. However we remain very vulnerable to traffic incidents and to bad weather.”
Motorways have their downside in that when an incident does occur it affects many more vehicles. Particularly when the weather worsens, the major routes into Dublin and other cities will be vulnerable. Incidents like a truck jack-knifing or a minor collision will delay several thousand vehicles in the space of minutes.
“These are the types of incidents that occur regularly in other countries” says Hudson. “Now that we have a motorway network of our own we can expect to see the same thing here in Ireland.”
