N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction & Oola Transport Project
| Design Update No. 3 is available here. Please click here for News and Project Updates. A link to the Interactive map is available here. Please click here to book an online appointment. |
Introduction
Tipperary County Council, in partnership with Limerick City and County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and the Department of Transport are developing the N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction & Oola Project. Tipperary County Council, as lead authority, has appointed Arup as Technical Advisors to progress the Planning and Design for the Project through Phases 1 to 4 of the TII Project Management Guidelines (PMG) as outlined below:
- Phase 1 (Concept and Feasibility)
- Phase 2 (Option Selection)
- Phase 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation)
- Phase 4 (Statutory Processes)
The Project is currently at Phase 3 Design and Environmental Evaluation. The interactive webmap can be viewed here.
Project Background
The N24 national primary route, is a strategic corridor from Limerick to Waterford, traversing through County Tipperary and is approximately 116km in length. It is recognised as being of particular importance in enhancing accessibility to towns it passes through, namely Tipperary Town, Cahir, Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel, and their rural hinterland.
The section of the existing N24 under consideration in this Project, the N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction and Oola Transport Project, is between the M8 motorway, north of Cahir in County Tipperary and an appropriate tie-in point in County Limerick and traverses Tipperary Town and the villages of Bansha, Limerick Junction, Monard and Oola.
Existing Conditions
Initial studies for this project have identified that the existing road has restricted capacity due to its limited width, partially sub‐standard alignment and its passage through four villages and Tipperary Town. When considered in association with the very high level of junctions and private accesses on the existing route, this contributes to limited overtaking opportunities and unstable traffic flow regimes along the existing route. The existing route currently experiences bottlenecks and significant traffic delays through Tipperary Town. It is considered that the existing road is economically inefficient and detracts from the development and growth of the region.
Key Objectives
The key objectives of this project are to improve safety, journey reliability and the strategic function of this section of the N24 corridor. In achieving these objectives, the project will in turn:
- Encourage local, regional, national and international development by:
- Improving journey time and journey time reliability
- Provide opportunities for the economic development of Tipperary Town and other communities along the corridor
- Improve connectivity between the cities of Waterford and Limerick
- Reduce social exclusion by enhancing accessibility to services from designated rural zones within the study area thus reducing disadvantage in these areas.
- Support health benefits derived from potential active modes by enabling opportunities for creating a safer environment for walking and cycling within the project extents.
- Reduce the potential for collisions through provision of a safer travel option for all users.
What’s Happening Now
The Project is currently at Phase 3 Design and Environmental Evaluation. The purpose of this phase is to develop the design of the Preferred Transport Solution identified in Phase 2 and undertake an environmental evaluation of the design to a sufficient level of detail to establish landtake requirements and to progress the project through the statutory process.
The Preferred Transport Solution was on Public Display in May 2022. A copy of all of the display material presented is available here. Following the conclusion of Public Display No. 3, the design team completed the Option Selection Report (OSR) and it has now been published. A copy of the OSR is avilable here.
The OSR contains all of the supporting detail behind each step in the analysis during Phase 2, documenting both the assessments undertaken and the decisions made.
As part of the Design and Environmental Evaluation stage of the project a number of field surveys, including environmental, topographical and hydrographical surveys have been undertaken within an area which includes, but is not limited to, the corridor for the road component for the Preferred Transport Solution.
Following the publication of Design Update No. 2 in October 2024 the project team have been progressing the design of the active travel and road components for the Project. This work has now culminated in the publication of the proposed design. The design is subject to change
A copy of the design update No. 3 drawings are available below in pdf format to download.
Design Update No. 3 May 2025 – Overview
Design Update No. 3 May 2025 – 29 Sheet layout (A3 Drawings)
Design Update No. 3 May 2025 – Information Boards
