Dunkettle tailbacks to end as link roads open at weekend

The new road leading into the Jack Lynch tunnell heading from the east on the Dunkettle interchange road will open over the weekend. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Tailbacks at the notorious Dunkettle Interchange are set to become a thing of the past this weekend when a €215m overhaul reaches a major milestone.

Six new link roads are scheduled to open on Sunday, and all remaining traffic lights on the interchange will be switched off, giving motorists their first full free-flow experience through what has become known as one of Ireland’s most congested bottlenecks.

Several link roads have already opened on the scheme since the first opened in February 2022.

Dunkettle Interchange

But this weekend’s decision to open six new roads within hours of each other, and turn off all the traffic lights, will have implications for some 40,000 vehicle movements a day on the interchange on the main approach routes to Cork city from Dublin and Waterford.

Motorists travelling from Cork City, Dublin, the east and northbound through the Jack Lynch Tunnel towards the interchange will all face new routes and new road layouts.  

Engineers say once motorists become familiar with the changes, they will mean faster journey times for everyone.

Final arrangements are now being made for the introduction of a highly coordinated traffic management operation that will start on Thursday, with construction crews working 24 hours a day on significant enabling works required for the first of the six openings around 6am on Sunday.

It is expected that all six link roads will be open to traffic by 10am.

Strict traffic management operations will be in effect and gardaí and three-speed vans will be in place across the vast construction site on Sunday to enforce reduced speed limits in the area.

Motorists have been advised to reduce their speed in and around the interchange this weekend until they are familiar with the new road layouts.

Motorists who use the interchange regularly have been advised to plan their journeys in advance.

People have also been advised to disregard directions from Google Maps or their own satnav systems, and to focus instead on following the road signs across the works site.

Work is set to continue for several months on other aspects of the Dunkettle upgrade which is on target to be complete by the end of this year.