The R148 road is one of Ireland's regional roads which was classified following the opening of a bypassed

national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...

. The section of the old N4 which has been by-passed by the M4 motorway was reclassified R148. The R148 runs from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Kinnegad Kinnegad () is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is on the border with County Meath, near the junction of the M6 and the M4 motorways - two of Ireland's main east–west roads. It is roughly 60 km from the capital, Dublin. From 1 ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. The road is long. It is generally of a very high standard for a regional road, with wide lanes, hard shoulders, and turning bays. It is still heavily used by traffic avoiding the tolled M4 between

Kilcock Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 8,674, making it the eighth largest town in County Kildare and 61st largest in Ireland. ...

and Kinnegad. The road was previously categorised as a National Primary route until the opening of the M4 motorway and therefore carried a speed limit of 100 km/h. The speed limit has now been reduced to 80 km/h. The fact that speed limits have been reduced, even though traffic is lighter than before, has led some to claim that the limit reduction is simply a cynical attempt to force motorists to use the tolled M4. This argument is perhaps strengthened by the fact that the R148 received a large share of the speed cameras that were rolled out across Irish roads in 2008. However, under the ''Road Traffic Act 2004'', the default speed limit on Irish regional roads is 80 km/h. A section of the road (between

and Enfield had for safety reasons already been subject to a special speed limit of 50 mph/80 km/h for some years prior to M4's opening in any case. File:R148road4458.jpg, 380px, left, R148 east of

poly 186 234 180 338 456 342 458 290 550 282 550 236 Enfield poly 186 374 180 480 490 480 492 430 538 430 540 368 Clonard

Route

The route starts (east-west) at Aston Quay in central Dublin. It then runs to

Palmerstown Palmerstown (; officially Palmerston, see #Name origin and spelling, spelling) is a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and suburb in western Dublin, Ireland on the banks of the River Liffey. It forms part of the South Dublin local authorit ...

where it becomes the N4. It starts again in

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

at the same grade-separated interchange at which the M4 begins. Less than 1 km west it crosses the

River Liffey The River Liffey (Irish language, Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major Tributary, tributaries include t ...

into

Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , ) is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border between the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. It then passes through Leixlip,

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

, Enfield, and Clonard before rejoining the N4 west of

. The official description of the R148 from the ''Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2012'' S.I. No. 54/2012 — Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2012
''Irish Statute Book''. 2012-02-28. reads: :R148: Dublin — Kinnegad, County Westmeath (Part of old National Route 4) :Between its junction with R138 at OConnell Bridge in the city of Dublin and its junction with M50 at Palmerstown Upper in the county of South Dublin via Astons Quay, Crampton Quay, Wellington Quay, Essex Quay, Wood Quay, Merchants Quay, Ushers Quay, Ushers Island, Victoria Quay (and via Frank Sherwin Bridge, Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Ormond Quay Upper, Ormond Quay Lower, and Bachelors Walk), Kingsbridge, Saint Johns Road West, Con Colbert Road and Chapelizod Bypass in the city of Dublin: and Redcowfarm in the county of South Dublin :::and :between its junction with N4 at Cooldrinagh in the county of South Dublin and its junction with M4 at Heathstown in the county of Westmeath via Leixlip Road in the county of South Dublin: Leixlip Bridge at the boundary between the county of South Dublin and the county of Kildare: Main Street in the town of Leixlip; Collinstown, Blakestown; Dublin Road, Main Street and Mill Street in the town of Maynooth; Maws; Harbour Street, Bridge Street (and via New Lane, The Square and New Road) and Church Street at Kilcock; Allen Bridge and Boycestown in the county of Kildare: Harris’s Bridge at the boundary between the county of Kildare and the county of Meath: Johnstown, Innfield Relief Road, Newcastle and Kilmurry in the county of Meath: Blackwater Bridge at the boundary between the county of Meath and the county of Kildare: Ballynadrumny in the county of Kildare: Leinster Bridge at the boundary between the county of Kildare and the county of Meath: Clonard, Ardnamullen, Hardwood and Rossan in the county of Meath: Kinnegad Bridge at the boundary between the County of Meath and the County of Westmeath: Main Street at Kinnegad; and Correllstown in the county of Westmeath.

References

Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2006
–

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

{{Roads in Ireland Regional roads in the Republic of Ireland Roads in County Meath Roads in County Dublin Roads in County Kildare

Route

See also

References