No more N17 at Claregalway – it now known as the N83!! The N17 will always be associated with the Saw Doctors’ song ‘N17’ where
stone walls and the grass is green have been replaced by a four-lane highway linking the Saw Doctors’ home town of Tuam with Gort and on to Shannon airport.
Built at a cost of €550 million, the 53km motorway, which was completed five months ahead of schedule in September will form part of the “Atlantic corridor” which will eventually link Sligo to Cork.
The route bypasses Tuam, Claregalway, Oranmore, Clarinbridge, Kilcolgan and Gort.
Kilmore roundabout
The road is motorway standard on a stretch of 53.2km from Gort to the Kilmore junction near Tuam, and a dual-carriageway for 4.2 km from the Kilmore roundabout to the Mountpotter roundabout north of Tuam.
It also links to the M6 Dublin-Galway route at the Rathmorrissy junction east of Oranmore.
The 95.05 km (59.06 mi) route commences at the Kilmore Roundabout in Tuam and ends at the Toberbride roundabout at Collooney in County Sligo. It runs through or past several major towns and places in the area including Tuam, Miltown, Ballindine, Claremorris, Knock, Kilkelly, Charlestown, Curry, Tubbercurry and Ballinacarrow. The entire route is regular highway with no sections of dual carriageway as yet.
Galway
The N17 begins at the Kilmore Roundabout in Tuam and bypasses the town of Tuam since the 27th September 2017. After passing Tuam the route swings northwest towards Miltown, where a new realigned section of road is encountered (built late 1990s) avoiding a notorious stretch of road which saw many fatalities at one particular bend at a graveyard. This section of road was improved again in 2012, when a bad bend at Lisavalley was removed. This has left the road between Milltown and Tuam with a complete hard shoulder. The route then passes through the village of Miltown passing over the River Clare, the main street in the village is very narrow and can become congested. After leaving Miltown the route continues north towards the Ballindine, this section of the N17 is of poor standard and is reduced to a narrow winding road to the County Mayo border.
The old section of the N17 between Tuam and Galway City has been redesignated as the N83.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N17_road_(Ireland)
