The M50 is now “officially maxed out” and the only solution is significant investment, transport expert Conor Faughnan has said. 

As Ireland’s population has grown, so too has the number of people using the motorway to commute in and out of Dublin. 

On one day in June this year, 187,284 vehicles were recorded on the M50 and Transport for Ireland has admitted it is at capacity. 

 “That became statistically true this year,” Mr Faughnan told The Pat Kenny Show.  

“Transport Infrastructure Ireland have acknowledged that the M50 is, to use their word, ‘maxed out’. 

“It’s running on average 160,000 vehicles per day and that’s deceptive because individual days are busier still. 

“There’s just no more capacity that can be put on it. So, it can’t be physically expanded.” 

Traffic on the M50 motorway. Picture by: Leon Farrell/RollingNews.

Mr Faughnan added that this means the motorway works “in theory” but even the most minor of incidents can trigger huge congestion. 

“If anything goes even slightly wrong, a fender bender can cause huge, disproportionate traffic congestion,” he said. 

“And there’s more of that happening with the increasing traffic; nearly 750 collisions have occurred so far this year. 

“Some of them have been very minor but it only takes a two, three minute delay…. can cause a concertina effect, which can really congest the road.” 

 

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Mr Faughnan continued that while officials have known about the looming capacity issue for decades, “not enough” has been done to alleviate the problem. 

“We actually got lucky because COVID and the working from home phenomenon actually took the temperature out of traffic for about five or six years,” he said. 

“So, we got away with it but, inevitably, it recongested again.” 

Queues of traffic at the West-Link Toll Bridge. Picture by: RollingNews

Mr Faughnan concluded that the only long-term solution is to continue investing in transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin area. 

“We made a religion out of not building roads under the previous regime that brought in this two to one ratio,” he said. 

“So, things like building an outer road, which - unfashionable though it seems - we will eventually need to do. 

“Then some of the really big ones are the strategic public transport investments in Dublin.

“Remember, 76% of cars on the M50 are commuters and 90% of those one occupant only. 

“They don’t want to be there; if they had any sort of alternative, they would take it.”

Main image: Heavy traffic on the M50. Picture by: Gareth Chaney/Collins.