M6 motorway (Republic of Ireland)

The M6 in Westmeath

The M6 motorway is a motorway in the Republic of Ireland, which runs (together with the M4) from Dublin to Galway. The M6 extends from its junction with the M4 at Kinnegad all the way west to the outskirts of Galway City. The Athlone bypass and the approach to Galway city have not been designated motorway and are still signed as N6.

The motorway was officially completed and opened to traffic on 18 December 2009, and was the first city-to-city direct major inter-urban route to be completed in Ireland. The M6 and M4, which form the Galway–Dublin route, consist of a grade-separated 2+2 dual carriageway road. At approximately 90 miles, the M6 is the third longest motorway in the state, and will be extended to 99 miles.

Route

Near Kinnegad, the M6 motorway diverges from the M4 at a restricted access junction. From here it proceeds westward, passing through counties Westmeath, Offaly, Roscommon and Galway before terminating just east of Galway City near Doughiska.

Junctions

The M6 junction numbers below are used on the entire length of the road. The Athlone bypass had a separate numbering scheme (J1–J6) but was renumbered to its current form (J8–J13) following the upgrade of the bypass in 2011.

County	km	mi	Junction	Destinations	Notes
Westmeath
			1		Continues as M4 towards Dublin.
			2	‒ Kinnegad  ‒ Milltownpass
			3	– Rochfortbridge, Milltownpass, Rhode
			4	– Mullingar, Tyrrellspass
			5	– Tullamore  – Kilbeggan
County Offaly			6	‒ Moate, Horseleap, Clara
County Westmeath
			7	‒ Moate, Clonmacnoise
			Athlone Service Area
			8	‒ Athlone, Birr	Heading eastbound, Athlone is followed by the (East) cardinal direction. Continues as N6 dual carriageway.
			9	– Blyry Industrial Estate  ‒ Cavan, Longford, Athlone
			10	‒ Cavan, Longford, Athlone
			11	L4023 ‒ Athlone, Coosan	Tullamore (N52)
County Roscommon			12	‒ Sligo, Roscommon	LILO junction.
			13	‒ Athlone (West), Monksland, Athleague, Tuam	LILO junction. Continues as M6 motorway.
County Galway			14	‒ Ballinasloe, Shannonbridge	Heading eastbound, Ballinasloe is followed by the (East) cardinal direction.
			15	– Ballinasloe (West), Aughrim, County Galway  – Portumna	Ballinasloe Hospital
			M6 Toll
			16	‒ Portumna, Loughrea L7182 – Kiltullagh	Galway Plaza Service Area
			17	‒ Athenry  ‒ Craughwell
			18	‒ Sligo  ‒ Limerick
			19	‒ Claregalway, Oranmore	Continues as N6 dual carriageway.
			20	‒ Ennistimon, Galway (East)	Galway Docks At-grade roundabout junction. Continues as N6 dual carriageway

Motorway service areas

Junction 7 on the M6

The M6 has two service areas. The Galway Plaza is an off-line service area located at junction 16 near Kiltullagh. It opened in February 2016.

The Athlone Service Area is an on-line service area located between junctions 7 and 8, just east of the town. It was officially opened on 12 September 2019, consisting of a McDonalds, Krispy Kreme and a Circle K.

Tolls

Although the M6 is a tolled motorway, there is only a single toll plaza, located at Cappataggle, between junctions 15 Ballinasloe West & 16 Loughrea. Hence there is no toll payable to travel between the eastern end of the motorway and Ballinasloe and also between Loughrea and the western end at Galway city.

Outside links

• M6 Toll operator