A MAJOR Dublin city centre road is set to close for HOURS this weekend – with motorists warned of diversions.
Dublin City Council has alerted drivers about the temporary closure on their website.
Merrion Row in Dublin 2 will be temporarily closed this weekend to facilitate planned works.
The closure will take place from 9am to 6pm this Saturday 7th June and Sunday 8th June 2025.
And motorists are being warned that it will affect the stretch of Merrion Row between St. Stephen’s Green and Ely Place.
Dublin City Council stated: “Merrion Row (from St. Stephen’s Green to Ely Place), Dublin 2.
“Date – Saturday 7th June 2025 on Sunday 8th June 2025.”
Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the duration of the closure and local access will be facilitated where possible from all closure points.
Traffic marshals will be on-site at the closure points to assist with traffic management and ensure access where needed.
For traffic arriving from Kildare Street, diversions will be in place via Molesworth Street, Frederick Street South, Nassau Street, Lincoln Place, Merrion Street Lower and Merrion Square West.
Southbound traffic from Kildare Street will be diverted along the R138 at St. Stephen’s Green, then via Hume Street to Ely Place.
Clear signage will be installed to direct motorists through the diversions and motorists are advised to plan ahead and allow extra travel time over the weekend.
Dublin City Council added:“Pedestrian access will be facilitated at all times.”
Meanwhile, a drastic road rule change could be on the cards for Ireland with certain vehicles banned from busy routes.
TRACTORS BAN CALLS
It has been proposed that tractors and other “slow moving vehicles” be banned for Irish motorways.
The idea has come from the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) due to safety concerns being raised.
IRHA President Ger Hyland said that Ireland is “the only country in the EU” that allows tractors to be driven on the motorway.
The maximum motorway speed in Ireland is 120km/h.
But tractors can be driven on the same roads as long as it can travel at or maintain a speed of 50km/h, according to the Road Safety Authority (RSA).
Hyland said that if Ireland is serious about road safety, they must ban tractors from the fast moving roads.
The IRHA has claimed that many of their vehicles are getting stuck behind tractors and slow movers on the motorway.
This then leads to congestion and dangerous driving in attempts to overtake.
They have urged the government to work with the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) to keep tractors off the motorway.
Instead, they proposed that the vehicles be kept to regional and local roads.
The speed limit on regional roads is typically 80-100km/h, while on local roads it’s between 50-80km/h.
