Road standard

The road is mostly relatively poor single carriageway, with better sections towards the Cork end of the route. There are wide sections with climbing/passing lanes, including a very rare configuration with a passing lane on both sides, and a dual carriageway section approaching Cork.

There are future plans to construct a dual carraigeway along the section of roadway between the existing 1970s dual carriageway and the N25 South Ring Road in Cork.http://www.corkrdo.ie/files/CVS-GEP-101.pdf

Road improvements

In the mid 1990s, a new section of road was constructed between Ballinhassig

Ballinhassig

Ballinhassig is a village in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland, situated 10.6 km south of Cork City just off the N71 Bandon road and not far from the source of the River Owenabue ....

 and Halfway

Halfway, County Cork

Halfway is a village in County Cork, in Ireland. Halfway got its name from being situated approximately half-way between Cork City and Bandon. However, with today's road infrastructure and the expansion of Cork city, Halfway is now actually closer to Cork than it is to Bandon.The village is...

. The old section of the N71 which the new section replaced, was redesignated as the part of the R613

R613 road

The R613 road is a regional road in Ireland which runs west-east from the R589 in Halfway to the N28 in the centre of Ringaskiddy. The road forms a vital part of the road network south of Cork City....

. The new road constructed by-passed Halfway, with Halfway remaining the only town or village on the route which has been bypassed. Other features of this improvement scheme replaced old sections of the road between Cork City and Ballinhassig, with the old sections now forming parts of the local road network. This new section features an overtaking lane for both sides of the road. A flyover was also constructed for the N71 - R613 junction.

Another improvement scheme was also completed in the mid 1990s between Innishannon

Innishannon

Innishannon or Inishannon , is a large village on the main Cork–Bandon road in County Cork, Province of Munster, Ireland. Situated on the River Bandon, the village has rapidly grown in recent years due to its proximity to Cork, and has now become a dormitory town for city workers.The...

 and Bandon

Bandon

Bandon is the name of several places*Bandon, County Cork, Ireland*the River Bandon in Ireland*Bandon , former constituency in Ireland*Bandon, the old name of Surat Thani in Thailand**the Bandon Bay near Surat Thani...

. The road was widened, hard shoulders added to the road and climbing lanes also added.

See also

• Roads in Ireland
  Roads in Ireland
  The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to...
  
  
• Motorways in Ireland
• National primary road
  National primary road
  A national primary road is a road classification in the Republic of Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are over 2,700km of national primary roads. This category of road has the prefix "N" followed by one or two digits...
  
  
• Regional road
  Regional road
  A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...