For historical reasons, the road network in the vicinity of the border with Northern Ireland is poor. With roads passing an international border, upgrading one side would not be fruitful unless the authorities on the other side were prepared to upgrade their part also. In particular, it is impossible to traverse the area from east to west.
The N53 road is a short poor quality route running from Dundalk on the east coast to Castleblayney on the N2, or future M2. An east-west route running parallel to the border could be created by extending this route from Castleblayney, past Cavan on the N3, east of Carrick-on-Shannon on the N4, Tulsk on the N5, and finally Castlerea on the N60. This would make journeys from Sligo, Westport and the rest of County Mayo and Sligo over to the east coast much easier. For example, Westport or Castlebar traffic could reach Belfast without having to travel up to Sligo and use the N16 and the long winding route via Enniskillen. In addition, Drogheda and Dundalk traffic would find it much easier to make it to Sligo.
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