Road schemes opened

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/news/2004/0510/roads.html

Brennan opens two new primary routes

10 May 2004 16:16
The Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, opened two major national primary route road developments today.

Mr Brennan opened the N4 Sligo to Dublin road extension near Boyle in Co Roscommon this morning. Major development work has been carried out on the new stretch of the road between Rockingham and Cortober on the Boyle to Carrick on Shannon route.

Mr Brennan also opened a two-lane carriageway on the N5 Westport to Dublin road near Strokestown in Co Roscommon. Eight kilometres of this road have been developed into a two-lane carriageway at a cost of €21m.

The new road goes from Scramogue to Cloonmore on the Strokestown to Longford stretch on the N4.

Victor

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/05/13/story147455.html

Call to update heritage laws
13/05/2004 - 19:02:20

Legislation dealing with sites of historical importance must be updated, it was urged today.

The National Roads Authority said building projects are being delayed due to the lack of adequate heritage law and information on national monuments.

Michael Egan of the NRA said there was no official list of national monument sites.

“There is no record of monuments and places,” he said.

“And no grading as to when a national monument is of high importance. That makes life difficult for the NRA and for developers across the country.”

The Government-appointed body called for the 74-year-old National Monuments Act to be updated as it launched its annual report in Dublin today.

“It goes back to 1930 and it’s outdated, it’s in need of a total overhaul,” Mr Egan said.

“It’s not in tune at all with the needs of today and the scale of development being taken.”

The NRA is currently in discussions with the Environment Department and the National Museum over what procedure to take after it emerged the planned route of the Waterford city by-pass will go through a Viking settlement.

There was no previous record of the site and it only emerged after the NRA carried out an impact survey as part of an agreement with the Environment Department.

The NRA said the preferred approach to deal with the site would be to preserve it and then build over it.

The group said it could cost €6m to excavate the site.

The new M50 south eastern motorway should be finished by next December but a 150 metre section, containing the site of Carrickmines Castle, will be left unfinished.

The NRA said there needs to be a quicker way to resolve these architectural disputes.

As they were unable to finish the motorway after preservation groups lodged a legal challenge and prevented the work being carried out.

“We take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously,” Mr Egan said.

“Over the last two or three years we have spent over €6m on the Carrickmines site, and over €10m on the south eastern scheme itself.”

The NRA also advocated raising another €2bn to build the new routes from Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Galway by 2008.

The authority is looking to raise the money privately by placing additional toll schemes on existing roads the Co Kildare M7 by-pass, the Jack Lynch tunnel in Cork and the N2 scheme in Co Dublin.

Eleven of the major schemes under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 were completed last year.

Work is already underway on constructing the Dundalk Western by-pass as part of the €8bn euro allocated to the authority for the next five years.

The group also said the pilot schemes, following the Swedish ‘two-plus-one’ lanes, to reduce road fatalities will be introduced over the next two years.

The motorway provides for one lane on both sides with a middle lane which allows traffic from both directions to overtake at alternate times.

There will be four pilot schemes carried out in Cork, Leitrim, Monaghan and Donegal over the next two years.

“It may be possible to use 850 kilometres of roads throughout the country,” he said.

“You could save 50 lives a year by using the two-plus-one type.

“There will be a crash barrier dividing the two flows and eliminating the risk of head-on collisions. As 37 per cent of fatalities on roads are head-on collisions.

“With the motorway dual carriageway and the two-plus-one we could save about 100 lives a year.”

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2004/05/13/story147426.html

NRA recommends more road tolls
13/05/2004 - 16:33:30

The National Roads Authority (NRA) has said it is in need of a further €2bn, if some of its major routes are to be completed by the deadline of 2008.

At the launch of its annual report, the NRA said it has achieved a lot, but needs more scope from the Government to complete these projects on time.

The Cashel and Ashford-Rathnew by-passes are to be completed ahead of schedule by the end of this year.

But an additional number of toll schemes should be introduced on the N2 Finglas route, M7 Newbridge Bypass and the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork if targets are to be met.

Michael Egan of the NRA says they are in need of additional funds: "We have the ability within the authority to deliver the programme at a greater pace and bring much needed benefits right through the country.

"We would also use the same mechanism to bring forward or borrow on the anticipated revenues at the likes of Newbridge, the Jack Lynch Tunnel and the other areas. We need that investment now, not in five years time.”

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/3189595?view=Eircomnet

NRA proposes new tolls on three roads
From:ireland.com
Thursday, 13th May, 2004

The National Roads Authority (NRA) has proposed the introduction of tolls at three locations around the country to generate funding for the body's road building programme planned for the next four years.

The proposal would see the introduction of toll schemes at the planned N2 Finglas-Ashbourne, the M7 Newbridge Bypass and at the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork to help raise the estimated €2 billion the NRA believes is required to expedite the completion of the 2004-08 plan.

The Authority recently submitted its proposed programme for 2004-08 to the Government based on a provision of almost €7 billion that would be supplemented to the tune of €1 billion by private investment.

The NRA suggested the additional funds raised by the three toll schemes and other methods would speed up the road-building process by as much as two years.

The recommendation was made at the launch today of the NRA's Annual Report for 2003. The NRA delivered on 82km of new high quality road infrastructure in 2003 representing a total investment of some €1bn that includes motorway standard over a distance of 72 kilometres from Dublin to Dundalk.

Speaking at this afternoon's launch, Mr Peter Malone, the Chairman of the NRA, also called for an overhaul of what he called "outdated national monuments legislation" so that it "more appropriately reflects the scale and pace of infrastructure development envisaged in the National Development Plan 2000-06"

Mr Malone added that progress was being made on major routes linking Dublin to Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. He said the work should be completed or underway on "on the entirety of these routes by 2008 with significant sections open to traffic before then."

jank

Great more tolls but anybody tell me how are they going to toll the jack lynch tunnel!?

there is no room to build the toll both and wasnt it payed for by the taxpayers do why should the NRA get their hands on it!

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/3195123?view=Eircomnet

Brennan opens controversial N11 road section
From:ireland.com
Friday, 14th May, 2004

The €85 million dual carriageway between Kilmacanogue and the Glen of the Downs on the N11 Dublin-to-Wexford route has been officially opened this afternoon by the Minister for Transport.

Mr Brennan said the road, which overran its initial cost estimate by more than 70 per cent, completes a "missing link" by connecting the existing continuous motorway/dual carriageway from Dublin to the Newtownmountkennedy bypass in Wicklow.

Motorists long accustomed to miles of traffic tailbacks will now travel on 35 kilometres of continuous motorway/dual carriageway from Donnybrook, South Dublin, to the end of the Newtownmountkennedy bypass.

Some 30,000 vehicles travel through the Glen of the Downs each day and Mr Brennan said the new road would improve travel times and bring down the accident rates experienced on the old road by offering "free-flow" traffic conditions and a footbridge for the safety of pedestrians.

Mr Brennan said he has authorised an independent assessment of the huge cost over-run on the Glen of the Downs project - the final cost was €85 million rather than the estimated cost of €49.2 million at the tender stage in June 2000.

He said the increased cost has been attributed to a delayed start, very difficult site conditions, the relocation of significant utilities and the cost of an additional median barrier.

Mr Brennan paid tribute to the National Roads Authority and Wicklow County Council for what he said was the sensitivity shown in constructing a road at a unique environmental location.

Six thousand oak trees have been propagated from acorns collected in the Glen and so far 600 of these have been planted in the area to replace the 150 mature trees which had to be removed. Access has been provided for small mammals - along with fish ladders and culverts - and Kilmacanogue Marsh has been moved.

The controversial Glen of the Downs road was held up initially by court challenges and protests against its construction through such a sensitive landscape and ecosystem. So-called ecowarriors occupied the site for three years before construction began in 2002.