M18 - Gort to Crusheen

Chris_533976

Far back from the road there is fencing, but nothing that a determined deer couldnt jump over.

murphaph

brainy_neuron wrote: »

Just wondering what the conditions on the Galway-Ennis bypass-Limerick route were like today? I will be travelling down to Cork from Galway tomorrow (around 2pm) and was wondering if it was safe? All it says on AA website;

*Icy conditions on secondary roads around Shannon, Killaloe, Sixmilebridge and New Market on Fergus. Freezing fog around Ennis too. Icy along the N18 Ennis/Galway Rd*

This is the infrastructure forum. Your post has a better chance of being read in commuting and transport

Tech3

glineli how is the Lahardan overbridge faring now?

The gortavoher overbridge is possiblly the 2nd overbridge open to traffic. I will look at the scheme over the next few weeks.

Chris_533976

Usual batch of (bad) car photos on the way to Galway. Little to no work done over Christmas, not surprising really!

North terminus of Ennis bypass -



Another pic of the bridge which will eventually connect Barefield to the current N18



Another overbridge through the trees -



Wills are good at lining up their diggers neatly.



Underpass all done -



Crusheen interchange -



Gort junction. Roundabouts are taking shape.

Sponge Bob

I was amazed at your race week prediction on this particular scheme

I would point out that Wills are bidding for the PPP to the north and that the contract decision will not be made till Oct - Dec 2010 at the earliest.

Why leave the lads with nothing to do I ask ??

black47

Sponge Bob wrote: »

I was amazed at your race week prediction on this particular scheme

I would point out that Wills are bidding for the PPP to the north and that the contract decision will not be made till Oct - Dec 2010 at the earliest.

Why leave the lads with nothing to do I ask ??

Wills don't just do roads. See their website http://www.willsbros.com/

It was mentioned previously on this thread that they laid off earthworks staff at Christmas in preparation for laying of tarmac in January 2010. Can't lay in this weather but I would still be in agreement for races 2010 opening given progress to date

glineli

tech2 wrote: »

glineli how is the Lahardan overbridge faring now?

The gortavoher overbridge is possiblly the 2nd overbridge open to traffic. I will look at the scheme over the next few weeks.

I was down at lahardan at the weekend, no work done there in quite a while. The structure is in place, the earthworks for the road are in place, but no tar laid or anything like that.

We walked from there to overpass on the tubber road, will be a fantastic drive once completed.

Tech3

Short updates:

The R460 overbridge is now open to traffic. No pics next updates hopefully.

I think (may need confirmation) that some CBM has gone down on the northbound side at the tie in with the Ennis bypass.

Ascii

There is no CBM laid at the Ennis-tie in yet. The only place the CBM is currently being laid is on the southbound lane from the R460 in Gort. Next phase of traffic management is commencing from next week at the Ennis end of the job.

teacher25

when is the gort bypass due to be finished and where will it come out past gort , im searching for the last while here and can see nothing about it ... i also slowed down and asked a guy working there and he barely grunted that he didnt know (yes he was irish), it all seems very secretive ! and when is the rest of it from gort to galway due to be done ...

KevR

Someone else should know for sure but I think that the scheme will rejoin the current N18 near that really sharp bend as you come into Gort from the Galway side.

As for Gort to Galway/Tuam, it's hard to estimate when it will be completed as construction hasn't even started on it yet.

Tech3

January Updates:

The R460 overbridge is open to traffic, slightly surprised how narrow the overbridge is for a regional road near an urban area.


Looking North from the R460 overbridge, some CBM down as mentioned on a previous post


Looking south from the R460 overbridge


Gortavoher overbridge opened to traffic


Looking north from Gortavoher overbridge


Looking south from Gortavoher overbridge


Looking north from Shanaglish overbridge


Looking south from Shanaglish overbridge

rainbowdash

KevR wrote: »

Someone else should know for sure but I think that the scheme will rejoin the current N18 near that really sharp bend as you come into Gort from the Galway side.

As for Gort to Galway/Tuam, it's hard to estimate when it will be completed as construction hasn't even started on it yet.

I think thats where it end as well, just at the sharp bend. I have a feeling it will be one of those bypasses that finishes / starts at a series of roundabouts and gets backed up for miles at the first hint of traffic.

This will go on for years while we wait for the next part of the bypass to be built.

L1011

rainbowdash wrote: »

I think thats where it end as well, just at the sharp bend. I have a feeling it will be one of those bypasses that finishes / starts at a series of roundabouts and gets backed up for miles at the first hint of traffic.

This will go on for years while we wait for the next part of the bypass to be built.

...it starts by continuing on freeflow from the existing M18, it'll only be the Gort end thats likely to be roundabouts until the M17/M18 Gort-Tuam PPP is built.

skelliser

ya there building a roundabout just before the really sharp bend that brings you into gort

serfboard

rainbowdash wrote: »

I think thats where it end as well, just at the sharp bend. I have a feeling it will be one of those bypasses that finishes / starts at a series of roundabouts and gets backed up for miles at the first hint of traffic.

I don't think there will be a traffic backup. Coming from Limerick, you will exit the M18 at a roundabout, cross the bridge, join another roundabout and go onto the N18 to Galway.

Coming from Galway, the N18 will come to a roundabout and bring you onto the motorway.

The only possible delays will come from traffic coming from Limerick going into Gort - of which I wouldn't imagine there would be that much.

Tech3

skelliser wrote: »

ya there building a roundabout just before the really sharp bend that brings you into gort

They are the dumbell roundabouts for the Gort grade seperated junction. Another roundabout will probably be constructed futher out for the tie in with the current N18 as it may continue on a further km to bring it up to the current road.

rainbowdash

serfboard wrote: »

I don't think there will be a traffic backup. Coming from Limerick, you will exit the M18 at a roundabout, cross the bridge, join another roundabout and go onto the N18 to Galway.

Coming from Galway, the N18 will come to a roundabout and bring you onto the motorway.

The only possible delays will come from traffic coming from Limerick going into Gort - of which I wouldn't imagine there would be that much.

I hope you are right but maybe you did not experience the delays at the end of the Newmarketonfergus bypass before the ennis section opened. In theory there was even less traffic coming from the newmarket and clare inn side than gort but friday evenings were bedlam. It was a nasty cycle as more and more people started to ignore the bypass and cut through newmarket. there might as well not have been a bypass at times - it was quicker go the old way.

with the next phase probably 10 years away I am worried about this one.

Will they be mickey mouse roundabouts like newmarket or reasonably large ones than can handle 2 lanes of cars comfortably?

Sponge Bob

rainbowdash wrote: »

It was a nasty cycle as more and more people started to ignore the bypass and cut through newmarket. there might as well not have been a bypass at times - it was quicker go the old way.

Except that the west roundabout is for the exclusive use of northbound traffic and the two streams merge at the eastern one. In Newmarket the eastern stream crossed over and blocked the northbound traffic at the western roundabout.

Not the same.

Will they be mickey mouse roundabouts like newmarket or reasonably large ones than can handle 2 lanes of cars comfortably?

They will be Mickey Mouse ones from what I remember rather than the large roundabout at the western end of the Loughrea Bypass for example.

Were the more easterly of the pair a non Mickey mouse roundabout then it would naturally be better but the Northbound Traffic off the motorway will be taking the first exit while the southbound traffic will generally stop the Gort people escaping from Gort in any direction.

Zoney

rainbowdash:

For a start the N18 mainline was far far busier there than it will be up at Gort. Traffic volumes on the N19-Ennis section of N18 were very high even before the dual carriageway/motorway whereas further north of Ennis, despite the problems caused by a goat track masquarading as a road, the traffic volumes are nothing like as high. There was a large amount of local traffic around Newmarket-on-Fergus due to commuters to/from Shannon. As you say, the problem was exacerbated once people started ignoring the bypass (only clogged up the junction more). At Gort, even if that were to happen, the total volume of traffic would be more manageable.

kiwipower

Were the more easterly of the pair a non Mickey mouse roundabout then it would naturally be better but the Northbound Traffic off the motorway will be taking the first exit while the southbound traffic will generally stop the Gort people escaping from Gort in any direction.[/quote]

Thats good we dont want them Gort people escaping now do we???? They might run a muck all over our beautiful new motor ways!!!! LOL:cool::P:D

Tech3

Added some photos to the M18 page on facebook and wikipedia of the progess from January

Facebook

Wikipedia

Tech3

Ascii wrote: »

There is no CBM laid at the Ennis-tie in yet. The only place the CBM is currently being laid is on the southbound lane from the R460 in Gort. Next phase of traffic management is commencing from next week at the Ennis end of the job.

Hi Ascii, many thanks for the update. Do you know when the tubber-gort overbridge is going to be open to traffic? I see the north side of it is nearly complete but the south link is not as advanced with no asphalt down.

Also worth noting, the Rathwilladoon overbridge is now under construction. It was the last one to start with the delay caused by passing on the outskirts of a turlough.

Ascii

About 6-8 weeks should have you up and over the gort-tubber overbridge. They have been working on it every day lately. The delay with Rathwilladoon OB let from the fact that they could not close rathwilladoon and Shanaglish roads together to construct the OB. They had to maintain Rathwilladoon whilst they constructed Shanaglish and then vice versa.

glineli

Lahadran still no progress to report

serfboard

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Northbound Traffic off the motorway will be taking the first exit while the southbound traffic will generally stop the Gort people escaping from Gort in any direction.

I hadn't thought of that. You're right - it'll be a nightmare getting out from Gort. I wonder if Gort people are aware of this?

Tech3

serfboard wrote: »

I hadn't thought of that. You're right - it'll be a nightmare getting out from Gort. I wonder if Gort people are aware of this?

Its a grade seperated junction being built at Gort. It was originally planned to just have a roundabout until the M17/M18 scheme upgraded the junction. Then the NRA copped on and decided to built the GSJ instead as part of the Gort-Crusheen scheme.

serfboard

tech2 wrote: »

Its a grade seperated junction being built at Gort. It was originally planned to just have a roundabout until the M17/M18 scheme upgraded the junction. Then the NRA copped on and decided to built the GSJ instead as part of the Gort-Crusheen scheme.

I think you're missing the point. I know that it's a GSJ at Gort.

The GSJ is going to have 2 roundabouts - roundabout 1 for traffic coming off the M18 going north crossing the motorway and joining roundabout 2, which will also be used for traffic coming from the existing N18 going South (onto the M18). This is the roundabout that's going to cause the problem for Gort people.

Coming from Gort onto roundabout 2, you'll have a load of traffic coming south from the existing N18 onto the M18, meaning you won't be able to get onto the roundabout at all! (OK, slight exaggeration, but it will be difficult at peak times).

This will be alleviated when Gort->Tuam is built, but until then (4 years from now) there will be massive delays for Gort people.

Sponge Bob

serfboard wrote: »

This will be alleviated when Gort->Tuam is built, but until then (4 years from now) there will be massive delays for Gort people.

It can be traffic lit rather easily but ONLY if they put the cabling ducts in now that is. Somebody in Gort better email the NRA about it soon

clon

Found this link to newsletter for crusheen to gort M18 scheme on the galway county council roads website, this is taken from last Nov. 09.Really shows the progress in one year.

http://www.galway.ie/en/Services/RoadsTransportation/RoadProjects/n18_new/news/SWJV%20N18%20G-C%20Newsletter%20-%20Dec%2009,%20Issue%203.pdf