M18 - Gort to Crusheen

Tech3

Morebypasses wrote: »

Can anyone explain how new road will merge with old road at Galway side of Gort. Have not been up that way with a while (live in Kerry) and photo of Junction above is confusing!!!! Hope is not via roundabout as that will cause delays.

See this post. It shows how traffic will leave the M18 and return to the current N18. If travelling north you will leave the LILO after the overbridge and then return back up through the two roundabouts before you reach the N18.

Nath

tech2 wrote: »

See this post. It shows how traffic will leave the M18 and return to the current N18. If travelling north you will leave the LILO after the overbridge and then return back up through the two roundabouts before you reach the N18.

Here is tech2's sketch applied to the photo of the junction, colour scheme is as follows:
northbound traffic
southbound traffic

I can certainly see delays as being inevitable here when heading northbound.

topper75

Nath wrote: »

I can certainly see delays as being inevitable here when heading northbound.

Will the traffic coming from Gort area be that heavy?
I don't think so myself.

ki

topper75 wrote: »

Will the traffic coming from Gort area be that heavy?
I don't think so myself.

+1

It will be similar to the current setup of the M7 rejoining the N7 at Birdhill.
I use it every evening. And the only time I've being delayed here is when Ireland/Munster are playing in Limerick(extra 30K people coming from all directions toward the City)

antoobrien

Nath wrote: »

I can certainly see delays as being inevitable here when heading northbound.

topper75 wrote: »

Will the traffic coming from Gort area be that heavy?
I don't think so myself.

ki wrote: »

+1

It will be similar to the current setup of the M7 rejoining the N7 at Birdhill.
I use it every evening. And the only time I've being delayed here is when Ireland/Munster are playing in Limerick(extra 30K people coming from all directions toward the City)

I tend to agree with topper75 and ki here. This junction is north of Gort and from descriptions this will be a merge, not a junction, onto the n18. This will be more like having to get off the M6 at Kilbeggan, there will be some slowdown because of the end of the M18, but here the traffic is moving onto an open road (not going through the village like Kilbeggan).

glineli

Someone in Gort told me this morning that it was still hoped to be finished late summer/early autumn. There seems to be a lot left to do

1 finish the central barrier
2 Final layer of asphalt
3 barrier
4 finish tie ins
5 marking

That seems like a fair bit and i am sure i am leaving a lot of stuff out.

Nath

antoobrien wrote: »

I tend to agree with topper75 and ki here. This junction is north of Gort and from descriptions this will be a merge, not a junction, onto the n18. This will be more like having to get off the M6 at Kilbeggan, there will be some slowdown because of the end of the M18, but here the traffic is moving onto an open road (not going through the village like Kilbeggan).

A fair point, although I was thinking that large volumes of northbound traffic terminating at a LILO and two RABs has the potential to cause some level of congestion.

glineli

Laying CBM at the Crusheen tie in this evening.

Chris_5339762

Put it this way, any delays at Gort going either way will not be as bad as they are right now.

Morebypasses

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Put it this way, any delays at Gort going either way will not be as bad as they are right now.

Fair point. But would love to meet the engineer that designed that junction!!! Maybe they had the next stage in mind but given the current economic climate we will be stuck with this junction for many years to come. Reminds me of junction at shannon side of ennis bypass before it opened. All the traffic going north had to turn off on to slip road and there were always delays getting on to it. I fear the same will happen here.

notel70

Nath wrote: »

Here is tech2's sketch applied to the photo of the junction, colour scheme is as follows:
northbound traffic
southbound traffic

I can certainly see delays as being inevitable here when heading northbound.

might be covered already of just a stupid question.

For the traffic heading towards Galway, why have they not made a normal slip road of the motorway to the roundabout on the left of that photo, rather than traffic having to go round that stupid diversion past the flyover which has 3 sharp turns? Its going to be traffic chaos, trucks will have to take that corner at 20mph and on peak traffic times you there will be a serous backlog back up the motorway.

Because of this might be quicker to get of the motorway at the first Gort junction and go through the town.

Real short sighted as I cant see the next phase of that road being finished anytime soon.

I have to be missing something here

Sponge Bob

We covered this issue months ago. ALL the _significant_ delays from 2010 to around 2014 will be where you wish to exit Gort NORTHBOUND towards Galway. That is because a steady stream of southbound traffic will pin the Gortonians in on the roundabout.

Entering Gort will be no problem....until you run into the water scheme that is

skelliser

I travel to gort regurlarly. It will be a great day when that hellhole is consigned to history!
The road surface in the town is so bad you probably have a better surface in afghanistan!
That current set up with the junction will finish at the end of this month. Hopefully the whole operation will be finish by start of october.

Nath

Interesting that Wills Bros website is now specifying the construction period for this project as Nov 2008 to Oct 2010, looks like it is going to be Autumn when it's finished.

http://www.willsbros.com/Road_and_Bridge_Construction/86/project-page.html

topper75

Nath wrote: »

Wills Bros website is now specifying the construction period for this project as Nov 2008 to Oct 2010,

That Oct date has been up there a good while now.

I'm now thinking that it might overrun slightly. This is total guessing on my part and I am not au fait with the roadbuilding craft. I just think the list of remaining tasks means more than 3 months.

glineli

2nd layer of CBM going down in Crusheen tie in. Also central barrier almost down to Crusheen - Tubber overpass.

Cosmo K

Just a question for the guys in the know here, the concrete barrier, is that actually manufactured 'on site', just curios.

fresca

Cosmo K wrote: »

Just a question for the guys in the know here, the concrete barrier, is that actually manufactured 'on site', just curios.

search you tube for some interesting vids of pouring on the barrier in a continuous fashion...

cjpm

Cosmo K wrote: »

Just a question for the guys in the know here, the concrete barrier, is that actually manufactured 'on site', just curios.

It's slip formed... i.e. the formwork is contained in a machine with crawlers which moves along slowly and the shape is formed as the concrete slips out the back of the machine. Usually 2 strands of rebar in them too.

glineli

how many meters a day could they lay?

black47

glineli wrote: »

2nd layer of CBM going down in Crusheen tie in. Also central barrier almost down to Crusheen - Tubber overpass.

Just to clarify, Is the central barrier now fitted from the Gort tie in down as far as the Crusheen Tubber overpass?

glineli

black47 wrote: »

Just to clarify, Is the central barrier now fitted from the Gort tie in down as far as the Crusheen Tubber overpass?

They are just a little shy of it, i would imagine they will be very close to it by the time they finish today. I might go home that way and see.

Amtmann

glineli wrote: »

how many meters a day could they lay?

I'd hazard a guess at a kilometre, but Berty would be better able to say with certainty. They definitely managed about one kilometre per day on the M8 Mitchelstown-Fermoy scheme.

Tech3

I still hoping it will be done for September!!

topper75

Furet wrote: »

about one kilometre per day

That rate is impressive for concrete barrier.

I was down at the some of the overbridges yesterday evening (Tubber and the one north of Crusheen) to have a look. Lads working away on the mainline, but lots left to do it seems. I think anything pre-October would be trojan.

At what rate are the margin fences installed typically?

Ascii

glineli wrote: »

They are just a little shy of it, i would imagine they will be very close to it by the time they finish today. I might go home that way and see.

Picture of slipform paver at work.

Just to clarify, do on average 300 metres per day. No chance of doing much more. they have done from R460 Corrofin road to the Gortavoher Overbridge. (bar a few little sections around the centre piers of the bridges).

Amtmann

Ascii wrote: »

Picture of slipform paver at work.

Just to clarify, do on average 300 metres per day. No chance of doing much more. they have done from R460 Corrofin road to the Gortavoher Overbridge. (bar a few little sections around the centre piers of the bridges).

They definitely did way more than that on the Mitchelstown-Fermoy scheme (though maybe they had two pavers).

glineli

There was no action around the Gort tie in this morning. I wonder are they done with the works for now?

topper75

They'll be on hols for a fortnight shortly, won't they?

glineli

In the Clare Champion this week it has some quote from council members and NRA spokespeople saying the road will be completed in October. However it will need to be tested first so looking like it will be a few months after completion.