N9 Carlow Bypass-when will it open?

Sully

Carlow has a fire service.. unless im mistaken and the big red vans and building is something else?

lucylu

yea the fire Station slap bang in the middle of the Carlow town....

The New motorway intersection is about 2KM south of Castledermot at Prumplestown and 8 Km from Carlow Town ...

cargo

It's definitely the new roundabout South of Castledermot Sully is on about. He's just a bit confused

Out there if you're coming from Dublin you have a construction site (Castlledermot - Kilcullen Motorway section) on your right hand side and you have the new Carlow By-pass on your left hand side of the roundabout.

Sully you would have traveled straight on here under the new flyover and drove on for another 2 - 3 kms before coming into Carlow. There is a batch of new roundabouts / development right on the edge of Carlow and that's why you are thinking the roundabout with the by-pass is so near the Red Trucks!!

road_high

The big day must be coming soon?:D
This will be the first section of M- road in the south east region and the first section of the long awaited Waterford-Dublin motorway..kind of historic really

ShayK1

how often do you travel from Dublin to Waterford Sully?

Sully

Mostly by train.

patrickc

according to this chap in commuting and transport its july
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=55597733&postcount=31

Bards

According to the Carlow Nationalist it will open in the 1st or 2nd week in May
=========================================================

http://www.carlow-nationalist.ie/news/story/?trs=mhmhsncwcw&cat=news

Bypass scheduled to open in May but will Dempsey do the honours?
By: Suzanne Pender

TRAFFIC gridlock into Carlow town should soon become a dim and distant memory with the opening of the Carlow Bypass now just weeks away.

Carlow County Council confirmed this week that the bypass will open “on the first or second week in May”, well ahead of schedule.


“It’s almost ready to open and we would expect it to be the first or second week in May,” said Director of Services John Carley.


However just who will perform that official opening remains a mystery, councillors joked at Monday’s meeting of the local authority.


With the prospect of a cabinet reshuffle looming large, current Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey’s diary is anything but certain with Brian Cowen poised to become Taoiseach.



However the smart money would still have Minister Dempsey taking a trip to Carlow as Transport Minister in May to finally ease the frustrations of Dublin to Waterford travellers.


The 19km of high-quality dual carriage-way will bypass the town of Carlow with three grade-separated junctions at Powerstown (N9), Rathcrogue (N80) and Prumplestown (N9).


The bypass consists of 11 road bridges, one river crossing, one rail crossing as well as a pedestrian cyclist underpass at Rathcrogue, thus allowing access to Tinryland GAA Club.

wheres me jumpa

A lorry had a nice slip on the roundabout near the dump recently.

aynon

did any one ever hear of fairy tales?

bottletops

Well the CastleD side looks just about done now. They look like ther're doing the last little bit of landscaping. Anti skid surfaces are down and I noticed 3 road cleaners up on the main carriageways yesterday.

I was thinking though, The main road to Carlow from Castledermot will now become an Rxxx road so will that mean a steed limit drop to 80K's?? That'll be a pain.

wheres me jumpa

Good point, that will be a pain. As I drive from Kilkenny to Carlow, where will be the last exit for Carlow Town? Near the dump?

ShayK1

wheres me jumpa wrote: »

Good point, that will be a pain. As I drive from Kilkenny to Carlow, where will be the last exit for Carlow Town? Near the dump?

I don't think the trip from Kilkenny to carlow will change? The new road starts at the dump and heads across to the wexford road and then heads to castledermot so unless you join the new road and get off on the wexford road and take the wexford road into Carlow, I don't think you'll be on the new road at all. You'll just drive over it and head on in the old kilkenny road.

Correct??

davidoco

ShayK1 wrote: »

I don't think the trip from Kilkenny to carlow will change? The new road starts at the dump and heads across to the wexford road and then heads to castledermot so unless you join the new road and get off on the wexford road and take the wexford road into Carlow, I don't think you'll be on the new road at all. You'll just drive over it and head on in the old kilkenny road.

Correct??

Travelling from Kilkenny you can

a; take up the new road at the dump and exit at Rathcrogue to be 2 km from east and south side of town

b; stay on old road to be on west/north side of town.

ShayK1

davidoco wrote: »

Travelling from Kilkenny you can

a; take up the new road at the dump and exit at Rathcrogue to be 2 km from east and south side of town

b; stay on old road to be on west/north side of town.

Which is what I said

darkman2

Any news on an exact opening date for this yet. It must be finished by now, surely.

steelbar

bottletops wrote: »

Well the CastleD side looks just about done now. They look like ther're doing the last little bit of landscaping. Anti skid surfaces are down and I noticed 3 road cleaners up on the main carriageways yesterday.

I was thinking though, The main road to Carlow from Castledermot will now become an Rxxx road so will that mean a steed limit drop to 80K's?? That'll be a pain.

And no doubt our good friends the Gardai, will be on it regularly.
Its funny, for years, it was 60mph/100 kmph and now in 2008, it will go back to 80 kmph, makes sense!

bottletops

I have heard from a v reliable source at Ascon that there is going to be a delay to the road opening. At least a few months.

Apparently there are ducts running under the road to carry wiring and pips etc. They have not been able to feed pipes thought the ducts because of some sort of blockage. They have now resorted to drilling holes into the ducts from the road resulting in 7K's of holes 3 meters apart on a section of the road!! :eek:

I take it that what I've been told is pretty accurate but as always there may be more to this than I'm told?? Anyway that's the latest I've heard. Not happy news eh!!!

wheres me jumpa

ShayK1 wrote: »

I don't think the trip from Kilkenny to carlow will change? The new road starts at the dump and heads across to the wexford road and then heads to castledermot so unless you join the new road and get off on the wexford road and take the wexford road into Carlow, I don't think you'll be on the new road at all. You'll just drive over it and head on in the old kilkenny road.

Correct??

Yeah thats correct. I was just wondering were there are any further exits, i.e. other than the wexford and castledermot roads.

So looks like this road will have no impact on me whatsoever! boo-urns!

ShayK1

wheres me jumpa wrote: »

Yeah thats correct. I was just wondering were there are any further exits, i.e. other than the wexford and castledermot roads.

So looks like this road will have no impact on me whatsoever! boo-urns!

it SHOULD make traffic on the carlow - kilkenny road much lighter, I mean the section from the dump to Carlow town.... the rest will be the same.

Don1

hehe dump.

OT(ish), I was driving over the bridge on the Tullow Carlow main road and looked down at that nice long empty straight road,............ damn I'd a love a good car to break onto it with.

fricatus

So has the opening been delayed until August, as per the rumour going around, or is it imminent? Now that the reshuffle is out of the way, maybe the way is clear for an announcement on who will open it and when...

road_high

Anybody got an idea when exactly it will open now? The council said early may and it's now the 2nd week

tommycahir

I was chatting to one of the engineers on Sunday night and he told me that all of the machines that they had there have been taken off of hire and sent back to the hire companys and there are only a few guys left around finishing off some basic jobs nothing major.

Most of the ascon crew have been moved on to the new job they have outside Portlaoise and decision is now entirely up to teh council as to when they open the road.

aynon

ah the council.....gods answer to not working and not caring....

patrickc

tommycahir wrote: »

I was chatting to one of the engineers on Sunday night and he told me that all of the machines that they had there have been taken off of hire and sent back to the hire companys and there are only a few guys left around finishing off some basic jobs nothing major.

Most of the ascon crew have been moved on to the new job they have outside Portlaoise and decision is now entirely up to teh council as to when they open the road.

i.e when they can get some TD or other to open it...

i noticed that alright, no machinery and everything looks completed

tommycahir

aynon wrote: »

ah the council.....gods answer to not working and not caring....

The guy even said that they had passed the NRA safety test and they had told the council that once the decision is made for an open date they will come back 2 days before had and giv eit a full sweep from one end to the other.

When passing the priory in lately they look as if they are starting to prepare to divert traffic so that they can build the bridge in a similar fashion as to what they have done outside carlow. Which means more delays on that bloody road :mad:

Bards

Looks like they will have missed the 24 Month deadline by the time it officially opens - this Speech is from 11th May 2006 and it is now 13th May 2008
=========================================================
Delivery in 24 months will remove 9000 vehicles from Carlow's streets

N9 Waterford to Dublin Motorway to take 56-minutes off journey

The new 19km Carlow Bypass project started today (11th May, 2006) and will see over 9,000 vehicles a day removed from Carlow's streets. The project, which will be completed in just 24-months, is also another major step in the N9 Waterford to Dublin Motorway. The N9 will open in 2010 and take 56-minutes off the Waterford to Dublin journey.

Speaking in Carlow where he turned the sod on the Bypass, Transport Minister, Martin Cullen said: "Inside the next three and a half years, we will build 110km of new road from Waterford to Dublin and in doing so, transform the lives of people who have been taking this journey for many years.

"The Carlow Bypass becomes the second leg of the N9 to have started, with the Waterford City Bypass now also in construction. The Carlow to Waterford section is next, with work to start on the first stage of this section later this year. The final leg, Carlow to Kilcullen and Carlow to Knocktopher which are well advanced and through statutory procedure stage, will follow. These projects and the newly improved Naas Road only weeks away from completion, mean that by 2010, 56-minutes will be knocked off the journey from Waterford to Dublin. That's real improvement."

Minister Cullen said many people would gain from the Carlow Bypass. He said: "It will mean time savings of 30 minutes to people in peak time journeys. 9,000 vehicles a day, many of them large trucks, will be removed from Carlow town, freeing up streets like Barrack Street, Tullow Street and Dublin Street. This is particularly significant, given the expansion of Carlow as a shopping destination in recent times. It is also important to emphasise again that better roads have a huge road safety dividend."

Minister Cullen also announced an update on the Government's road investment programme. "With the Carlow Bypass now starting, it means work is underway on 25 road projects totalling 234kms. Work will start on 15 new projects this year, trebling the average number of starts in the past three years. 13 other key projects will also be completed this year. And crucially, we are delivering projects, on budget and ahead of schedule.

"Projects like this are not just about tarmac, diggers or concrete. We are not building roads to admire them - we are building them because they make it possible to protect and grow job opportunities and to protect and grow community life in all parts of our country", he said.

Attending the sod turning, NRA Chairman, Peter Malone said: "Work kicks off today on the billion euro road linking Dublin and Waterford which, when completed, will radically transform the road network serving the southeast of the country.

"It is one of 5 major Inter-Urban motorways to be delivered by the National Roads Authority (NRA) under the Governments Transport 21 Plan.

The Carlow bypass is the one of a four- phase 110km road project to commence on the N9, a route of both national and regional importance. When completed in 24 months the benefits will be immediate, not only to the people of Carlow and Kildare but for everyone travelling between the Capital and the Viking City of Waterford. It will provide for much safer travel for motorists while at the same time facilitating economic and tourism growth in the region. The evidence of this can be seen across the country with the roll out of the biggest ever roads programme in the history of the state", he said.

ENDS

road_high

So basically we are just waiting on the council to decide on a date to open the new road. Seems crazy to me when it is finished, you should just open it immediately and put Carlow as a bottlekneck in the history books where it belongs

5ForKeeps

Seen it looks fairly class i have to say. Carlow is usually busy anytime i have gone up there in regards to traffic will be a good thing for the town. Just like the bypass in Arklow it will improve the town's traffic congestion.

flamegrill

Supposedly the end bit near Powerstown Dump isn't completely finished yet. So it'll be another while yet. Most of this shouldn't require heavy machinery.

I did also hear the opening was postponed for a while. August or so?

Paul

road_high

Seems like hearsay, anybody got anything SOLID to add here

bottletops

I emailed Carlow Co Co and the reply was:

..... drum roll please.........

No date has been decided yet. Awaiting date NRA

Bards

....which is another way of saying....

we are waiting to hear from Noel Dempsey's secretary on a date he will be available to perform the ribbon cutting

road_high

Bards wrote: »

....which is another way of saying....

we are waiting to hear from Noel Dempsey's secretary on a date he will be available to perform the ribbon cutting

Sure maybe the Dail will be on holidays soon, sure whats the rush....leave til next October when they return

fricatus

The delay in opening the Carlow bypass was discussed on Anne-Marie Kelly's morning show on Today FM this morning. I can't remember the details of what was said, because I was drifting in and out of sleep at the time, however as I recall, the discussion pretty much mirrored ours here!

flamegrill

Had a look at it today as I had to go to KK twice. It looks very much complete on the dump side anyways. There's a youtube video of it where someone drives from end to end.

Should open soon hopefully :-)

ShayK1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kHVUv_OqJw

flamegrill

Thats the one Shay

ShayK1

flamegrill wrote: »

Thats the one Shay

jiggajt

Saw a big water bowser going out towards powerstown this morning. Might be on its way for the final cleaning!

bottletops

Just got a reply from NRA on when its opening...

Dear Mr. xxxxx,

The exact date has not yet been decided, however, it is likely to be within the next month (end of May/early June).

Regards,

xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Programme Administrator
National Roads Authority
St. Martin's House
Waterloo Road
Dublin 4
Tel 660 25xx
Fax 660 16xx

inarut

Just heard in the last hour from reliable sources that the Carlow bypass will be finally opened to traffic on Thursday afternoon next, May 29th.

ShayK1

inarut wrote: »

Just heard in the last hour from reliable sources that the Carlow bypass will be finally opened to traffic on Thursday afternoon next, May 29th.

I'm still sceptical. I'll believe it when I can spell it.... I mean .... see it

inarut

I've always been sceptical about the opening myself but I just heard it from two "very reliable sources" involved in the project. This is also the allocated date for the Minister to officially open the bypass.

patrickc

i heard tonight, the 2nd week in June so who knows, nothing official yet announced

Bards

It's now official that on the afternoon of Thursday 29th May the Carlow Bypass will be opened

from http://www.nra.ie/News/NewsAnnouncements/htmltext,14694,en.html
==========================================
The Carlow Bypass will officially open on the afternoon of the 29th May 2008 by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey T.D.
The Minister for Transport Mr. Noel Dempsey T.D., will officially open the Carlow Bypass on Thursday afternoon the 29th May 2008.

ShayK1

cool!! Good news!!

patrickc

Bards wrote: »

It's now official that on the afternoon of Thursday 29th May the Carlow Bypass will be opened

from http://www.nra.ie/News/NewsAnnouncements/htmltext,14694,en.html
==========================================
The Carlow Bypass will officially open on the afternoon of the 29th May 2008 by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey T.D.
The Minister for Transport Mr. Noel Dempsey T.D., will officially open the Carlow Bypass on Thursday afternoon the 29th May 2008.

excellent, lets see how castledermot holds up ....

Sully

Good stuff, will make travelling to Dublin that bit easier. Pitty that more of it isnt completed :P