M6 - Kilbeggan to Athlone

blast05

It will be interesting to see if it opens with "full" motorway status!
The Carlow "motorway" opened recently opened, but is still officially an "N" road with 100kmh speed limit as the motorway order hasn't been approved yet(I believe).

Hmm, i'm nearly cetrtain i saw 120 kph signs on the road when i was cycling on it - not 100% though, will be going for a spin on it again tomorrow evening or Saturday morning so will check again. Anyway, if all the signs say it is the M6, then presumably the speed limit will be 120 kph.

Seperately, heard in work today that local politicians have a date of June 20th circled into their diaries !!

blast05

blast05 wrote: »

Seperately, heard in work today that local politicians have a date of June 20th circled into their diaries !!

Sounds likely, hopefully!

Zube

They were out with cones, diggers and one-way signs this morning at the bridge at Ballydonagh and the junction near Fardrum, sorting out the tarmac on the existing N6 where it meets the new stuff. Wooden fencing is going up below the Fardrum bridge. Truckloads of something or other are still driving down onto the new road from the Athlone end.

tubos

It's all getting very exciting :D , I never knew the opening of a road would mean so much to me!! Friends and family might actually bother their holes coming to Athlone from Dublin to say hello once in a while! Actually maybe that's not a good thing.

Zube

Zube wrote: »

Driving into Moate from Athlone today, and some joker has put up a big roadside sign:

THANKS FOR ALL THE YEARS OF SUPPORT

CALL AGAIN

Not likely, sunshine!

There's a picture of it in the westmeath independant, be interesting to know how many commuters actually stopped in Moate to shop - rather than just stopped in traffic.

Hagar

Much of the stopping to shop was actually a major contributor to the traffic congestion. The parking chaos certainly didn't help.

Zube

Hagar wrote: »

Much of the stopping to shop was actually a major contributor to the traffic congestion.

I don't think this was passing trade, though. I don't know how many times I let a car into a line of traffic from one parking spot in Moate only to see them pull over to the opposite side 20 yards along! Now the locals will be free to drive from one side of the street to the other to their hearts content.

Zube

Zube wrote: »

I don't think this was passing trade, though. I don't know how many times I let a car into a line of traffic from one parking spot in Moate only to see them pull over to the opposite side 20 yards along! Now the locals will be free to drive from one side of the street to the other to their hearts content.

So very true, I've always believed that 90% of the congestion was caused by local traffic joining & leaving the main line.

billbond4

Id say Ballinasloe will be living up to its name (SLOW) when the new road opens

billbond4

billbond4 wrote: »

Id say Ballinasloe will be living up to its name (SLOW) when the new road opens

I think the new (yet to be built) junction west of Athlone by Elan will be a nightmare when it comes into use in a few months time. Instead of traffic going from dual carriageway to single carriageway as it does now, it will go to single line, then have to do a sharp turn at the new junction (Tuam road) over a busy roundabout where it will mix with the local traffic on the Tuam road, then two more roundabouts (no side traffic) then back to the old road to Ballinasloe.

Zube

billbond4 wrote: »

Id say Ballinasloe will be living up to its name (SLOW) when the new road opens

Yes, indeed, brush up on your bog navigation. Caltra here we come.

While work has started on the Athlone to Galway stretch, it looks as if the Q4 2009 section will stop short of Ballinasloe, which won't be bypassed until the Q2 2010 section opens (with a toll on it).

I don't think the opening of the road east of Athlone will make too much difference to traffic in Ballinasloe, as there will be no changes to local movements there.

billbond4

Deleted User wrote: »

I think the new (yet to be built) junction west of Athlone by Elan will be a nightmare when it comes into use in a few months time. Instead of traffic going from dual carriageway to single carriageway as it does now, it will go to single line, then have to do a sharp turn at the new junction (Tuam road) over a busy roundabout where it will mix with the local traffic on the Tuam road, then two more roundabouts (no side traffic) then back to the old road to Ballinasloe.

They wont be bringing the main N6 traffic onto the Tuam road, for a while yet.
They will open the junction/roundabouts for local and tuam traffic. it will only be brought into use for main N6 traffic when they will be nearly finished the M6.

Zube

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't think the opening of the road east of Athlone will make too much difference to traffic in Ballinasloe,

I disagree. When it's Motorway/dual carriageway all the way from Dublin past Athlone, Ballinasloe is going to make Moate look like a picnic spot.

billbond4

billbond4 wrote: »

They wont be bringing the main N6 traffic onto the Tuam road, for a while yet.
They will open the junction/roundabouts for local and tuam traffic. it will only be brought into use for main N6 traffic when they will be nearly finished the M6.

True, but it will be a nightmare for the few months all the traffic is using it!

blast05

Done another reconnaissance this evening with no mechanical problems !!

First things first - the speed limit:
I was on the lookout for speed signs as i couldn't recall for sure whether i saw any 120 kph signs the last time. Well, i saw none all the way to Kilbeggan ! However, when it came to the slip road for Kilbeggan, i was somewhat surprised picture to see a new slip road sign - DSC00103.JPG - the road from Kilbeggan to Kinnegad was labelled as a motorway !! On the way back to Athlone, it was a case of more relieved than surprised to spot a sign - DSC00102.JPG - on west bound sliproad at the entrance/exit 1 km west of Moate ..... so definitely 120 kph from Athlone to Kilbeggan and it looks like the Kilbeggan to Kinnegad section will be motorway status when it all opens.

Re progress - when i was on it on Wednesday week last, out of the ~60km of dual carriageway (~30 each way), about 13-14km needed the final wearing course layer, now only about 3-4km needs it plus a couple of sliproads. A few other bits and bobs (including overhead signs like DSC00099.JPG) done so i reckon there is no reason why the rumour i heard re June 20th is not true.

A couple of other things i noticed that i missed the last time:
On the last approx 600-700m heading west just before you merge on to the Athlone by-pass, the road is wide enough to have 3 lanes .... it seems there will be a full lane width inside the solid white line.
Also, for around 2km around Horesleap, the road seems to have far sharper inclines than what you would expect on a motorway including turns that must be on the limit for a motorway as well. Its hard to judge when tipping along on the bike but i reckon you might be inclined to slowdown a bit from 120kph around this section.

billbond4

Deleted User wrote: »

True, but it will be a nightmare for the few months all the traffic is using it!

It will be a nightmare twice. first time when they build 2 roundabouts, its a well know fact that it takes at least a month to build a roundabout in Athlone,and no doubt they will build them one after another.
Second time when the main n6 traffic in brought onto tuam road.
So a nice estimation is 3 months of traffic mayhem in the area i cant wait!

billbond4

billbond4 wrote: »

It will be a nightmare twice. first time when they build 2 roundabouts, its a well know fact that it takes at least a month to build a roundabout in Athlone,and no doubt they will build them one after another.
Second time when the main n6 traffic in brought onto tuam road.
So a nice estimation is 3 months of traffic mayhem in the area i cant wait!

That nightmare may be sooner than we thought, I've just been to town and back.
On the eastbound carriageway someone has painted the layout of the roundabout on the road and surrounding lands, westbound the lines are incomplete.

We could be using these roundabouts for a long time.

Chris_533976

Depending on the legal status of the reclassifications, the same thing may happen here thats happened on the M9 Carlow bypass - that it'll open with a 100kmh speed limit with no restrictions officially but with the blue signs. The current section east of this wont be reclassified either until all this happens.

Be interesting to see how they play this one as blast05 has a photo of a 120kmh sign.

nordydan

Interesting that the N80 is signed clara and not Tullamore. When the new road is built, N52/N80 will clearly be the official route for Athlone-Tullamore. I wonder whether there is a case for downgrading the Tullamore-Moate road to a regional one??

blast05

One other thing - it is a solid yellow line on the left end of the roadway as you drive as opposed to a broke yellow line so more indication of a motorway etc.
Also, and a strange one this, there are no cats eyes anywhere yet on the new road on the yellow lines or on the solid white line that seperates the fast lane from the central median, only on the central broke white line that seperates the lines. From Kilbeggan to Kinnegad and from Kinnegad on the cats eyes are on all 3 lines.

nordydan

nordydan wrote: »

Interesting that the N80 is signed clara and not Tullamore. When the new road is built, N52/N80 will clearly be the official route for Athlone-Tullamore. I wonder whether there is a case for downgrading the Tullamore-Moate road to a regional one??

Quite likely as the new Tullamore bypass links up with the N52 only on the northern side. Will be very easy to make the N80 northbound "disappear".

Chris_533976

Deleted User wrote: »

Be interesting to see how they play this one as blast05 has a photo of a 120kmh sign.

Same with Carlow, the 120s were replaced with 100s the day before opening.

Chris_533976

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Same with Carlow, the 120s were replaced with 100s the day before opening.

I can just see one of the contractors going into B&Q for a box of "0's"

Zube

THis morning I noticed a new 80 km/h sign near the Fardrum junction. When the existing N6 is demoted, will it lose its 100 km/h limit and become an 80?

If so, it'll be fish in a barrel for the speed cops for a few months.

veryangryman

Zube wrote: »

THis morning I noticed a new 80 km/h sign near the Fardrum junction. When the existing N6 is demoted, will it lose its 100 km/h limit and become an 80?

If so, it'll be fish in a barrel for the speed cops for a few months.

No harm. So long as the alternative route with the higher speed limit aint tolled, who cares! And for those who live in Moate, you can still use the old Mount Temple route as another alternative

The road looks fricken brilliant TBH. I think that quality of life around Athlone will be improved vastly from this on so many levels.

On a minor note, it DOES make Galway seem like a pain in the hole to travel to when you compare it with the hour and a bit straight road to our nations capital.

But credit where credit is due. A brilliant new road and alot of happy camper drivers out there. Myself included

billbond4

Deleted User wrote: »

That nightmare may be sooner than we thought, I've just been to town and back.
On the eastbound carriageway someone has painted the layout of the roundabout on the road and surrounding lands, westbound the lines are incomplete.

We could be using these roundabouts for a long time.

Where did you see those lines on the road? The only ones I saw were around what will be the new entrance onto what will become the old N6 travelling from Dublin.

billbond4

billbond4 wrote: »

Where did you see those lines on the road? The only ones I saw were around what will be the new entrance onto what will become the old N6 travelling from Dublin.

About 200metres west of the railway bridge, where the new road is being built.
There is a distinctive roundabout pattern being drawn. Ther might be building it now to assist with construction vehicle access to the new road.

billbond4

Yeah I spotted those on Sunday alright, they look like new access roads to allow construction vechiles join the road.

There will be another roadabout built further down the road at entrance to summerhill school, but they wont be building it until the new N6 is finished.(i hope)