M50 upgrade - Phase II

Carawaystick

It's probably traffic cutting in at the last minute from the other lanes, which are moving freer.

celticbest

It just seems to be slow moving traffic going through the M50 to M1 North junction & this seem to lead to a brake light tailback.

oddiot

It's a pity that the M50/M1 interchange is so close to the airport too, as that is always going to be a tangled mess in busy periods with traffic from the M1 northbound weaving in towards the airport exit, while traffic from the M50 northbound is weaving out towards the M1 northbound. The M1 should have been 3 lanes to Balbriggan since day 1.

Weaving always plays havoc with a motorway nearly at capacity, that's why IMO having auxiliary lanes between junctions is one of the best things about the M50 upgrade.

brandodub

Weaving always plays havoc with a motorway nearly at capacity, that's why IMO having auxiliary lanes between junctions is one of the best things about the M50 upgrade.

Only works however if drivers use them as junction connector lanes and not as the general 'slow' lane

oddiot

brandodub wrote: »

Only works however if drivers use them as junction connector lanes and not as the general 'slow' lane

Yep, but it also gives people more distance match the speed of the traffic in lane 1 and find a decent gap before they move out to the mainline/lane 1, or even in from the mainline to take an exit, especially when it's busy.

sk8board

anyone else finding these new lanes is speeding things up northbound from Blanch-M1 during rush-hour?

I travelled the M50 this evening for the first time since being on holiday, about 5.45pm, and traffic moved freely, only starting to slow at ballymun, and yes it was slow to the M1, but moving.

definite improvement
keep up the good work

sk8board

sk8board wrote: »

anyone else finding these new lanes is speeding things up
definite improvement
keep up the good work

Same here, even more so when you take into account the increase in traffic after the schools reopened.

Unfortunately, it also exagerates the perception of slow queues as you join them from a higher speed.

Davy

Would love to see the aux lane opened from black to finglas northbound. Its all finished ready to go, apart from 30feet of a bank that needs back filling. The queues is fairly long backing up from finglas in the mornings.

oddiot

Any sign of the 3rd lane northbound opening under the Blanch interchange? It was still aux and lane 1 for Blanch/N3, lane 2 and 3 for M50 on Sunday when I was last on it.

celticbest

Passed by it this evening and they were doing works behind the barrier, looks like more prep. work for the last bridge that they are constructing.

I'm sure once they have the pillars up and the finishing works complete around it they will be able to open the 3rd lane under the Blanch. Junction northbound.

I'd say they will do the same type of bridge that went in over the M1. They were able to erect it overnight in sections. Here's hoping in anyway, as it will take away from the slowdown at this point with the 3 lane merging into 2.

rameire

they had two overhead gantries sitting on trucks ready to be lifted into place for the southbound carriageway between dundruma nd leopardstown junctions.

northbound from tallaght is nearly completed.
they are tidying up, completing the landscaping and just finishing off the layers and will be ready for painting soon.
also some armcos are going in in relevant areas.

from leop to dundrum northbound is virtually finished just needs painting of the roads and roads further on to be completed.

dundrum to firhouse is the slowest part of the southern section.
most of it is complete, including landscaping, there are some areas that are still awaiting pipes and cables being put in.
it will be this section that dictates the opening of sections further south i believe, so id say November 23 these should be open.
and if there not, ahwell, ill use them when traffic is heavy.

two wheels good four wheels bad.

M50 Traffic MGT

celticbest wrote: »

Passed by it this evening and they were doing works behind the barrier, looks like more prep. work for the last bridge that they are constructing.

I'm sure once they have the pillars up and the finishing works complete around it they will be able to open the 3rd lane under the Blanch. Junction northbound.

I'd say they will do the same type of bridge that went in over the M1. They were able to erect it overnight in sections. Here's hoping in anyway, as it will take away from the slowdown at this point with the 3 lane merging into 2.

Work has started on a large dig, similar to the other side for an abutment on the northbound side that will take a new bridge over the M50 for N3 outbound traffic towards the city and then swing left over the new structure behind Total Fitness. Until this is completed it will only be 2 lanes for the N3 and 2 for M50 NB. Sounds complicated but it will free up the M50/N3 Interchange and Scotts once opened as we do not have space for a conventional free-flow like the N4

M50 Traffic MGT

rameire wrote: »

they had two overhead gantries sitting on trucks ready to be lifted into place for the southbound carriageway between dundruma nd leopardstown junctions.

northbound from tallaght is nearly completed.
they are tidying up, completing the landscaping and just finishing off the layers and will be ready for painting soon.
also some armcos are going in in relevant areas.

from leop to dundrum northbound is virtually finished just needs painting of the roads and roads further on to be completed.

dundrum to firhouse is the slowest part of the southern section.
most of it is complete, including landscaping, there are some areas that are still awaiting pipes and cables being put in.
it will be this section that dictates the opening of sections further south i believe, so id say November 23 these should be open.
and if there not, ahwell, ill use them when traffic is heavy.

two wheels good four wheels bad.

Tomorrow night (Thurs 17th) two gantries between Dundrum & Sandyford SB will be lifted into place. For this lift traffic both NB & SB will be diverted via the parallel roads from J13 SB and J14 NB

Also tomorrow night another gantry will be lifted just before the N2 Interchange SB. There are ongoing lane closures at night to install the permanent signage and tonight these closures will be between the N2 and Ballymun NB with all traffic down to one lane and pushed over to the auxiliary lane. All night closures start at 10pm and finish at 5:30am

ipodrocker

will the m50 southbound from balinteer/dundrum be completed soon and opened before the other sections since no big junction improvements are being done?

Like i see gantries will be lifted into place, is there much left to do, as I have driven it recently and seen most of the new lanes are painted etcc..

M50 Traffic MGT

ipodrocker wrote: »

will the m50 southbound from balinteer/dundrum be completed soon and opened before the other sections since no big junction improvements are being done?

Like i see gantries will be lifted into place, is there much left to do, as I have driven it recently and seen most of the new lanes are painted etcc..

Although works are substantially completed in each direction between J13 & 14 an additional lane in each direction would not have any advantage. SB it would just be an extension of the off ramp at Sandyford and NB it would mean 3 lanes plus the Dundrum on ramp merging into 2 lanes.

M_83

Something I noticed on Sunday was that on the unopened 5th lane, just after the Ballymun exit, there was a gap in the road cones between the lanes and all the M1 traffic was going through that gap, along the 5th lane behind the cones, then having to remerge with the M50 traffic at the end of the cones (which was just at the M1 slipway). And it seemed like nearly EVERYONE going to the M1 had fallen into this trap too, aside from a fortunate few who were flying along and down the sliproad, which had the additional consequence of meaning all that misdirected traffic had to give way coming out of the cones.

A blatant example of how robotic some drivers really can be.

Davy

M_83 wrote: »

Something I noticed on Sunday was that on the unopened 5th lane, just after the Ballymun exit, there was a gap in the road cones between the lanes and all the M1 traffic was going through that gap, along the 5th lane behind the cones, then having to remerge with the M50 traffic at the end of the cones (which was just at the M1 slipway). And it seemed like nearly EVERYONE going to the M1 had fallen into this trap too, aside from a fortunate few who were flying along and down the sliproad, which had the additional consequence of meaning all that misdirected traffic had to give way coming out of the cones.

A blatant example of how robotic some drivers really can be.

Was still happening on monday aswell, havent seen it done since

Davy

Also i noticed work has started on the N2 interchange on the ashbourne side, they are working on the new on ramp from finglas to n50 NB it seems

ciaran75

Question for M50 Traffic MGT

After looking at the plans for the N3 interchange i do not see any way for cars coming from blanchardstown village to get to the M50 SB as the slip of main roundabout will be gone.

How are they proposing to move this traffic, as there is a LOT of people who use this route everyday. Will there be a more permanent sliproad like the current solution for M50 NB traffic at the blanchardtown roundabout.

Cheers,

celticbest

Another quick question for M50 Traffic MGT :

Is there anyway that the crash barriers on the M50 North to M1 North Junction 3 can be pushed back slighty as the lane that is open at the moment is very narrow, this seems to be one of the two main causes of the slowdown at this junction as lorries sometimes nearly come to a standstill to make sure they sqeeze through.

The second reason seems to be people jumping into the auxilary lane at the last minute again causing traffic to slow down or brake at this junction. Can some cones be put in place temporarily until the junction upgrade is complete to stop this.

If people do not get into the lane early enough then they can carry on to the signalled controlled roundabout and enter the M1 North via there.

Random

@ M50 Traffic MGT

Do you have a finalised diagram for how the N3 / M50 junction will look when finished? I've seen various different versions at this stage and when I contacted the crowd at www.m50.ie they said it wasn't finalised yet ?

Thanks

whosedaddy?

Random wrote: »

@ M50 Traffic MGT

Do you have a finalised diagram for how the N3 / M50 junction will look when finished? I've seen various different versions at this stage and when I contacted the crowd at www.m50.ie they said it wasn't finalised yet ?

Thanks

YEah that would be great. likewise - is there any final N2 junction photomontage. How close is the one in m50.ie to the final layout?

celticbest

whosedaddy? wrote: »

YEah that would be great. likewise - is there any final N2 junction photomontage. How close is the one in m50.ie to the final layout?

As far as I'm aware these are the latest versions of the major Northside Junctions

M50 to M1, N32 Junction.JPG

M50 to N2 Junction.JPG

M50 to N3 Junction.JPG

rameire

i think the n2 junction has changed slightly, and for the better.
i believe from what i have seen,
N2 northbound to M50 northbound will be free flow and not have to stop at a junction with the N2 southbound.
this will be facilitated by a bridge bringing the n2 to m50 northbound over the n2 southbound.

i am not 100 % sure though.

celticbest

celticbest wrote: »

As far as I'm aware these are the latest versions of the major Northside Junctions

M50 to M1, N32 Junction.JPG

M50 to N2 Junction.JPG

M50 to N3 Junction.JPG

Hi M50 Traffic MGT can you please confirm that these are the correct photomontages or show us what is actually being built, there have been several different versions shown by posters here in the past and at this stage it's pure guesswork as what is correct (except M50 - M1 which is one you placed here)

whosedaddy?

In the "N3-M50 interchange" thread some alternative designs were posted last year (also shown in EIS), but subsequent claims where that the alternative design hasn't got planning permission.

alternative design

NRA has NOT got Planning Permission

When N3 inbound the other other day and the road dips sharply just after the M50 roundabout, which would indicate a bridge for the N3 inbound to M50S. which is not the design currently on the m50.ie website (and posted by celticbeast)

And the N2 one doesn't match some of the ongoing contruction either.

spacetweek

Also can I point out that there are still Height and Width restriction signs for the toll booths up at the N3/M50 interchange and on the M50 mainline between junctions 6 and 7. For obvious reasons these are no longer required.

spacetweek

Guys, as for the N3/M50 junction, it's possible to infer which version they're building. The old design shows the ramps going under the canal and railway, but in the new (apparently rejected) design, they go over them.

However in the June 09 update, on page 2, in the Update on Work section it states that work on "the signature structure over the canal and railway will commence in June 2009".

Since they said "over", it seems that they are, in fact, building the second design.

whosedaddy?

spacetweek wrote: »

Guys, as for the N3/M50 junction, it's possible to infer which version they're building. The old design shows the ramps going under the canal and railway, but in the new (apparently rejected) design, they go over them.

However in the June 09 update, on page 2, in the Update on Work section it states that work on "the signature structure over the canal and railway will commence in June 2009".

Since they said "over", it seems that they are, in fact, building the second design.

well spotted. in fact the photomontage in said flyer alos shows the "alternative" design....

M50 Traffic MGT

Davy wrote: »

Also i noticed work has started on the N2 interchange on the ashbourne side, they are working on the new on ramp from finglas to n50 NB it seems

In the next few weeks the freeflow slips from the N2 Inbound to the M50 NB, and the M50 NB slip to the N2 Outbound will both be closed. Extra capacity will be provided at both sets of lights. The slips will be closed permanently until the new slips are completed