M7 - Castletown to Nenagh

Berty

It's still a little disingenuous.

MidlandsM

It was just on the 6.1 news there - its opening Wednesday.

andykells

Definitely opening Wed. TM is booked for it so all going ahead. Unfortunately for me i already finished for the holidays so will have to wait for the new year so have my maiden voyage to Dublin on the completed road

Berty

I'll get to use it on the 31st when I finish up work/leaving job.

smcgiff

Excellent news - now, must not fall asleep at the wheel when I travel home on Thurday. :eek:

Deedsie

Woohoo, any word on an opening time? I'm finished Thursday, woohoo.

"Driving home for Christmas, gonna take me forty minutes, driving home for Christmas yeeaaah, been waiting for it to open, get my feet on holy ground, soon there'll be a freeway etc etc"

Frank Black

Opening ceremony at 10.30am - will probably open to Traffic around 11.30am.

ClareVisitor

Brilliant news!! Finally! Easy journeys from Dublin to/from Clare now with motorway/dual carriageway all the way to Ennis.

popebenny16

black francis wrote: »

Opening ceremony at 10.30am - will probably open to Traffic around 11.30am.

and closes at 12.30 pm for the holding of the first accident at J22

Frank Black

popebenny16 wrote: »

and closes at 12.30 pm for the holding of the first accident at J22

yep,
those compact junctions at Moneygall and Roscrea are going to be crazy in this weather.

My predicitions.

1. Someone will carry too much speed into one of the junctions and will spin off the road.
2. Said person(s) will sue the Local Authority.
3. The Local Authority will lose the case or settle.
4. Within 5 years the NRA will have decided to rip them up and replace them with full GSJ's.

Oh well, it's not like us tax-payers are having to foot the bill.....

popebenny16

black francis wrote: »

yep,
those compact junctions at Moneygall and Roscrea are going to be crazy in this weather.

My predicitions.

1. Someone will carry too much speed into one of the junctions and will spin off the road.
2. Said person(s) will sue the Local Authority.
3. The Local Authority will lose the case or settle.
4. Within 5 years the NRA will have decided to rip them up and replace them with full GSJ's.

Oh well, it's not like us tax-payers are having to foot the bill.....

hopefully they will get round to putting in a proper interchange between the M7/M8 and spare the peoples of Templemore and Thurles the HGV traffic that will be using the N62 to get from one to the other as well.

popebenny16

and in a special post all of its own - let us not forget:

1. the traffic from Shannon airport that will have to get somehow to the new Tipperary Venue (should it ever be used and since it is supposed to be based on 80% tourist patronage) and also from Limerick/Galway/North Midlands/West in General.

2. garda graduation ceremeonies (should we ever recruit gardai ever again) which do attract severe traffic which usually bungs up the N62 N7 roundabout in Roscrea a couple of times a year.

all of which will have to use this tiny, tiny little junction.

Amtmann

What I'd like to know is why Borris-in-Ossory got a full diamond interchange and Roscrea/Moneygall didn't. I'd like to know the methodology used that allowed the civil engineers to recommend a LILO rather than a diamond. I used this LILO on a daily basis in Germany for over a month and found it brilliant - but it is extremely high-powered compared to the one at Moneygall, as you can see.

Frank Black

Furet wrote: »

What I'd like to know is why Borris-in-Ossory got a full diamond interchange and Roscrea/Moneygall didn't. I'd like to know the methodology used that allowed the civil engineers to recommend a LILO rather than a diamond. I used this LILO on a daily basis in Germany for over a month and found it brilliant - but it is extremely high-powered compared to the one at Moneygall, as you can see.

The main reason that Borris-in-Ossory is full diamond is that it at the intersection of the M7/M8 scheme and N7 Castletown to Nenagh. The 2 schemes were developed separately and both needed to have the capacity to be 'stand alone' schemes i.e. if one of the schemes had been refused planning permission by Bord Pleanala then the other scheme could still have gone ahead.

The justification for putting in the smaller junctions at Moneygall and Roscrea is to do with traffic volumes which will be low at these locations. However, in my view the dangers of having compact junctions on motorways will outweigh any saving the NRA has made in choosing this form of junction. If this was the UK, where most of our road design standards come from, compact junctions would not be permitted.

messi1985

hey guys, delighted with the opening, will be heading home tomor or thursday so finally get to drive it.. was just wondering wat the weather is like round the area?? just i be leaving dublin heading to limerick and wondering if the roads are dangerous..

acorn1984

Ditto... Driving to Dublin in the morning via Lucan. Am I mad?:eek:

knipex

Drove Limerick - Dublin - Limerick on Friday and roads fine.

Saturday did it again and roads fine.

Did it Sunday up early but left Dublin at 9:30pm and roads fine.

Unless there has been a major change since I wouldn't worry.

Plan to go Limerick to Drogheda and back tomorrow not worried.

ClareVisitor

I think the best advice can be to just drive the conditions. If they warrant driving at 30mph on any kind of road then that's what you should do!

I saw plenty of idiots tearing past me at what must have been over 80mph on the M25 round London yesterday with a narrow outside lane due to snow encroaching from the central reservation, just asking for trouble IMO.

popebenny16

black francis wrote: »

The main reason that Borris-in-Ossory is full diamond is that it at the intersection of the M7/M8 scheme and N7 Castletown to Nenagh. The 2 schemes were developed separately and both needed to have the capacity to be 'stand alone' schemes i.e. if one of the schemes had been refused planning permission by Bord Pleanala then the other scheme could still have gone ahead.

The justification for putting in the smaller junctions at Moneygall and Roscrea is to do with traffic volumes which will be low at these locations. However, in my view the dangers of having compact junctions on motorways will outweigh any saving the NRA has made in choosing this form of junction. If this was the UK, where most of our road design standards come from, compact junctions would not be permitted.

Traffic volumes will not be low on the N62, which is the main road down the middle of the country and also which joins the M8 and M7 and will be a truck run from one to the other, not to mention the lowryland resort in Two-mile-Borris.

popebenny16

messi1985 wrote: »

hey guys, delighted with the opening, will be heading home tomor or thursday so finally get to drive it.. was just wondering wat the weather is like round the area?? just i be leaving dublin heading to limerick and wondering if the roads are dangerous..

right now it is going between minus 5 and eleven and there is freezing fog in Roscrea. The roads are mostly dry and safe enough, but take it handy. According to the Met Eireann Rainfall radar it looks doubtfull that there will be further snow locally here today/tonight.

The M7 this morning was snow covered but that was from the snow that fell last thursday and has frozen since and was not much in any event. I guess they will have it cleared for tomorrow.

spacetweek

So the dispute has turned out to be a storm in a teacup.
So much for the journalist that cried "It'll be two years!" I knew that had "hack" written all over it.

So, tomorrow the interurbans will be complete. Sadly we'll never see motorway building on this scale again We'll have to make do with small bits and pieces and reminiscing over the past. It'll be like Sabre!

no1beemerfan

Didn't get a chance (actually forgot ) to see the junction at Roscrea last night but coming up to work today I see the red/white barriers are gone at Borris and cones blocking off access to the new motorway with a Kia jeep with a fella inside parked behind the cones.

But my major gripe is the lack of gritting on the new section from Borris to Portlaoise. Hopefully they can get it sorted.

crapmanjoe

Hate being the bearer of bad news and all but....

"The planned opening of the final section of the M7 between Castletown in Co Laois and Nenagh in Co Tipperary, which was due to take place tomorrow morning, has now been cancelled becasue of the continuing bad weather."

Amtmann

crapmanjoe wrote: »

Hate being the bearer of bad news and all but....

"The planned opening of the final section of the M7 between Castletown in Co Laois and Nenagh in Co Tipperary, which was due to take place tomorrow morning, has now been cancelled becasue of the continuing bad weather."

Source?

Mr E

Balls.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1221/weather.html

swoofer

DITTO

gb--

messi1985

cheers lads for the update.. fairly sick now to hear ill have to drive thru toom and moneygall again.. sure for old times sake.. wont be back up in dub til after xmas so not too bad..

JayeL

Sean O'Neill of the NRA was live on Newstalk 5 minutes ago and said the M7 IS opening tomorrow. I emailed in about the RTE story, didn't get read out :-(

Travelling to Killarney on Thursday, M7 opening would be a big help!

Amtmann

Argh what's a mod to do RE thread titles amid such conflicting reports

Mr E

Heh... I think you're nailed it with the current title...

(One step away from eeny-meeny-miney-mo)