M7/M8 Portlaoise-Castletown-Cullahill Motorway (incl. Abbeyleix Bypass)

mysterious

Chris_533976 wrote: »

They wont put north facing slips coming from the Cork direction unless they put a sliproad toll booth on there.

That interchange is before the toll bridge.


All movments on this interchange will hit the toll if going to Dublin. Traffic from Cork who want to get onto the R434 or whatever would not be affected by a toll. Because the interchange was going to be built anyway.

I think you need to look at the drawings again.

mysterious

Furet wrote: »

BAM have created a page with some very limited information on the scheme here.





Sounds to me like the proposed M8 junction 2 isn't going ahead (I think Rovi suspected this months ago).

Does that mean they are making the Aghaboe junction a full junction. it would make sense, as the M8 junction is now not going ahead. The Rathdowney east and south region of Laois wil have no access to the motorway. I find this really odd given the fact its a toll motorway. The idea is to make the motorway more accessible. Since the M7/M8 has no direct movements with each other, the logic would be to make the other interchanges accessible. The M3 has state of the art interchanges and there are many access roads entering and exiting off it.


I know in the original plans was to have the Aghabee juntion and the The M8 junction 2. If Junction 2 is removed, then the half dumbell interchange at Aghaboe will become a full Dumbell?

I dont see the logic in making the motorway less accessible if the idea is to build the interchange in the first place at the overbridge.

roosterman71

According to a buddy in the council, the Portlaoise-Castletown (which is actually Borris-In-Ossory) section of the N7 is due to open Q3 2010 (Aug/Sept time). That would be 6 months ahead of schedule if they meet that date

fresca

roosterman71 wrote: »

According to a buddy in the council, the Portlaoise-Castletown (which is actually Borris-In-Ossory) section of the N7 is due to open Q3 2010 (Aug/Sept time). That would be 6 months ahead of schedule if they meet that date

i wonder will this project open before limerick-nenagh? given the bog of doom it's possible (though i hope not probable!).

veryangryman

roosterman71 wrote: »

Portlaoise-Castletown (which is actually Borris-In-Ossory)

Yeah...And Charleville is actually Ballyhea

Office.

:cool: I wear these sunglasses to conceal the fact that i know roosterman71 and that this is a private joke

Carawaystick

roosterman71 wrote: »

According to a buddy in the council, the Portlaoise-Castletown (which is actually Borris-In-Ossory) section of the N7 is due to open Q3 2010 (Aug/Sept time). That would be 6 months ahead of schedule if they meet that date

The contract was awarded in June 2007. finishing in Autumn 2010 is over 3 years to build 40km of road, shocking stuff in light of other non ppp schemes we've seen completed in much less time.

Not to mention that the road was meant to be completed in 2006.

JupiterKid

The first section of the M1 in England was built in less than 2 years and that was back in the 1950s.

I'd say that you'll find that on road schemes that had big time delays, project management was poor.

Carawaystick

JupiterKid wrote: »

The first section of the M1 in England was built in less than 2 years and that was back in the 1950s.

I'd say that you'll find that on road schemes that had big time delays, project management was poor.

As long as the poor time management eats into the tolling company's allotted gouging ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H tolling time -but somehow I doubt that's so.

Rovi

There's a new newsletter for this scheme that hasn't appeared on the NRA site yet; see attachment.

L1011

Carawaystick wrote: »

As long as the poor time management eats into the tolling company's allotted gouging ^H^H^H^H^H^H^H tolling time -but somehow I doubt that's so.

I'm nearly certain the toll clock has been ticking since June 2007 on the M7/M8.

Amtmann

The newsletter is a little better than usual. It's good to hear that landscaping works have commenced, and that the wearing course is soon to start. I definitely feel the road will open in the summer, ahead of schedule. However, still no word on M8 junction 2.

Colm R

Furet wrote: »

However, still no word on M8 junction 2.

Do tell. Whats the issue with Junction 2?

Amtmann

Colm R wrote: »

Do tell. Whats the issue with Junction 2?

It's missing! It doesn't seem to be under construction, as was originally envisaged.

Amtmann

Anyone planning on taking a few photos of this scheme over Christmas? Are the overbridges west of Ballacolla on the R434 open to traffic yet? How is the M7 looking north of the interchange?? If the concrete barrier has been laid along most of the route, then I think we're definitely looking at an opening sometime around July.

mysterious

So will they make a full interchange with north and south facing slips at Aghaboe in compensation for the lacking junction 2 M8 junction. It seems that all of South Laois has no accuess to the M8/M7. It seems that Rathdowny, Abbeyleix, Ballnakill, Durrow, Culahill, Ballycragget, Timahoe, and the N77 and old N8 has no acess to either section of M7/M8. This is really dissapointing and much of the N8 traffic will still use the old N8....

Sponge Bob

Junction 2 is planned after the PPP concession runs out ye will be glad to hear

Its absence in the interim is a 'revenue assurance' measure.

roosterman71

The R434 has its bridges open and the road realigned. Some landscaping works still ongoing. I seen last week that they are laying tar at the tie win with the Nenagh scheme. Only a small portion done though. I might go for a stroll someday over christmas for a look at the progress

Roryhy

roosterman71 wrote: »

The R434 has its bridges open and the road realigned. Some landscaping works still ongoing. I seen last week that they are laying tar at the tie win with the Nenagh scheme. Only a small portion done though. I might go for a stroll someday over christmas for a look at the progress

With a camera of course:D

larryone

roosterman71 wrote: »

The R434 has its bridges open and the road realigned. Some landscaping works still ongoing. I seen last week that they are laying tar at the tie win with the Nenagh scheme. Only a small portion done though. I might go for a stroll someday over christmas for a look at the progress

Is the R433 re-alignment done, or is it still like this:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.8631&lon=-7.4844&zoom=14&layers=B000FTF
?

Amtmann

How did you manage to map the M8 leg of the scheme, Larry? Jeep?

larryone

My technique involves:

Drive to every crossing of existing roads with the motorway construction.
Walk with the GPS and a steady hand back and forth along where the centre line of the motorway is or will be a number of times.
Go to next crossing, rinse, repeat.
Get the GPS traces, the alignment of motorway at all existing roads should be obvious when looking at the traces in a graphical map editor.
Draw straight lines following the alignment.
Eye it in with appropriate looking curves.

This has given very good approximations on the line of the new motorways.
If you look at the Cullahill end, you can see the local roads where I drove to get to all the crossing points. My path kindof zig-zags along the line of the motorway. Photos help.
It's easier to get a good line when on a bridge over the motorway.
I used this technique at the first few bridges on the Kilcullen end of the M9 too.
It all needs to be re-surveyed after openeing, but this technique gives a pretty good picture while construction is going on.

Amtmann

^^ That's dedication for you! Quite time consuming I'd say. Fair play.

larryone

I think I spent more time on surveying that M7/M8 section than on any other bit of new motorway.
At the moment there are a number of bridges that have been opened, roads that thave been closed near said bridges. eg, the first bridge at Cullohill, the bridge at Shanavolla.
I would *imagine* tha R433 has been re-aligned at this point, going through the raounabouts for the new junction.
I would hope that the bits around Cannonswood Cross Roads has advanced alot - but the last photos posted of that area didnt show much progress.
So It may be time for a re-survey already, but I dont think I'll be in the area again for a while unless I get a sudden urge of enthusiasm fuelled by updates on this thread... <hint hint>
=0)

Amtmann

Well, my Christmas wish is that someone (other than me) would have a thorough look at this scheme over the holidays and upload a great many photos here.

markfla

I'm from Ballacolla and will take a few snaps next saturday of the motorways when I'm down

Chris_533976

Hope this gets done nice and soon, apparently the jamups for Abbeyleix went all the way back to Portlaoise on the 23rd Dec.

roosterman71

Furet wrote: »

Well, my Christmas wish is that someone (other than me) would have a thorough look at this scheme over the holidays and upload a great many photos here.

I've gone on a walk along part of it from the Borris In Ossory interchange (this is where the Portlaoise-Castletown and Castletown-Nenagh schemes meet) and walked to a townland called Knockaroo. Along the stretch there's a bridge over the motorway (new R435), a bridge over the old R435, a bridge over the railway, and another bridge for a local road. I'll have a walk along another stretch soon and post up pictures

Anyone know how to save maps on google so I can paint in the bits I've walked and photographed? Just to give an indication of the bridges and things

Amtmann

That would be super, roosterman. I think there are some gantry frames up - if you look at the last page of the latest newsletter one seems to be visible in the small bottom right photo.

larryone

roosterman71 wrote: »

I've gone on a walk along part of it from the Borris In Ossory interchange (this is where the Portlaoise-Castletown and Castletown-Nenagh schemes meet) and walked to a townland called Knockaroo. Along the stretch there's a bridge over the motorway (new R435), a bridge over the old R435, a bridge over the railway, and another bridge for a local road. I'll have a walk along another stretch soon and post up pictures

Anyone know how to save maps on google so I can paint in the bits I've walked and photographed? Just to give an indication of the bridges and things

Any chance you have a gps device you could record a trace form???
If so we could use your trace to get this section on openstreetmap:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.901&lon=-7.5412&zoom=13&layers=B000FTF

roosterman71

No I don't. I just have a camera.

Is there any way then of editing a map? Even by just marking where the pictures were taken?