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

Colm R

Anyone care to guess what the travel time from the current end of the M8 at Culahill to where the N8 currently joins the M7 will be when complete.

For me, the worst case scenario on a Friday evening soutbound has been around 50 minutes.

Stark

32km stretch of road so between 15 and 20 mins if you travel at 120km/hr I reckon.

MidlandsM

Colm R wrote: »

Anyone care to guess what the travel time from the current end of the M8 at Culahill to where the N8 currently joins the M7 will be when complete.

if you mean Cullahill to Ahaboe on the motoway, 5 or 6 minutes @ 120kph's I'd say.

Jomcc

Colm R wrote: »

Anyone care to guess what the travel time from the current end of the M8 at Culahill to where the N8 currently joins the M7 will be when complete.

Not sure if I'm picking up your question correctly........Are you trying to find out if it will be worth using toll road or using old road. If so, there is another factor to take into consideration (which I only realised this week.....stupid me). As far as I know, there will be no exit off M8 at Cullahill so in order to avoid toll, you will need exit at Urlingford or come to Grantstown and travel the R433 through Ballacolla and to Abbeyleix.


Think I missunderstood your question..........Sorry. Looks like you are trying to see how long it will shave off the journey. As others have said 5 or 6 minutes to Ahaboe, which is where M8 & M7 join up. If you are talking about where the M7 and N8 currently join up at Togher in Portlaoise, suppose you could add another 5 or 6 minutes, bearing in mind there might be slight delay at Toll Plaza.

Rovi

Was over around Portlaoise this morning, so I went for a spin down around the tie-in.
This starts heading northbound on the N8 (from Abbeyleix/Cork) approaching M7/J17, turns westbound onto the M7, exits at J18 at the current end of the M7 where the tie-in is under construction, goes around the roundabouts at the junction, and rejoins the M7 heading eastbound.
There's a lot of work going on there, but I can't see it being open anytime in the very near future.

Sorry about the reflection of the sat-nav in the bottom right corner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cSUZAc_52s

Amtmann

Danno wrote: »

Any takers for the M8 to be opened by the May BH?

Hmm... not here. But I think it will open before the June bank holiday - maybe around mid-May.

Jomcc

Just back in from tie in at Portlaoise end where I met "lovely" security man who asked me "where u go u bike? U no ride bike here. U go home". Anyway, thankfully that was after I had taken loads of pics. Will post later.

Rovi

Jomcc wrote: »

Just back in from tie in at Portlaoise end where I met "lovely" security man who asked me "where u go u bike? U no ride bike here. U go home". Anyway, thankfully that was after I had taken loads of pics. Will post later.

I got something similar last Sunday near the toll plaza, it's looking like security has been stepped up on people having a nosey around.

MidlandsM

Jomcc wrote: »

Just back in from tie in at Portlaoise end where I met "lovely" security man who asked me "where u go u bike? U no ride bike here. U go home". Anyway, thankfully that was after I had taken loads of pics. Will post later.

lol......was he trying to tell you to get on yer bike or wha?:pac:

Jayuu

I may be going to Killarney from Dublin in mid-June. Assuming the M8 section from Port Laoise to Cullahill is completed would people consider it better to:

a) Take the M7/M8 as far as Mitchelstown and then the take the N73/N72 route?
OR
b)Take the M7/M8 as far as Fermoy and then the take the N72 route?
OR
b) Take M/N7 in its pieces to Limerick and then the M20/N21/N23/N22 route?

I know the N73/N72 aren't great roads but from the maps it would seem to be a shorter route and you would be on a continual motorway for most of the journey.

Is there going to be a toll at the northern end of the M8?

cooltown

Yes the nothern section will be tolled!
I would go via Mitchelstown because the road from Fermoy to Mallow is in very bad condition and it is faster to go via Mitchelstown.

Jomcc

M7/M8 exit to Portlaoise when coming from Toll side.

Jomcc

Photos taken facing west in order from Dublin end showing progress of tie in.

Jomcc

Photos taken facing east in order from Limerick end showing progress of tie in.

roosterman71

There's a lot more work to be done there than I had imagined

MidlandsM

True, but they're flying on now with that tie in.
+ There's no frost or bad weather to prevent them in getting the black stuff down!

Danno

tech2 wrote: »

Have a look at these pictures: post 748

Just noticed there that the M7 will continue as concrete median after the M8 merge heading towards Dublin... does this concrete median continue the whole way to Portlaoise Bypass? If so, it's terrible short-sightedness with regards to upgrading the M7 to three lanes in year to come.

Rovi

Danno wrote: »

Just noticed there that the M7 will continue as concrete median after the M8 merge heading towards Dublin... does this concrete median continue the whole way to Portlaoise Bypass? If so, it's terrible short-sightedness with regards to upgrading the M7 to three lanes in year to come.

The whole scheme (and all others recently completed and under construction, afaik) has a concrete central divider, or am I misunderstanding your point?

Which photo in that post are you particularly referring to?

Jomcc

Danno wrote: »

Just noticed there that the M7 will continue as concrete median after the M8 merge heading towards Dublin... does this concrete median continue the whole way to Portlaoise Bypass? If so, it's terrible short-sightedness with regards to upgrading the M7 to three lanes in year to come.

You can see from my last pic in post 824 where the concrete median ends at present. This is where almost where Portlaoise bypass starts. Not sure how it will join up with current median.

sdanseo

Danno wrote: »

Just noticed there that the M7 will continue as concrete median after the M8 merge heading towards Dublin... does this concrete median continue the whole way to Portlaoise Bypass? If so, it's terrible short-sightedness with regards to upgrading the M7 to three lanes in year to come.

If it's going to be widened, the extra lane will go athe the sides not in the middle, given there's narrow median for the length of the new schemes. In fact the Ballinalsoe-Galway section of the M6 is apparently built so that all that needs to be done to add the third lane is scrape off some grass and add the blacktop. Maybe the same can be said for the M7/8 or is that wishful thinking altogether? :P

mysterious

This scheme should of been wide median. The Portlaois bypass handles 25,000 cars a day already. So it was a bit short sighted given the fact that the NRA are have plans to widen the M7 to Kildare now.

This was debated heavily in the past. But of course common sense is rare in this country. This road would be a nightmare to upgrade because there is no space on the embankement's under the bridges either, where most motorways sections further on have room to build a third lane without knocking the bridge.

veryangryman

mysterious wrote: »

This scheme should of been wide median. The Portlaois bypass handles 25,000 cars a day already. So it was a bit short sighted given the fact that the NRA are have plans to widen the M7 to Kildare now.

This was debated heavily in the past. But of course common sense is rare in this country. This road would be a nightmare to upgrade because there is no space on the embankement's under the bridges either, where most motorways sections further on have room to build a third lane without knocking the bridge.

Figures based on...? Not that im doubting you of course - historically you have proven yourself to be very accurate with scientific information to back up these figure, never to be discredited by a fellow infrastructure regular

BluntGuy

mysterious wrote: »

This scheme should of been wide median. The Portlaois bypass handles 25,000 cars a day already. So it was a bit short sighted given the fact that the NRA are have plans to widen the M7 to Kildare now.

I agree with this. The scheme should've been wide-median up to the M7/M8 split. While I see very few of our motorways needing upgrading in the next 50 years, this is one such section where an allowance should've been made.

Where did you get the 25,000 figure?

L1011

Officiall AADT is 23290

http://www.nra.ie/NetworkManagement/TrafficCounts/TrafficCounterData/html/M07-20.htm

For once its not pulled out of thin air...

The NRA's plan is to widen the M7 to the M9 split though - not "to Kildare".

veryangryman

MYOB wrote: »

Officiall AADT is 23290

Pretty close anyway. I hold my hands up

fresca

So, Ms. McNally has ruled out a partial opening...

Thank you for your email regarding the M7/M8 projects.
It is unlikely that a partial opening of the M7 Castletown-Nenagh scheme will take place in advance of the entire scheme completion scheduled for late 2010.
The M7/M8 Portlaoise to Cullahill/Castletown scheme is ahead of schedule and it is anticipated that the entire scheme will open in early June.

Regards,
Annamarie McNally
Programme Administrator

Dear Sir / Madam,
I have 2 questions with regard to the M7/M8 projects:
Firstly, I notice that significantly more progress appears to have been made on the Nenagh to Moneygall section of the M7 Castletown to Nenagh project.
Are you considering a partial opening of this scheme? i.e. opening the Nenagh to Moneygall section prior to opening the Moneygall to Castletown section.
Secondly, I notice that on the M7/M8 project, it would appear that Portloaise to Cullahill is more advanced than the M7 leg to Castletown.
Again, are you considering a partial opening here? i.e. opening of the completed M8, prior to the M7 leg?
Thank you for your time,

fresca wrote: »

see over on the m7 thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=65525192&postcount=185

i've emailed the nra and asked will this scheme portlaoise-cullahill-castletown open in 1 or 2 sections.

still awaiting an answer...

mysterious

veryangryman wrote: »

Pretty close anyway. I hold my hands up

Well 23,390 was last years A.A.D.T. So my figure would be almost spot on for this year. Further east the counter near Monasterevin, is 33,000. A.A.D.T.

I'm basing my figures on present times. It does seem a bit short sighted to not only just have a wide median, but a third lane would be needed here soon anyhow.

TC cork

fresca wrote: »

So, Ms. McNally has ruled out a partial opening...

It would be great if abbeyleix bypassed by June..;)

Danno

Correct me here if I'm wrong...

If there was need to widen the M7 to three lanes from Portlaoise to Naas, it could be done by removing the grass median and laying a concrete barrier. The space the grass occupies is enough for lane 3 when tarred over...

If this is the case, then why the hell was the final piece of the M7 between the M7/M8 Merge built with the same grass median? This would allow the prospect of a three lane M7 from Dublin to the M7/M8 merge.

mysterious

MYOB wrote: »

Officiall AADT is 23290

http://www.nra.ie/NetworkManagement/TrafficCounts/TrafficCounterData/html/M07-20.htm

For once its not pulled out of thin air...

The NRA's plan is to widen the M7 to the M9 split though - not "to Kildare".

Well I like to use common sense, and more often than not, I'm proved right everytime. When I'm wrong I will admit to it.

But yeah.