M6 - Athlone to Ballinasloe

There is now a new road layout at doyles bridge for the construction of the roundabout.
Drivers going westbound need to be particurly careful as the change is just after the bend and traffic is being diverted onto the eastbound side of the road.

?Cee?view

I know this question gets done to death, but I haven't seen it asked recently so here goes................:rolleyes:

Has anyone an update on progress with this road and with expected "real" opening time. By real, I mean the actual time it's expected to open based on current progress, rather than the published schedule which is invariably beaten, and which is then claimed by our politicians as a great success...and god knows these days, they need some success!

So, when will Athlone to Ballinasloe open? And how long later will Ballinasloe to Galway be?

Thanks all

Simple answer, "I don't know". What I do know is, it that there is still a huge amount of work to be done.

Realistically six months at least.

veryangryman

Deleted User wrote: »

There is now a new road layout at doyles bridge for the construction of the roundabout.
Drivers going westbound need to be particurly careful as the change is just after the bend and traffic is being diverted onto the eastbound side of the road.

I see the Tuam Exit is going to be closed on Westbound end. Am i to believe that to get onto Tuam road, well now have to go onward to end of DC before taking a U-Turn and then the Eastbound Tuam exit?

veryangryman

veryangryman wrote: »

I see the Tuam Exit is going to be closed on Westbound end. Am i to believe that to get onto Tuam road, well now have to go onward to end of DC before taking a U-Turn and then the Eastbound Tuam exit?

When is that going to happen, it doesn't make sense to close it before the roundabout is completed?

veryangryman

Deleted User wrote: »

When is that going to happen, it doesn't make sense to close it before the roundabout is completed?

According to signs westbound, it closing on 31st October (Friday week)

Dunno if its just for the day - the sign says "Tuam Exit will close 31 October"

Can only guess it's temporary while they link up to the new roundabout, as for access to Tuam road, it would be better to get off at the Roscommon turning and go that way.
There's no where to safely "U" turn just after the end of the DC (plenty of unsafe places).

?Cee?view

Deleted User wrote: »

Simple answer, "I don't know". What I do know is, it that there is still a huge amount of work to be done.

Realistically six months at least.

Thanks Dolanbaker. As I recollect you were pretty much on the ball when it came to the opening to Athlone, so let's hope you're on the ball with this one as well!

Thanks again.

ohnoigotsick

Deleted User wrote: »

Simple answer, "I don't know". What I do know is, it that there is still a huge amount of work to be done.

Realistically six months at least.

6 months is optimistic no ?

ohnoigotsick

ohnoigotsick wrote: »

6 months is optimistic no ?

Well I did say at least six months, best guess (sticks finger up in the air) is June 2009.

Zube

Deleted User wrote: »

Well I did say at least six months, best guess (sticks finger up in the air) is June 2009.

and then on to Galway middle of 2010.

dubhthach

Zube wrote: »

and then on to Galway middle of 2010.

Well according to latest newletter from firm building Galway to Ballinasloe they are saying "opening date" in early january 2010 (4th I think), so no doubt we'll have a politician out two days before Christmas claiming the credit for opening it "early"

dubhthach

dubhthach wrote: »

Well according to latest newletter from firm building Galway to Ballinasloe they are saying "opening date" in early january 2010 (4th I think), so no doubt we'll have a politician out two days before Christmas claiming the credit for opening it "early"

to make a promise like that, they must have one hell of a lot of "slack" in the project plan!

As for the Athlone - Ballinasloe section, it appears that (almost) all the major earthworks (the bit that can really delay any project) are complete.

The only earthworks still to do are the removal of the embankment west of the Tuam exit which can't start 'till the new link road is complete.

/must go and have a peek to see if the railway overbridge is in place yet!

?Cee?view

Deleted User wrote: »

to make a promise like that, they must have one hell of a lot of "slack" in the project plan!

As for the Athlone - Ballinasloe section, it appears that (almost) all the major earthworks (the bit that can really delay any project) are complete.

The only earthworks still to do are the removal of the embankment west of the Tuam exit which can't start 'till the new link road is complete.

/must go and have a peek to see if the railway overbridge is in place yet!

Is this the case, even with the delays apparently caused a few weeks ago by the farmers protesting because their lands were flooded, (or was it that something was dumped on their land)?

dubhthach

churchview wrote: »

Is this the case, even with the delays apparently caused a few weeks ago by the farmers protesting because their lands were flooded, (or was it that something was dumped on their land)?

That protest was in county Galway and was on the "Galway to Ballinasloe" section of the road, so it shouldn't have had any affects on the earthworks that dolan is talking bout (Athlone-ballinasloe)

?Cee?view

dubhthach wrote: »

That protest was in county Galway and was on the "Galway to Ballinasloe" section of the road, so it shouldn't have had any affects on the earthworks that dolan is talking bout (Athlone-ballinasloe)

Good to hear, thanks. Hopefully it hasn't put back the Galway Ballinasloe section though?

Just had a quick look at the railway bridges, neither are in place yet.

I suspect there will be a planned "closure window" on the Athlone - Sligo line to facilitate the placing of both bridges at the same time.

kaizersoze

The overbridge at Thomastown on the existing N6 is also a long way from complete as is the one on the R357 (Shannonbridge) road. A lot of the smaller overbridges are complete though.

Also, the link road I pictured earlier in this thread (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=57137712&postcount=16) is now tarred and the slip roads at the interchange are fully graded.

veryangryman

veryangryman wrote: »

According to signs westbound, it closing on 31st October (Friday week)

Dunno if its just for the day - the sign says "Tuam Exit will close 31 October"

I was looking at that junction yesterday, the new roundabout is set at a level about 1 metre below the surface of the original road.

This obviously makes it very difficult to link it in while traffic is using it, as it is there are alternative routes to monksland & the Tuam road from the westbound N6.
Turn off at the Roscommon exit, go towards the town then turn right then right again onto the old Tuan road (which runs parallel to the closed road) then left for Monksland or right for Tuam.

Bogger77

Deleted User wrote: »

Just had a quick look at the railway bridges, neither are in place yet.

I suspect there will be a planned "closure window" on the Athlone - Sligo line to facilitate the placing of both bridges at the same time.

Athlone-Galway?

Shouldn't be a need to close the railway. They've build motorway bridges over the Dublin-Dundalk mainline without shutting down the line, and that's busier than the Galway line, only max of 8 services a day on that line.

Bogger77

Bogger77 wrote: »

Athlone-Galway?

oops that what I meant.

veryangryman

Only an idiot would take the Roscommon Exit to access Tuam Road...Have you ever tried that road on a Friday evening?! :eek: And thats just the buggers en route to Roscommon/Sligo/Mayo and various other blackspots..

I would still recommend going onward towards Summerhill and taking a U turn (after much safety checking etc). Those who see this as "taking a chance" might tend towards just taking the Coosan exit towards town, cross town bridge and out the R362 to get to destination.

Both ways are quicker than Roscommon exit based on Friday evening traffic IMO :pac::pac:

you're probably right, but that is where the diversion (only some are in place) signs appear to be sending traffic.

It looks like there will be single file traffic through the new roundabout but no access to/from N6 west

veryangryman

Anyone used this yet today?

The road is still open at the moment!

It looks like they have now closed the westbound exit to the Tuam road!

Going east this evening (staying on the N6) and the Roscommon road was completely jammed, several motorists were "U"ing it at the roadworks as well as the Drum road junction.

Very chaotic this evening!

Just glad I was going the other way.

giveth

It added about 15 mins to my journey this evening.
I usually exit at Tuam exit and was going to take the Roscommon exit but it was backed right up the slip road onto the carraigway, so I continued on and u-turned (safely, unlike others).

Hope the exit closure wont wont last too long.

I think the main reason for the traffic was people who were u-turning in the middle of the road works blocking everyone else while waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. I kept going until the right turn lane at Drum, so as not to block people.

veryangryman

Went through town today to get back. Asides from the traffic lights on Tuam Road, it was much quicker

A couple of points...

1) Who is the MORON who thought it a good idea to put the "town centre" on the exit sign on DC for westbound Roscommon N6 junction. 99.9% of visitors to the town want to go to the East side, not the run down west side with difficult access to the bridge to continue onto East side. The new one way system might even have worked were it not for the amount of poor souls who are fooled into thinking that this is most direct route to shopping centres etc.

2) The works on that new roundabout at Tuam exit taking far too long. Too much arse-scratching going on methinks.

veryangryman

Also, why dont google maps have the M6 from Kinnegad to Athlone as a Motorway?

Also the M9 Carlow bypass.....:rolleyes:

crapmanjoe

I remember a while back somebody had a great map of the proposed M6 with the proposed toll location and how the M18 and M17 will link into it

Tried searching for it but couldnt find anything

Dont suppouse any1 has something similar

Specifically where the m6 toll will be placed