M9 - Waterford motorway construction updates

redalicat

Amusing article in the Times: "Locals Enjoy Silence As Bypass Opened"
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1222/1224261108589.html

So I now live on the R445 now?

Aard

redalicat wrote: »

So I now live on the R445 now?

Yes. The M9 is just the motorway section of the N9. We have a system different from the UK (except Scotland) - route number inheritence. The "old" road is renamed as a regional (R) road.

Amtmann

The R445 is the name of detrunked sections of former N7 rather than N9. Redalicat lives on the R448. And rabidlamb, even if there's no time-saving, I think you and your wife should definitely use the M9 anyway for one simple reason: As a motorway it's statistically up to TEN TIMES safer than single-carriageway roads. If that isn't the best reason in the world to use it, I don't know what is. (As an aside, people need to think about that, too, before they decide to dodge tolls on the M6 and M4 and around Fermoy and Abbeyleix.)

Aard

Ah, yes it is the R448.

redalicat

Furet wrote: »

The R445 is the name of detrunked sections of former N7 rather than N9. Redalicat lives on the R448.

Thanks, just curious.

And redalicat, even if there's no time-saving, I think you and your wife...

I think you meant Rabidlamb, the original poster about taking the M9 or staying on the old route? I've got a husband. FWIW, I agree with you about the time saving of the new M9.

L1011

Furet wrote: »

(As an aside, people need to think about that, too, before they decide to dodge tolls on the M6 and M4 and around Fermoy and Abbeyleix.)

Enfield

placard

amacachi wrote: »

Cattle crossing? Anyone got pics or description? Finding that puzzling.

There was an article in the Indo today which explains what happened..

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/farmers-block-new-motorway-in-claim-over-risks-to-cattle-1984391.html

Amtmann

redalicat wrote: »

I think you meant Rabidlamb, the original poster about taking the M9 or staying on the old route? I've got a husband. FWIW, I agree with you about the time saving of the new M9.

Yes, apologies!

AndrewMc

OpenStreetMap updated with accurate trace of new road, plus Junction 3 and its link to the R448: http://osm.org/go/es8cn5q-

Just a few details missing such as which back roads go over or under the motorway.

larryone

Nice work Andrew, it's alot smoother and the junction with the Athy road looks great.

redalicat

Furet wrote: »

Yes, apologies!

No worries, both our names start with R.

veryangryman

Furet wrote: »

The R445 is the name of detrunked sections of former N7 rather than N9. Redalicat lives on the R448. And rabidlamb, even if there's no time-saving, I think you and your wife should definitely use the M9 anyway for one simple reason: As a motorway it's statistically up to TEN TIMES safer than single-carriageway roads. If that isn't the best reason in the world to use it, I don't know what is. (As an aside, people need to think about that, too, before they decide to dodge tolls on the M6 and M4 and around Fermoy and Abbeyleix.)

Thanked your post, but want to add to your point on toll dodging.

I use the M6 Ballinasloe PPP (its worth it as it makes the journey not just shorter time-wise, but distance wise too), but sometimes dodge the M4 Enfield one when not in a hurry or when weather is ok.

The current spate of ice etc will obviously lead me and many other potential dodgers to pay the €2/€3 on the toll roads as you get more bang for your buck with the added safety over the old roads.

murphaph

I'm not nit picking as I think OSM is cool and will eventually have the best (read most accurate) mapping for Ireland (and probably already the most accurate where I live!) but isn't the N78 the N78 all the way to the M9, not the old N9 (R448)? I'm pretty sure the R448 multiplexes with the N78 along here and not the other way round.

Silverado

Now that the northern section of the M9 has been opened and the southern bit between Waterford and Kilkenny is on track for a February opening, has anybody got an update on the middle bit between Kilkenny and Carlow?

W.B. Yeats

Where will you exit for Kilkenny city from the new M9.
I can't find the acutal preferred route on the N9-N10

Looking at the options it seems the motorway won't actually pass KK but will have an exit with a new link road. Will there be 2 exits for the city?
One north and one south?

AndrewMc

murphaph wrote: »

I'm not nit picking as I think OSM is cool and will eventually have the best (read most accurate) mapping for Ireland (and probably already the most accurate where I live!) but isn't the N78 the N78 all the way to the M9, not the old N9 (R448)? I'm pretty sure the R448 multiplexes with the N78 along here and not the other way round.

It's a fair point, and going by the 2006 Act, yes. However with the N78 being downgraded to R418 I took a guess that the R448 would be extended to be a continuous road and the R418 stop slightly sooner. The signage is ambiguous so unless someone has the inside story we won't know until the next time the Act is updated if my gamble is right or wrong :-)

Stark

murphaph wrote:

I'm not nit picking as I think OSM is cool and will eventually have the best (read most accurate) mapping for Ireland (and probably already the most accurate where I live!) but isn't the N78 the N78 all the way to the M9, not the old N9 (R448)? I'm pretty sure the R448 multiplexes with the N78 along here and not the other way round.

I was wondering that myself. Generally when N and R overlap, the N designation gets preference. Like on the downgraded sections of the N6, the part coming into the Loughrea bypass got designated N65 instead of R446, or the little section outside Oranmore got designated N18 rather than R446.

The imminent downgrading of the N78 confuses things somewhat though. I'd imagine if it wasn't happening, then the N78 would be extended to Kilcullen. As it stands, the plan is to redesignate the old N78 to be the R418. You'd need to look at the sign to see what the plan is I reckon. If the little section coming into the interchange was R448, the sign would probably say something like R448 (R418), or else just R418 if the plan was to have the R418 all the way to the M9. Similarly, would need to see if the sign said Kilcullen R418 or Kilcullen R448 to see if they intend on extending the road to Kilcullen.

rameire

im planning to go for a jolly along the new road tomorrow to take a video,
ill also take pics of the road signs at the junctions but i think
from southbound on the m9 to kilcullen slip at the top it has kilcullen to the left on r448
to the right it has athy on the r418.

i think on the n9 junction with the n78 coming from carlow north bound it has athy to the left on r418 and kilcullen to the right on r448. ( using old road numbers for the time being on this junction only for clarity)

fricatus

Silverado wrote: »

Now that the northern section of the M9 has been opened and the southern bit between Waterford and Kilkenny is on track for a February opening, has anybody got an update on the middle bit between Kilkenny and Carlow?

I've heard the word "Summer" being bandied about, so I would assume that the Kilkenny and Waterford fans will be able to return from Croke Park together on a completed M9 come September!

fricatus

W.B. Yeats wrote: »

Where will you exit for Kilkenny city from the new M9.
I can't find the acutal preferred route on the N9-N10

Looking at the options it seems the motorway won't actually pass KK but will have an exit with a new link road. Will there be 2 exits for the city?
One north and one south?

I think it will be a bit like the Carlow situation in that it will depend on which direction you're approaching from. From Waterford you'd use exit 5 for Carlow and it would be exit 3 if you were approaching from Dublin.

Similarly, approaching KK from Dublin you'd take exit 8 for the Kilkenny link road (entering the city at the Hebron roundabout), and from the Waterford side you'd take exit 9 (Danesfort).

I don't think there will be any distinction between the north and south sides of KK. Nobody is going to come from Dublin and exit at Danesfort so as to get to Loughboy. Nor is traffic from Waterford going to continue halfway to Paulstown and then double back so as to get to somewhere like the Comer Road.

AndrewMc

Stark wrote: »

As it stands, the plan is to redesignate the old N78 to be the R418. You'd need to look at the sign to see what the plan is I reckon. If the little section coming into the interchange was R448, the sign would probably say something like R448 (R418), or else just R418 if the plan was to have the R418 all the way to the M9. Similarly, would need to see if the sign said Kilcullen R418 or Kilcullen R448 to see if they intend on extending the road to Kilcullen.

This is the ambiguity I was referring to. All the signs between the M9 off-ramps to the old N9 link road simply say "Kilcullen R448" or "Athy R418", no numbers in parentheses like "R448 (R418)" or "R418 (R448)".

mackerski

AndrewMc wrote: »

This is the ambiguity I was referring to. All the signs between the M9 off-ramps to the old N9 link road simply say "Kilcullen R448" or "Athy R418", no numbers in parentheses like "R448 (R418)" or "R418 (R448)".

I raised this issue on the OSM IRC channel last night. Andrew, I guess they must already have re-signed in white the section of N78 nearest the M9. This is something they have also done on large sections of the N3 where the M3 is under construction parallel.

My mapping practice has always been to retain the N designation until the replacement road opens, if only because any legal detrunking must surely be deferred until then. It's also IMHO better for routing applications, which could react negatively to such a main road gap.

OSM mapping practice is generally "Map what's on the ground", but in a country with signs as sloppy as ours I tend to overrule the ground wherever better information is available.

One thing is clear here, though - the N78 doesn't (and didn't even before this opening) go all the way to Kilcullen - just to the M9.

Finally, Andrew, lovely bit of mapping! I'll be regenerating my Garmin map tomorrow to pick up on this change.

larryone

Funny how the R is intended to stand for "regional" yet we have loads of R roads now that go half the length of the country. Most are redesignated N roads that have been replaced by Motorways.

Bards

Just came accross this article

http://www.kildare-nationalist.ie/tabId/515/itemId/7824/Council-gives-out-road-safety-message.aspx

Very ironic considering it is from the same council that tried to postpone the opening of the Carlow - Kilcullen Motorway until January 2010

I wonder how many crashes/near misses would we have witnessed this week on the old N9 considering the road conditions??

Setanta_og

Mod. if this is in the wrong location please re-direct I’ve lost touch with the oooold (record) M9 thread but here is a nice shot of the R747 taken on me mobi in the late evening light as it pops over the crest and down to the jnct with R448 (N9) with the beautiful Wicklow Mountains in the background enjoy

Trotter

It was fantastic to finally get to drive on the Carlow - Kilcullen section yesterday. The road from Waterford to Carlow were its usual treacherous self and there was some difference from Carlow onwards.

Does anyone have any idea when there'll be service stations on the M9? With the manky water that was being sprayed onto my windscreen, I almost ran out of screen wash and a service station would have been handy to top up.

larryone

Setanta_og wrote: »

Mod. if this is in the wrong location please re-direct I’ve lost touch with the oooold (record) M9 thread but here is a nice shot of the R747 taken on me mobi in the late evening light as it pops over the crest and down to the jnct with R448 (N9) with the beautiful Wicklow Mountains in the background enjoy

It is my hope that Wicklow County Council look at improving the section of the R747 between there and Baltinglass, as it would take a serious amount of traffic off the N81, parts of which are very dangerous. Unfortunately the money set aside for N81 imrpovement works was pulled, so I doubt it they would have anything to invest in the R747.
If I was going from Baltinglass to Dublin, I'd probably head for the M9 via that stretch tho instead of going for the N81. Time difference isnt huge, but safety margin is.




p.s. Mountiain in the centre of that image is Lobawn, which I am about to go hiking up in a few minutes. Darker coloured one to the right of it is called Sugarloaf (Not the great or the little, it's the other sugarloaf in west wicklow). Far right is Camenabologue, and the peak on the left is Corriebracks where there was a plane crash last year.

larryone

Trotter wrote: »

It was fantastic to finally get to drive on the Carlow - Kilcullen section yesterday. The road from Waterford to Carlow were its usual treacherous self and there was some difference from Carlow onwards.

Does anyone have any idea when there'll be service stations on the M9? With the manky water that was being sprayed onto my windscreen, I almost ran out of screen wash and a service station would have been handy to top up.

It'll be a long time coming I'd say. For the moment, I'd look at the Crookstown service station. Come off at Junction 3 (Athy, Baltinglass), go to the R448 (old N9) and north a tiny bit from the link road junction. It's the handiest location I can think of along the motorway without having to go into a town.

That or keep a 2 litre bottle of water in your car.

Sponge Bob

Maxol in Castledermot has a good reputation and good coffee. A short detour for a pit stop at junction 4 I believe.

jd

When this road is complete, would the best/safest/quickest way to get from Wexford to Kilkenny be to take the R704 from New Ross to Mullinavat and then on to the new motorway, rather than the R700 through Thomastown?