M9 - Waterford motorway construction updates

L1011

Dymo wrote: »

Where is the best place to get on the new motorway from Kilkenny City going to dublin? Do I have to go to Danesfort, Paulstown, Gowran or

where is this?


Thanks

Hebron IIRC. North along the ringroad from where the existing N10 left it,

wellboy76

If I want to go to kilkenny town coming from Waterford City, is it best to take the Danesfort exit or is there another one further on?

Bards

take a look below

http://www.nra.ie/RoadSchemeActivity/KilkennyCountyCouncil/N9N10CarlowKnocktopherKilcullenWaterford/Map,16507,en.pdf

fricatus

So lads, is it open yet?

Bards

fricatus wrote: »

So lads, is it open yet?

according to RTE it is now open

The final 40km section of the M9 Dublin to Waterford motorway, from Carlow to Knocktopher, has opened.

The new section cost €467m and was completed three months ahead of schedule.

The road is expected to take 30 minutes off people's journey time from the M50 to Waterford City.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0909/m9.html

Stark

Heading up to Dublin from Cork today. Slightly tempted to make a detour via Waterford to check out the new road.

Edit: on second thoughts, no, it will probably take me about 2 hours to just to get to Waterford.

bemak

i'll be heading up this weekend from waterford to kilcock.... going to be a dream all the way to the naas turn off.... wonder how long its gonna take to get to naas.... prob 1:20 or so.... you could nearly start commuting to wit now!

draward

YES its fianly open.

Bards

Here is the speech that was delivered at the opening

======================================

Ladies and gentlemen I am delighted to be here this afternoon to perform the official opening of this, the final section of the M9 major interurban route linking Dublin and Waterford.

What a terrific day this is for so many reasons. From today, Dublin and Waterford will be linked by a continuous, uninterrupted, high quality roadway that provides a fast, predictable and, above all, safe connection between the two cities and their hinterlands.

All of us gathered here today will remember the tortuous journey between the two cities that existed before this investment began.

Places like Castledermot, Thomastown, Carlow and many others, through no fault of their own, struck dread into the hearts of any driver faced with the prospect of slow, unpredictable journeys along single carriageways between the two cities. Negotiating Thomastown in an articulated lorry was some achievement. Add in a bank holiday or a GAA appointment in Dublin and the result was pretty bad by any standard.

From today that is all history.

This road running as it does, down the central spine of both Kilkenny and Carlow, will provide high quality connectivity between the major population centres of Waterford City, Kilkenny City, Dublin and Carlow.
It also improves access to Waterford Regional Airport, Belview Port, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford Regional Hospital, Carlow Institute of Technology – to name but a few - and the various tourist attractions in the region. I expect that the list of people, places and organisations that will eventually benefit from the opening of this final section of the M9 could well be a very long one. Apart from the residents of Castledermot, Thomastown and Carlow, I should, perhaps, also mention the bypassed towns and villages of Knocktopher, Stoneyford, Paulstown, Dungarvan and Gowran. Some of these villages are very attractive and pretty in their own right but were never able to shine as much as they could have because of the relentless traffic moving through their thoroughfares.

It almost goes without saying that all of these new inter-urbans roads will open up access to the regions in a very practical way. These roads don’t just link two spots on a map but open up access to all the towns and villages along the way and indeed to areas beyond the end-point of the routes themselves. A few weeks ago I was present when An Taoiseach opened the Limerick Tunnel. That link, and the forthcoming Gort to Crusheen section of the N18 will prove invaluable in the opening up of the West of Ireland and reducing journey times to and from rural areas generally.

Together with the major interurban network of routes linking Dublin to Belfast, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford these works are vitally important to us on the periphery of Europe. In the years ahead, as our economy recovers, we will be able to capitalise on this fast and efficient network of roads which will allow the movement of goods and people around the country with a certainty that was not previously achievable.

From a road safety perspective this road will serve to provide a far safer route than the one it replaces. Motorway standard roads have been proven time and again to be safer than their single carriageway equivalents.

While these roads eliminate many common traffic hazards very effectively, they cannot remove the personal responsibility that rests on the shoulders of any of us who get behind the wheel of a car or use a public highway in any capacity.

We all share a responsibility to use the road network responsibly and to have regard to other users’ perspectives. Could I ask all road users, particularly as we draw into the long winter nights to be aware that we all share the road network, be safe and be seen by other road users and slow down.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank of all the people who contributed to the delivery of this project.
The planners, engineers, sub-contractors and everyone else involved. It is a job of work in which you can all take great pride. It is a job of work you can look back on in the years to come and say ‘I helped to build that’. I understand that this is the largest capital scheme ever undertaken by the people in Kilkenny County Council.

Well done one and all.

ENDS

http://www.transport.ie/speech.aspx?Id=55

Tech3

Very good speech in fairness. Must drive the M9 soon!!

fricatus

Drove part of it there this afternoon. I was heading back from Kilkenny and decided to take in the new KK link road from the Hebron roundabout - however it was still closed, despite RTÉ saying the motorway was open (this was after 14.00).

Thought, fcuk it, I'm doing nothing else for a while, so I drove up to Paulstown and then got on it heading south. It's a lovely job I must say - and it took bang on half an hour to get to the roundabout at the southern end of the motorway there near the new bridge - that's at 70 mph, so you could still legally do it a shade quicker at 120 km/h.

It's all very neat and tidy, nice surface too, and very like the Waterford-Danesfort section, to the extent that you'd never think they had been built and opened separately.

The turn-off at J8 for Kilkenny heading south looks a bit tight and the bend might take some people by surprise, though without actually driving it, it's hard to know.

Straight after that, there's a very tall overbridge which looks really cool, and the scenery where it crosses the Nore at Bennetsbridge is really pretty, so much so that I can picture people getting off at the next exit to stop in for a look - or worse, stopping on the hard shoulder to take pictures! :rolleyes:

Looking forward to seeing how long it takes to do Newlands-Dunkitt in a couple of days' time!

mackerski

Dymo wrote: »

Where is the best place to get on the new motorway from Kilkenny City going to dublin? Do I have to go to Danesfort, Paulstown, Gowran or

where is this?

Right here. The whole scheme is now mapped on OpenStreetMap.

antomorro-sei

Whats the best junction to get off at if I was going to Callan, from Dublin? 8 and through KK?

Cheers

ike

fricatus wrote: »

I was heading back from Kilkenny and decided to take in the new KK link road from the Hebron roundabout - however it was still closed, despite RTÉ saying the motorway was open (this was after 14.00).

Anyone confirm if the link road has opened yet?

veryangryman

waterford1980 wrote: »

This is more exciting then my wedding day was

Dude, tip. Dont tell the missus that! :eek:

Tech3

veryangryman wrote: »

Dude, tip. Dont tell the missus that! :eek:

lol

nhg

I would assume that travelling Dublin to Callan the best (shortest journey) Junction to Join or Exit would be Junction 9 at Danesfort, I assume Callan to Waterford would be to Join/Exit at Junction 10, I stand to be corrected on both of these.

Safe Journey to all

antomorro-sei

nhg wrote: »

I would assume that travelling Dublin to Callan the best (shortest journey) Junction to Join or Exit would be Junction 9 at Danesfort, I assume Callan to Waterford would be to Join/Exit at Junction 10, I stand to be corrected on both of these.

Safe Journey to all

Cheers for that. Is Callan handy enough to get to from Danesfort? It's just I've to be in Tipperary later, Mulinahone to be precise.

ShaneIRL

antomorro-sei wrote: »

Cheers for that. Is Callan handy enough to get to from Danesfort? It's just I've to be in Tipperary later, Mulinahone to be precise.

Yeah Callan is about 10KM from the Danesfort exit and is well signed so you should'nt have too much hassel. The boys still celebrating in Mullinahone? Long may it continue - Up the Premier

Dymo

antomorro-sei wrote: »

Whats the best junction to get off at if I was going to Callan, from Dublin? 8 and through KK?

Cheers

The knocktopher exit would be the quickest by far, Callan is only about 5 miles, putting a long journey on a bad road to go to Danesfort. There is a short cut to get to Mullinahone avoiding Callan if you have a map.

nhg

Callan to danesfort is much shorter than to Knocktopher but a bad road if you don't know it, if unsure of roads get off in Kilkenny

rayc

Did anyone see what the speed limit on Hebron link road is? Interested to see if it's quicker to go that way to Waterford or head for the Danesfort junction.... (not counting traffic, based on Traffic at the Dublin road roundabout this morning I could have walked quicker).

nordydan

Actual video clip is here

Note at the end of the clip, tractor heading down the N10 towards the motorway

Bards wrote: »

according to RTE it is now open

The final 40km section of the M9 Dublin to Waterford motorway, from Carlow to Knocktopher, has opened.

The new section cost €467m and was completed three months ahead of schedule.

The road is expected to take 30 minutes off people's journey time from the M50 to Waterford City.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0909/m9.html

antomorro-sei

Dymo wrote: »

The knocktopher exit would be the quickest by far, Callan is only about 5 miles, putting a long journey on a bad road to go to Danesfort. There is a short cut to get to Mullinahone avoiding Callan if you have a map.

Cheers man.

ShaneIRL wrote: »

Yeah Callan is about 10KM from the Danesfort exit and is well signed so you should'nt have too much hassel. The boys still celebrating in Mullinahone? Long may it continue - Up the Premier

Cheers, haha yeah they are I'd imagine! Have a wedding to go to in Clonmel tomorrow but all the family are down these parts. Session!

I'm sure I'll find my way anyway, I'm handy enough at directions and driving on bad country roads.

spacetweek

Benimar wrote: »

I'm pretty certain the the stretch opening today is 28km. Didn't they open 12km of the Knocktopher to Powerstown road when they opened the Waterford to Knocktopher section?

Yes that jumped off the page at me.

A 10-km section of this road in fact opened as part of the Waterford-Powerstown scheme. So the length of this new Kilkenny section is 30 km not 40 km.

I'd blame journalists using the NRA's poorly maintained site, but incredibly the MfT himself also said "40km" in his speech which seems like an amazing mistake to make.

marbol

Delighted with the new M9 motorway, I travelled home to Kilkenny from Naas this evening and it was a pleasure until I took the exit for M10 Kilkenny and got an awful shock. Speed limit down to 80kph to travel around a very sharp bend. Speed limit increased to a wonderful 100kph but this so called M10 is only one lane all the way into the Hebron Road Roundabout. I'd get over having to slow down but I can't get over travelling on one lane again.
Some M10 it has turned out to be I feel really cheated as I was so looking forward to using this new motorway and not having to sit in slow moving traffic ever again on my daily commute.:(

fitzeyboy.

marbol its not the M10, its classified as the N10. Only the N9 was replaced with Motorway

Chesco

Hi to everybody, I have been a long time follower of this thread, and only posted one or two times.
So the big day has finally arived and I just wanted to post and say a big thank to all of you who have been posting and keeping the rest of us updated. Well done to all, and if I may recall what I thought was the best part of this thread, it was last December when the opening of the Kilculen/Carlow section, it was pressure from this thread that caused to outcry of public opinion that forced them to open it then and not wait to January.
Once again well done all.

alfieduffer

I'd like to echo Chesco's sentiments and say what a great job all the regular posters did in keeping us all informed of the developments as they happened.
As a Waterford man living in Kildare.I feel that my native county has got a whole lot closer.
I'm travelling from Kilcullen to Dungarvan tomorrow and I was wondering how long does it take to travel from the start of the new section to Waterford?

tramor

I'd also like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread, especially the photograph takers. I think I have visited this thread almost every day for the last 2 1/2 years.

I'll be going to Dublin from Waterford tomorrow. Can't wait!! I think this is the best thing to come out of the Celtic tiger for the Southeast. As Dempsey says, it will be bringing benefits for the next 100 years.