M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

mysterious

So how is driving on the Old N7 like? It must be some relief at least when the Birdhill Nenagh section opens at the end of this month at least.

Wild Bill

Question: As we seem to have a (collective noun) of Civil Engineers on here who understand piles and stuff - why can't one of you just pick up a phone, ring an engineer in the Co Co or the Contractor, communicate in Engineer-speak and then come back and tell what is actually happening?

All this speculation is pointless. :cool:

Sponge Bob

The trigger happily litigous Bernard McNamara is involved in the bog of doom fiasco, nobody will say anything for fear of being sued by Bernard.

All official and above board on this contract.

AlanD

Looks like the bog secion won't open until the end of 2010, with the Nenagh Birdhill section in March. This is what I can deduce from this article: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/bottomless-bog-delays-road-plan-2008184.html

bacon&cabbage

Got there before me Alan.

The end of the year.... looks like there's going to be a serious overhaul of this section

-Corkie-

thats just great news. what a shower of.........................................

AlanD

No harm really that they are going to do a proper job on the bog section. I personally don't mind so long as the birdhill to nenagh section is opened. An extra 5/10 mins on the old N7 won't be the worst thing in the world.

-Corkie-

AlanD wrote: »

No harm really that they are going to do a proper job on the bog section. I personally don't mind so long as the birdhill to nenagh section is opened. An extra 5/10 mins on the old N7 won't be the worst thing in the world.

the rest of the m8 and the castletown section will be well open before it

Stark

Bog aside, the rate of progress on Nenagh-Birdhill alone is frustrating.

mysterious

Wtf are they playing at?

Berty

From what I took from that article is

Dear Bothair Hibernian,

Your'e on your own bud'

Regards,

NRA

Tech3

Stark wrote: »

Bog aside, the rate of progress on Nenagh-Birdhill alone is frustrating.

I agree it's taking too long. Considering most of the Birdhill to Nenagh is nearly complete (only surfacing works left), an opening in March is ridiculous.

It's going to take them the year to finish 1km of road

Sponge Bob

NAMA will very shortly find itself building Motorways.

mysterious

This is not acceptable.

Sponge Bob

What exactly is not acceptable??

roosterman71

I don't understand everyones frustration about this. Is it because the completion date is getting near and excitement is taking over? Something like telling a child Santa is coming next week, but then delaying it for a further month? Do ye feel the same as the child?

I mean, the current road system has been in place for donkeys years. And its done a pretty good job, and still does. I know its not a motorway, but it is what it is and it works. If this motorway was finished there'd be something else wrong somewhere.

Is it not better to open whats ready when its ready, and get this bloody bog part done right. I understand its delayed, but its not as if your journeys are that much slower then they were 5 years ago (traffic volumes aside)

So can people who are whinging and whining about how its unacceptable, blah blah blah, chill out. The road will be opened when its ready. Its already late by a few years so whats another few months gonna matter?

Stark

roosterman71 wrote: »

Is it not better to open whats ready when its ready, and get this bloody bog part done right. I understand its delayed, but its not as if your journeys are that much slower then they were 5 years ago (traffic volumes aside)

The interurbans were supposed to be finished 5 years ago.

AlanD

Did anyone really think that when they announced the plans way back to complete interurbans by 2006 that it would actually happen?

Politics is about being popular, hence the name, and being popular doesn't always mean being truthful.

Although I am really looking forward to the roads opening, I can wait. Well, I can't, but delays happen.

Sponge Bob

Stark wrote: »

The interurbans were supposed to be finished 5 years ago.

Was it not by the end of the NDP 2000-2006 ...meaning they over 3 years late. Only 2 out of 5 are complete.

None of the Interurbans were complete before mid 2007.

The only road target set in 1999 and met by 2006 was the completion of the M50 ring in 2005. EVERY other project listed in 1999 was later kicked back to 2010

Have a quick reminder

ilovegermany

AlanD wrote: »

Did anyone really think that when they announced the plans way back to complete interurbans by 2006 that it would actually happen?

Politics is about being popular, hence the name, and being popular doesn't always mean being truthful.

Although I am really looking forward to the roads opening, I can wait. Well, I can't, but delays happen.

The ESRI did a report a couple of years ago saying the only motorways that could be economically justified was the M7 as far as Port Laoise.

Tech3

Transport 21's excess costs of over-investment in motorways between Kilcullen and Waterford and Portlaoise and Cork will cost a combined €1.5 billion to provide capacity of 55,000 vehicles a day where traffic volumes now and for decades ahead will not reach that volume.

This is some of the ESRI report in 2006. It's agreed that AADT above is true. But the current road was awful and wouldn't hold that amount of traffic much longer. Why build an offline WS2 or 2+2 when a type 1 dual carriageway will not cost that much extra.

These roads will be future proofed for the foreseeable future and you will have every city connected by motorway granted the M20 and M17/M18 gets built.

ilovegermany

tech2 wrote: »

This is some of the ESRI report in 2006. It's agreed that AADT above is true. But the current road was awful and wouldn't hold that amount of traffic much longer. Why build an offline WS2 or 2+2 when a type 1 dual carriageway will not cost that much extra.

These roads will be future proofed for the foreseeable future and you will have every city connected by motorway granted the M20 and M17/M18 gets built.

I agree fully.

Sponge Bob

Once the Cork Tuam section is built and maybe Mullingar - Longford or at a stretch with a new N5 layout....Mullingar - Carrick on Shannon and the hilly section north of Sligo to Grange and a few bits west and east of Cork and west of Limerick and then there is no need for any more type 1 anywhere in the state IMO. Abolish the category and declare it complete.

We should look at s2 only with short intermittent d2+2 stretches/bypasses to clear tailbacks of doddering oul dears.

Tech3

I agree. Once the PPP's and the M20 is done there should be no more offline motorway builds. The M1 will need widening to D3 near Dublin, the M7 to junction with the M9 should be sufficient enough unless traffic number dramatically rise in the near future which is not likely to happen.

More investment into national secondaries needs to start. The likes of Birr need to be bypassed

biffoman

so would you think that the Eastern bypass and The Lenster Orbital and The Galway outer Bypass is overkill then?

ilovegermany

biffoman wrote: »

so would you think that the Eastern bypass and The Lenster Orbital and The Galway outer Bypass is overkill then?

I reckon Galway defo needs a motorway standard bypass and the M20 is a must (even if it takes another 2 years to get through planning), but there are other primary routes which defo need elements of 2+2 with decent overtaking opportunities. I know there were plans to build lots more offline new roads but in the current climate surely we could provide some sort of "widening" sections on the:

1. Adare to Tralee (surely the Rathkeale bypass could be retrofitted a bit?)
2. N24 between Waterford and Limerick - its brutal - all the way...
3. N22 Cork - Macroom - Killarney
4. N80 all the way!

Back on topic - is there an actual confirmed open date for Nenagh - Bridhill section or is it just still "Quarter 1 2010"?

Tech3

biffoman wrote: »

so would you think that the Eastern bypass and The Lenster Orbital and The Galway outer Bypass is overkill then?

The GCOB is including on the PPP list. The other two are overkill IMO.

Back on topic - is there an actual confirmed open date for Nenagh - Bridhill section or is it just still "Quarter 1 2010"?

Not as of yet. January was the first month set now its pushed to either March or April

Tech3

Given the recent cold snap is now over surely we can see some work being done again on this scheme. When I passed last there was a load of ADS signage put up, so the scheme may be opening very soon.

BluntGuy

roosterman71 wrote: »

So can people who are whinging and whining about how its unacceptable, blah blah blah, chill out. The road will be opened when its ready. Its already late by a few years so whats another few months gonna matter?

I wish I could echo that viewpoint, but the road has been delayed time and time again, and the lastest delay has been caused by an engineering problem that should've been identified beforehand. So I can see why people are getting agitated. Now, we all make mistakes, delays do happen, and there is nothing we can do but wait, but I agree with Mysterious, the delays on this scheme, are reaching rather unacceptable levels.

Besides, it's not as if people are griping about it being a month or two behind schedule, we're talking over a year behind the projected completion date, which as you said is on top of 4/5 years worth of previous delays in planning, financing etc.

Sponge Bob

This yoke should fix it