M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

KerranJast

freighter wrote: »

I travelled from limerick today from nenagh. Is it quicker to use the motorway from birdhill or the old road. I went up the old road and it was empty still has 100 kph speed limit but the guards had a checkpoint at the overbridge where the traffic lights are...

I came down the motorway it seemed longer..

In distance terms I think the Mway is longer. Obviously though you can zip along it and even though the old road may bs quieter now, if you get stuck behind something slow moving you'll be there for a while.

freighter

KerranJast wrote: »

In distance terms I think the Mway is longer. Obviously though you can zip along it and even though the old road may bs quieter now, if you get stuck behind something slow moving you'll be there for a while.

I have a question why is their steel pieces in the central median between the concrete barriers. I see it on the M8 as well....

Btw i seen a fella on a push bike on this motorway today. I thought look at that leuder but i said that could be a fellow boardsie cycling to the bog of gloom taking pictures;);)

SeanW

I just had a look at the area on OSM
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.7212&lon=-8.4563&zoom=14&layers=B000FTF

and it seems there are L roads that connect to the existing N7 and will be grade separated from the Motorway.

Assuming this "bog of doom" proves to be something that will take a long time to deal with, would it make sense to build single direction GSJs at each of those local roads and have a temporary M7-exit-L road reclassified N7-N7 proper-another L reclassified N7-reentry ramp-M7 arrangment?

L1011

freighter wrote: »

I have a question why is their steel pieces in the central median between the concrete barriers. I see it on the M8 as well....

Crossover points for setting up contraflows if needed.

sillyboy

freighter wrote: »

I travelled from limerick today from nenagh. Is it quicker to use the motorway from birdhill or the old road. I went up the old road and it was empty still has 100 kph speed limit but the guards had a checkpoint at the overbridge where the traffic lights are...

I came down the motorway it seemed longer..

I travel this road everyday. The motorway is longer in km's (because of the link road back into Birdhill) but is consistently quicker in minutes.

caster

Did anyone catch Peter Malone of the NRA on the radio yesterday? Think it may have been TodayFM... I head the end of it and I thought I heard him say that they have a resolution of the problems on this road and they expect to have it open before Castletown to Nenagh.

I thought he said that the problem was not the mainline itself but a road off it??
I'll see if I can dig up the clip online.

Berty

Listen to it here.

5pm Slot. First Story

http://www.todayfm.com/Shows/Weekdays/Matt-Cooper/listen.aspx

Fast forward to 5:50 mins/seconds for the conversation

Will report back when finished listening.

lottpaul

caster wrote: »

Did anyone catch Peter Malone of the NRA on the radio yesterday? Think it may have been TodayFM... I head the end of it and I thought I heard him say that they have a resolution of the problems on this road and they expect to have it open before Castletown to Nenagh.

I thought he said that the problem was not the mainline itself but a road off it??
I'll see if I can dig up the clip online.

I heard the interview and it sounded too simple to be true.
Hopefully I'm wrong, but the interviewee did put in a lot of "this is what we've been told"s etc towards the end. Surely the NRA would have announced this before now if it actually was the case?

Berty

From what I can make out from the coversation they are blaming the Bog Road which is an underpass "Coming off it" as he says.

I mentioned here a number of posts ago that they have been cutting away at the blacktop under this road and from what I can gather from driving this road EVERY DAY is that the blacktop under the bridge is sinking.

He says the reason it is sinking is because the piles under the road are sinking!

"We hope that have that in 3-5 months"

He is confident the road will be open before Christmas.

Berty

Here are some pictures of the Underpass at the Bog of Doom. This road is known as the Bog Road. You can see in the distance on the right of the road the recently placed piles.

This picture shows the distance from where I took the pictures to the section that is the causing the problems.



This picture simply shows the underpass



This picture shows the very recent cutting on the blacktop



This is a picture from the other side of the underpass(West) which shows the cutting of the tie in section from the original road. Note on the right of the picture they have filled tar into the cut. It appears that after cutting the section to the right and conducting whatever tests they have covered back up the cuttings.



I don't know what is going on here but the surface is far from smooth.

Speaking to Matt Cooper he mentioned a road leading off the troubled section. This is the ONLY road. He mentioned the structure was causing an issue but if I go back many number of pages of this thread you will find this picture which shows the distance of the structure to the troubled area.



Now the structure is still sitting upon a bog however the structure itself does is not attached to the road by a concrete base traversing the bog. The only connection, other than aggregate, is the blacktop which if the underpass is sinking then the movement of the blacktop may be becoming stretched.

Berty

Small bit of information about the underpass. The underpass itself was poured in a casting mould off site and transported in sections to this location. I am unaware of what type of sub base it beneath it but the trench they dug originally was pretty damn deep.

lukejr

Thanks for the update.

As per usual though, the fact that the road is now over 12 months behind schedule wasn't mentioned on the interview with Matt Cooper. If it opens for Christmas it will be up to 18 months behind schedule, which is just crazy.

Could it be the slab moved and knocked the piles and thus caused the collapse?

phog

Berty wrote: »

Here are some pictures of the Underpass at the Bog of Doom. This road is known as the Bog Road. You can see in the distance on the right of the road the recently placed piles.

What road is this, it must one of the roads from the N7 to Newport, how do I get to the road from Birdhill?

Berty

phog wrote: »

What road is this, it must one of the roads from the N7 to Newport, how do I get to the road from Birdhill?

Head from Birdhill towards Limerick and just before Dalys Cross there is a turn to your left just after the traffic Chokers.

The underpass is around 500mtrs down this road.

lukejr

It's just off the N7, see map below.

gryff

Driving up the bog road today I saw plant and machinery up at the sinking section on the motorway - this is the first time I have seen actual work being carried out in weeks... they were also laying tarmac on the bog road at the underpass -not sure if this has anything to do with the sinking section... those comments made last week on Matt Coopers show by Peter Malone dont make any sense to me - surely the bog road is way too far from the sinking area to have any effect/influence.

Berty

Technically the bog road traverses the bog so the underpass is sitting upon a bog so essentially it could be sinking.

I am passing that way around 4pm so will have a look and take a picture If I can.

If Matt Coopers NRA guy is correct then the weight the bridge is putting on the bog and sinking could be pulling against the concrete/blacktop joint further down the road.

From what I can see in the area. If you are coming over the bridge(if the road was open) heading northbound you are on a descent when you pass over the bridge. The damage to the road appears to be where the descent levels off onto the normal carraigeway. The joint here would be at an angle, if even slight, to the slope off the overpass's deck.

Sponge Bob

Berty wrote: »

Technically the bog road traverses the bog so the underpass is sitting upon a bog so essentially it could be sinking.

I am passing that way around 4pm so will have a look and take a picture If I can.

Is it on the raised bog of Annaholty or on a boggy ( but not raised) section to the south of the raised bog Bertie....ie can you swivel the camera north for one or two shots ????

Cross section here page 8 of 63 , if the underpass is that shown on the left there is serious bog underneath. Res is crap, can't read it.

THX

Tragedy

Drove from Ballybunion to M50 last night, average speed was 59.7mph and my max speed was 70 on the motorway.

Definitely improving.

NedNew2

Tragedy wrote: »

Drove from Ballybunion to M50 last night, average speed was 59.7mph and my max speed was 70 on the motorway.

Definitely improving.

Tragedy, using mph is for the obsolete. That would be an average of about 95 km/h, no? And 115 km/h on the motorway.

Incidentally, how much of the Dublin-Limerick route is now motorway/dual carriageway as it currently stands?

Tragedy

Cars speedo and trip computer is MPH

Berty

Im sorry but I couldn't get a picture of the road works on the bog road last night as they were still working on it but I can tell you that they removed the wearing course and put down what appears to be a moisture blanket but I'm sure somebody can confirm.

KerranJast

NedNew2 wrote: »

Incidentally, how much of the Dublin-Limerick route is now motorway/dual carriageway as it currently stands?

DC/MW all the way from the M50 to south of Borris-in-Ossory I think. Then Nenagh to Birdhill is Motorway. There are several of those hill climb 2in1 sections for overtaking between Limerick-Birdhill and Nenagh-Borris.

The last 2 sections to be finished are Castletown-Nenagh (expected in Q3 2010) and the "Bog of Doom" section between Birdhill & Finnegans roundabout in Limerick. That section is supposed to be finished by the end of the year but everyone on here is mighty skeptical about that.

mossym

KerranJast wrote: »

There are several of those hill climb 2in1 sections for overtaking between Limerick-Birdhill and Nenagh-Borris.

one very short one just north of Daly's cross coming out of limerick

one between nenagh/toomevara..


am i missing some or are we a long way short of several?

the limeirck birdhill one is the first overtaking opportunity after leaving limerick, if you get stuck behind something slow at finnegans roundabout you're behind it until there

Deedsie

mossym wrote: »

one very short one just north of Daly's cross coming out of limerick

one between nenagh/toomevara..


am i missing some or are we a long way short of several?

the limeirck birdhill one is the first overtaking opportunity after leaving limerick, if you get stuck behind something slow at finnegans roundabout you're behind it until there

After Dunkerrin there is a great stretch for over taking. No official overtaking lane but a fine straight stretch.

KerranJast

mossym wrote: »

one very short one just north of Daly's cross coming out of limerick

one between nenagh/toomevara..


am i missing some or are we a long way short of several?

the limeirck birdhill one is the first overtaking opportunity after leaving limerick, if you get stuck behind something slow at finnegans roundabout you're behind it until there

Several = 3 or more I thought there were 3 at least. Anyway as Deedsie says there also a good few wide stretches for overtaking. I always found the worst part of the road from Limerick to Portlaoise was around Mountrath. If thats bypassed then happy days.

Tragedy

mossym wrote: »

one very short one just north of Daly's cross coming out of limerick

one between nenagh/toomevara..


am i missing some or are we a long way short of several?

the limeirck birdhill one is the first overtaking opportunity after leaving limerick, if you get stuck behind something slow at finnegans roundabout you're behind it until there

The one between nenagh and toomevara is actually a climbing lane for trucks and only Dublin bound(and besides, no-one uses it).

mossym

Tragedy wrote: »

The one between nenagh and toomevara is actually a climbing lane for trucks and only Dublin bound(and besides, no-one uses it).

both of them are.

actually the other one is so short it almost makes it dangerous

mossym

KerranJast wrote: »

Several = 3 or more I thought there were 3 at least. Anyway as Deedsie says there also a good few wide stretches for overtaking. I always found the worst part of the road from Limerick to Portlaoise was around Mountrath. If thats bypassed then happy days.

don't mind me, i'm just sick of being stuck behind some 50 year old house wife who drive up the middle of the two lanes doing 40 oblivious to the world around her

if you're reading this you old biddy in your charcoal 10 TN avensis you might want to both watch your lanes and the rear view mirror once in a while.


rant over, obviously i had a bad drive home last night..:)

seems to happen more often than it should though...roll on the motorway

Tragedy

mossym wrote: »

both of them are.

actually the other one is so short it almost makes it dangerous

The Tipp one is definitely a hill climbing lane, the one outside limerick is a 2+1 - there's a huge difference between the two!