M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

gryff

For what its worth here's a couple of shnaps from Saturday evening of the finished section. Hopefully we'll be driving it soon. First one looking towards Limerick..

gryff

and looking towards Birdhill

pinkfloyd34

blackwarrior wrote: »

I've been driving this road every day since early 2009. I'll wait another month I suppose. That Birdhill to Finnegan's run takes about 13 minutes in evening traffic. Should be an easy 5-6 minute cruise when open.

it will also free up the newport/finnegans roundabout, this is becoming a right little bottleneck now at peak time, so even going to and from newport to limerick it might take 4-5 mins off at peak time, great pics gryff, looks great now, lets hope its the same in 6 months time

blackwarrior

gryff wrote: »

For what its worth here's a couple of shnaps from Saturday evening of the finished section. Hopefully we'll be driving it soon. First one looking towards Limerick..

I presume there'll be a plaque located here commemorating the significance of the spot. A sort of Beal na Bláth thing, maybe with an annual ceremony. Or a monument to the wise "locals" who oft said "here be a bottomless bog"!

Apparently one Local had stated many years ago that the road would only open if Liam McCarthy came back to Tipp. Now that was wisdom!

ItHurtsWhenIP

blackwarrior wrote: »

Apparently one Local had stated many years ago that the road would only open if Liam McCarthy came back to Tipp. Now that was wisdom!

That's nice of the local ... considering the offending section of Motorway is in Co. Limerick (just). :eek:

blackwarrior

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

That's nice of the local ... considering the offending section of Motorway is in Co. Limerick (just). :eek:

Ah yes, but it's basically a Tipp bog!

The Prisoner

cnocbui wrote: »

Ten of them have to stand abreast across the road with their arms across each others shoulders, then they have to jump up and down in sync for five minutes, then they have to step forward a meter and do it again.

I have been told they will be doing this in 2 hour shifts and that a ghetto blaster playing loud trance music is being used for syncing and frequency control.

Apparently the road crews have devised a privacy screen consisting of DPM curtains attached to two fore and aft mobile scaffolding frames, between which this activity will be conducted, as there were serious concerns the laughter of the locals might put off the engineers and they might get out of sync as a result.

mossym

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

That's nice of the local ... considering the offending section of Motorway is in Co. Limerick (just). :eek:

well if we were waiting for the maccarthy cup to come back to limerick...:)

on aside note, all the side roads from Birdhill that crossed the motorway that were used over the last few years by the construction traffic(even the roads they weren't allowed to use which they were on daily) are now being resurfaced, a good indication they are pulling out. most noticeable will be the main road from birdhill to newport as far as Cooleen, where they used the existing quarry for stone for the road. that road has been battered beyond belief and it's about time it got fixed

MYSTICA1

I'm driving to Limerick on Friday .. No chance of the motorway being open by then I suppose ??

ki

In a word.... NO.

There have being no announcements made about opening yet!

ullickmagee

There have been some encouraging signs over the last couple of days that an opeing is imminent... this morning there were contractors cutting the high grass on the small roundabout before Finnegans and doing a general tidy up on the main access road from this roundabout..Fingers Crossed they will have it open in the next few days!!

Deedsie

Someone just posted September 10th in the estimated opening date sticky! Can anyone confirm refute?

ki

I'd expect them to try and slip the opening of this out on a bad news day. As there is no glory.

L1011

I'd have thought opening it the same time as another scheme so it gets very forgotten as all the camera crws are brought to the other one... same time as the M9 then?

blackwarrior

MYOB wrote: »

I'd have thought opening it the same time as another scheme so it gets very forgotten as all the camera crws are brought to the other one... same time as the M9 then?

Will there actually be an official opening for a section of motorway that will be up to 18 months late, which was dogged by problems and is known to the country as the Bottomless Bog Road?

I can't believe ministers would subject themselves to an opening ceremony celebrating a disaster.

I think it should be organised as a surprise to motorists (like me) who suddenly find their commute suddenly much more pleasant. (Because if it does open, it will be a surprise!)

L1011

Minister's don't refuse names on plaques rather like newsprint doesn't refuse ink...

blackwarrior

MYOB wrote: »

Minister's don't refuse names on plaques rather like newsprint doesn't refuse ink...

THey have plaques on motorways - you've got to be joking!!! How do you read them?

L1011

blackwarrior wrote: »

THey have plaques on motorways - you've got to be joking!!! How do you read them?

You don't, you wait till either myself or Furet photographs them and puts them on the thread on here...

Generally they're actually on on-ramps or the roundabouts to on-ramps, some are on laybys or at the offices off the tolling company if there is one. I can only think of a few that are actually *on* the motorway - Portlaoise Bypass, and most of the M1 schemes.

-Corkie-

I am up that way tomorrow and should have time to do a bit of poking around..;)

Deedsie

Well the M9 opening has been announced. Heard it officially on the todayfm news at 9 bells. No mention of our wee bóithrín opening to the public this week. Have to drive to Limerick Friday. Was hoping it would be open this weekend.

-Corkie-

I was up there today.

*Crash barriers being fitted near the tie in at Finnegans.

*I had a look at the road where you turn off at Dalys cross. I didnt bother taking pics as the same ones are posted above but there was Jeeps driving up and down with workmen.

*The limerick side of the Birdhill flyover had quite a lot of activity on the southbound carrigeway. There was a concrete mixer there and a track machine. They seemed to be pouring concrete somewhere inside the hard shoulder.

*The yard in Nenagh where the tar plant and offices were situated was being levelled out with topsoil today. I seen loading shovels and track machines there along with tipper trucks delivering topsoil.

*Finally the hard shoulder on the south bound carrigeway was closed of under the first over pass after the the Nenagh/Bo rrisakane turn off. There was a few men there. The van was belong to some enviromental agency. I couldnt get a good look because I was in a hurry.

*It all looks ready. I stopped the car to ask two work men about the opening date but unfortunatley they wernt awfully fluent in english.

The Word Is Bor

I haven't been up that part of the world for the past few months, due to former employer deeming me surplus to requirements, but I get the impression that the road will be opened with little or no fanfare. The Nenagh Bypass section was opened without any ceremony at all and the section from Nenagh to Birdhill was the same. In fact there was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing over when those individual sections would open to traffic.

blackwarrior

The Word Is Bor wrote: »

I get the impression that the road will be opened with little or no fanfare.

It doesn't deserve fanfare. It could be the only stretch of motorway to be opened without an official ceremony.

Expect the champagne though when they open the Castletown to Nenagh stretch in November - the final interconnector from Dublin will be open. There's be enough ministers to have a cabinet meeting.

Runs (briefly) through the Taoiseach's constituency....

ItHurtsWhenIP

blackwarrior wrote: »

It doesn't deserve fanfare. It could be the only stretch of motorway to be opened without an official ceremony.

Do you know - you're probably spot on. They usually make a big hoo-haa of opening sections where they've done it on time/in budget or ahead of time/under budget, but where something is THIS late, they'd just as soon let the papers note the opening the day after the event and hope it would get lost in the continued bad news about:

1. Anglo Irish Bank(rupt)
2. Ivor "Legitimate Expense" Callely
3. Whatever the Greenies latest wheeze is

Choose one ... any more than that and it really would be a BAD news day!!!:(

slinky2000

Deedsie wrote: »

Someone just posted September 10th in the estimated opening date sticky! Can anyone confirm refute?

Can anyone confirm if it's open today? I'll be going down there about 5pm so I'll update if no one else does. I'll not get my hopes up though!

Deedsie

slinky2000 wrote: »

Can anyone confirm if it's open today? I'll be going down there about 5pm so I'll update if no one else does. I'll not get my hopes up though!

I emailed the NRA, asking about a possible opening today? She said not until the end of September unfortunately. Seems to be just finishing up they are doing now. See Corkie's post above.

AlanD

They are talking about it now on Morning Ireland. Interviewing a local farmer about the bog.

lukejr

Morning Ireland had a piece on it. Spokesperson said it will be open before the end of October, although I'm not sure if that is just the PR line for the road?

You can listen to it on the RTE Morning Ireland podcast, it's featured in the last 10 minutes of the show, was at about 08:50 this morning.

luohaoran

AlanD wrote: »

They are talking about it now on Morning Ireland. Interviewing a local farmer about the bog.

Great to hear it finally getting some prime time attention.
And it seems the researcher did a bit of work this time.

The only thing missing was any detail on what they still need to do to get to opening. The repairs are finished.
Why are these extra bits and pieces only getting seen to now? Why is it going to take till some unknown date in October?

I'm not a big fan of soap opera's but this one has me hooked. Its starting seem like "Lost" at this point though. They need to wrap it up.

lukejr

Just received an email from the NRA, and they said it looks like the section will open the end of September.

So hopefully this is on target.