M6 - Ballinasloe to Galway

flazio

smashingred wrote: »

I wonder will gobus run any other routes when the Inter Urbans are all finished at the end of 2010?
Like you said Irish Rail are going to have alot of problems in the coming years.
I'm not sure Dublin-Galway is on the train but I'm guessing it's over 50 Euro (assuming you don't have a Usit Card, Faircard).
Can't compete with Gobus-10 euro each way & a journey time of 2 hours 45 mins.

Irish Rail can in places like Ballinalsoe, Athlone, and Citylink can in the previous two as well as Loughrea, Moate, Kilbeggan and pretty much every other town that gobus now ignores completely.

Delta Kilo

I hope Irish Rail get burned when the motorway open., What they charge for a p!ss poor service is criminal. I know someone that got a flight from cork to dublin instead of the train because it was 15 euro cheaper and you got a free indo! If he went by train, he would have been lucky to get a seat!

spacetweek

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Originally the M6/GCOB junction was supposed to be a bloody dumbell, but thats been changed to a freeflow (minus M6 East to outer bypass west which wasnt needed anyway).

Interesting - got a map/diagram?

Nath

Chris_533976 wrote: »

I wouldnt believe the Advertiser at all, they probably just cut and pasted half of the latest newsletter and gumpf off the NRA website. They are known for apalling journalism and they probably didnt investigate anything at all.

You may be right, I did consider that they may have just lifted information from the usual information sources.

But I think there is enough new information to warrant posting, e.g. the increase of on site crew increasing from 600 to 900 and the 45 toll booth jobs, to give them the benefit of the doubt that they may have been given the correct official opening date.

Chris_533976

spacetweek wrote: »

Interesting - got a map/diagram?

Here we go ->

Old plan -



New plan -





Assumes the bypass will be built at all, with all the councilors moaning and whinging about it.

serfboard

Nath wrote: »

I think there is enough new information to warrant posting, e.g. the increase of on site crew increasing from 600 to 900 and the 45 toll booth jobs, to give them the benefit of the doubt that they may have been given the correct official opening date.

Site crew increased by 50% and working hours (as evidenced by many boardsers) increased by X% (OK, I obviously don't have a number), including weekend work, has to bring forward the opening date by many months.

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Assumes the bypass will be built at all, with all the councilors moaning and whinging about it.

... + recession + the programme for government currently being re-negotiated by the greens to switch spending to public transport and against road schemes = not much chance, really.

Chris_533976

That said, the NRA today released four new route selections for the western half of the GCOB (avoiding the bog cotton). They arent public yet AFAIK.

Ruling on the eastern half of the bypass in the courts sometime this month.

Carawaystick

Went through Balinasloe yesterday.
The new M6 junction is surfaced with Tar and Chips :rolleyes:
There's still loads of loose chippings flying around.
How is this allowed?

kaizersoze

Carawaystick wrote: »

Went through Balinasloe yesterday.
The new M6 junction is surfaced with Tar and Chips :rolleyes:
There's still loads of loose chippings flying around.
How is this allowed?

Aye. Couldn't believe they did that to a beautiful new asphalt surface.
It's just the tie-in and RAB though so presumably it was done to match the existing road surface.

flazio

Maybe this is a little off topic but does anyone know what way westbound traffic had to go today? I know eastbound did the usual (and this year last) tour of Ballyforan to get to Athlone to join the motorway but where did westbound go when they got off the motorway? I saw diversions signs around Poolboy and Beechlawn, surely all the Galway bound traffic didn't go all the way to the new Aldi RAB before getting diverted?

kaizersoze

flazio wrote: »

Maybe this is a little off topic but does anyone know what way westbound traffic had to go today? I know eastbound did the usual (and this year last) tour of Ballyforan to get to Athlone to join the motorway but where did westbound go when they got off the motorway? I saw diversions signs around Poolboy and Beechlawn, surely all the Galway bound traffic didn't go all the way to the new Aldi RAB before getting diverted?

Westbound traffic is being diverted at the Creagh church junction. Turn right for Roscommon/Taughmaconnell. I don't know if you go the long way from there (via Dysart, Ballyforan) or the short way (via Ballygill).

EAFC_rdfl

kaizersoze wrote: »

Westbound traffic is being diverted at the Creagh church junction. Turn right for Roscommon/Taughmaconnell. I don't know if you go the long way from there (via Dysart, Ballyforan) or the short way (via Ballygill).

is it busy there this evening? trying to decide whether to go via taughmaconell from athlone when heading home shortly

Carawaystick

Westbound traffic was directed out by the hospital and then left along a boreen across the Suck to Ahascragh, yesterday

kaizersoze

The extisting Portumna road was permanently closed to traffic today and the J15 overbridge and link roads/RAB's at Mackney were opened to traffic. Still some work to be done on the new stretch though. The RAB on the Portumna has a stop/go in operation, some of the surface is temp and no verges or landscaping done.
The pedestrian footbridge still isn't complete so it's a bit hairy atm. Pedestrians have to walk the new bit, which is a 2 laner with no hard shoulder or public lighting.

Sponge Bob

Can you check to see what is going on around the Suck Bridge Kaizer , I was told that there is some problem working there because there are a pack of Greenland White Fronted Geese under or around the bridge .

The contractors must get some goose expert to remove them or something

The bridge is in or on the edge of a protected area and as you can see
"Deliberate scaring or disturbance of wildfowl" is prohibited at all times . They arrived there to winter in the past fortnight...... until April

?Cee?view

Oh God, could someone not bring a few dogs for a "walk" or soemthing

kaizersoze

No sign of a problem with works on the bridge Sponge. I was up there today. Heavy construction is basically finished there and things are virtually complete at river level. It's so advanced there now something like this wouldn't delay opening. They could come back and finish anything outstanding on the river bank.
I presume this is an annual migration for these birds. That would mean they were there this time last year when there was major work going on and the site looked like this.....



It didn't seem to bother the birds then.:p

antoobrien

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Can you check to see what is going on around the Suck Bridge Kaizer , I was told that there is some problem working there because there are a pack of Greenland White Fronted Geese under or around the bridge.

I'd say that someone was winding you up. Next time you meet them suggest they take a gallon of petrol to the protected area in Bearna, there's some cotton in the way of cutting turf :rolleyes:

Sponge Bob

antoobrien wrote: »

suggest they take a gallon of petrol to the protected area in Bearna, there's some cotton in the way of cutting turf :rolleyes:

That would be the dried up "Tick Lake" ...not a bog .

big b

Chris_533976 wrote: »

That said, the NRA today released four new route selections for the western half of the GCOB (avoiding the bog cotton). They arent public yet AFAIK.

I'd be extremely interested in hearing more about this, if anyone can help?

KevR

There was some information in this week's Sentinal about the 4 new route selections as far as I know.


A different issue but I passed the junction at Doughiska roughly 20 mins ago (00:15) and there was loads of men & machinery working onsite under floodlights

antoobrien

big b wrote: »

I'd be extremely interested in hearing more about this, if anyone can help?

Haven't seen any details but the good news is that the two court cases have been dismissed
http://www.galwaynews.ie/9122-second-high-court-challenge-city-outer-pass-dismissed
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1010/1224256343970.html

The bypass thread has more comments

KevR

I'm a bit disappointed with the free flow slip lanes at Doughiska - they're too short and a bit too tight. I presumed they were going to be long high speed slip lanes that you wouldn't need to slow down on but it looks like I was well wide of the mark.

I don't know why they didn't widen the N6 DC to 3 lanes from the Briarhill roundabout to the M6 junction - 1 lane would split off and be the free flow onto the M6 and the other 2 lanes would go into the roundabout.

Also, from the other direction (Galway Clinic roundabout) on the N6 DC they could have had one lane splitting off before the M6 roundabout and have it bend around the RAB and bypass it.

Or they could have just had a trumpet..

No imagination whatsoever with this junction, it's very disappointing. It must be costing a fortune to rip up a good chunk of the N6, resurface it, put in the roundabout, put in a new barrier and look after all the traffic management. Surely it could not have cost more to build 1 bridge over the N6 and do the earthwork for a trumpet. No extra land take and they wouldn't have had to rip up the N6.

serfboard

KevR wrote: »

Surely it could not have cost more to build 1 bridge over the N6 and do the earthwork for a trumpet. No extra land take and they wouldn't have had to rip up the N6.

But it must have cost more Kev, otherwise one would have imagined that they would have done it? Unless of course both options weren't priced (which I imagine is what you're saying)?

KevR

I am of course being sceptical here but, to be honest, I would not be surprised if they lacked the imagination to price a trumpet. Same goes for Rathmorrissey - they're just throwing in a roundabout because it's too much effort for them to look into doing something else instead.

kaizersoze

Progress from J14 East Ballinasloe to Aughrim....

Lookin East towards J14 (open to traffic, obviously ) from Tulrush local overbridge (open to traffic).



Looking West from same bridge at Suck bridge. Steel cables laid ot ready for installation of concrete barrier.



Suck Bridge looking East.



Looking East from J15 overbridge Mackney (open to traffic). Pedestrian footbridge and work to remove old Portumna road.



Looking West from J15 overbridge Mackney.



Local access underbridge at Mackney (open to traffic).

kaizersoze

Mainline looking East towards Mackney.



Looking East from Uraghry overbridge (open to traffic).



Looking Wast from Uraghry overbridge.



N6 Crossover overbridge. Pouring the deck today.



Looking East from Aughrim local overbridge (open to traffic).



Looking East from Aughrim local overbridge.

Tech3

kaizersoze wrote: »

Looking East from Uraghry overbridge (open to traffic).

Good pictures but what the hell is going on here? The concrete barrier is all zigzagged?

BluntGuy

tech2 wrote: »

Good pictures but what the hell is going on here? The concrete barrier is all zigzagged?

I think a second concrete barrier running concurrent to the "zig-zagged" one will be put here, since it passes under an overbridge.

kaizersoze

BluntGuy wrote: »

I think a second concrete barrier running concurrent to the "zig-zagged" one will be put here, since it passes under an overbridge.

Correct. You can see the groove cut into the road surfaceto receive the second part of the barrier.