M6 - Ballinasloe to Galway

KevR

Concrete barrier installed immediately to the East of the R348 crossover. Barrier stretches for a couple of kms, hard to see where it ends.

Carawaystick

the M6/N6 crossover at Aughrim
one shot looking west
and two of the N6 overbridge

Camera phone so it's not so clear.
there is tarmac road that stops about 150m east of the bridge, while looking west it's not promising.

kaizersoze

Thanks Chris.
Going west isn't as bad as it seems.



If you walked 200m west you'd have seen this....

Carawaystick

The overbridge looks wierd. It looks like there's only room for one lane over the M6 at the minute, like the detour didn't go west enough.

KevR

Carawaystick wrote: »

The overbridge looks wierd. It looks like there's only room for one lane over the M6 at the minute, like the detour didn't go west enough.

Was thinking the same myself.

Also, the bridge doesn't even look wide enough to take the 2nd carriageway of the M6 but I'm guessing they will chop off some of the embankment once the other abuttment is built.

serfboard

From AA Roadwatch

AA Roadwatch wrote:

Galway - Temporary traffic lights are in place at Glenascaul on the N18, Oranmore to Carnmore Rd until further notice.

Queues can be expected and drivers are asked to avoid this area if possible.

Went by it at the weekend - looks quite close to opening. I'd say, based on nothing at all except my own un-informed notions, that it'll be open by the end of the month.

OK, next month then, for defo.

KevR

Noticeable progress made down at the Doughiska end yesterday. First layer of blacktop was laid and they knocked the wall along by the existing Dual Carriageway.

I think we could get a surprise with how quickly things start coming together on this scheme. They seem to be making great progress lately and the scheme has a lot more 'shape' to it now than it did not very long ago.

serfboard

KevR wrote: »

Noticeable progress made down at the Doughiska end yesterday. First layer of blacktop was laid and they knocked the wall along by the existing Dual Carriageway.

I think we could get a surprise with how quickly things start coming together on this scheme. They seem to be making great progress lately and the scheme has a lot more 'shape' to it now than it did not very long ago.

Since my only view of this project is from the Galway end (N18 overbridge and Doughiska), which as expected, is only being progressed because of completion of other parts, they really do seem to be gunning for a 2009 opening as per the most recent Transport21 report.

Slightly OT, but I was thinking there lately, that, when the road opens, if, during the morning commute the Doughiska roundabout really starts packing up, then people will just exit at the N18 overbridge junction instead and go into Galway either via Carnmore cross, or via the current N6 from Oranmore, thus bypassing Doughiska.

I'm also wondering if it will be as big a problem as I initially thought. Since I don't imagine there will be much traffic coming out of Galway, then M6 traffic will have priority at that junction, and the two lanes will just go around the roundabout together (if illegally so).

Any thoughts?

KevR

It might not be a total nightmare unless/until the M17 & M18 is built and connected to the M6 at Rathmorrissey before the Galway Bypass is built. The extra traffic from the M17/18 will make things a lot worse at Doughiska.

At least there will be a left turning slip at Doughiska which City bound traffic can use for the R338 (Dublin Road) into town. Although we don't know how far back the slip lane will extend. Hopefully it will branch off quite a bit back and leave 2 lanes for the roundabout. If the slip lane branches off nearer the the roundabout then people wishing to use the slip will no doubt get stuck in the queue with people queuing for the roundabout.

Alternatively people (City bound) can get off at J19 and use the 'old' Dual Carriageway to get onto the R338.
Or they could exit at J19 and use the R339 for Ballybrit/Parkmore Industrial Estates.

Ideally there would be inductive loops in the road a certain distance from the roundabout and when a queue for the roundabout reaches as far back as these loops, a permanent VMS on the Westbound carriageway before J19 would advise people to use the alternative routes I mentioned above.

Chris_533976

Unforunately, the M17/18 will be done before the bypass. If things go well (as planned... dont ask if they will ), then the M17/18 will be under construction in Autumn 2010. The bypass is still in the courts, and if its allowed, it'll be 18 months from it coming out of court to the PPP contract being signed.

BluntGuy

KevR wrote: »

...a permanent VMS on the Westbound carriageway before J19 would advise people to use the alternative routes I mentioned above.

Just thinking, a little off-topic, but will VMS systems be rolled out on the other inter-urban routes? They would be very useful - especially approaching the ends of the MIUs - Dunkettle, Grannagh etc.

L1011

The NRA doesn't seem overly interested in them - they're only finally being put on the cantilevers provided for them on the M50 phase 1 upgrade now! Some of their extant ones are in random enough places (N25 Wexford BP for instance)

http://www.nratraffic.ie/vms/default.asp - yes, the ones at the top of the list are in the North!

Nath

Progress is coming along pretty fast in the last few days alright, really starting to take shape at Doughiska.

Encouraging to see them working late there tonight, here are some pics of the Doughiska junction taken around 8:30pm tonight.

Apologies for the poor picture quality, they were taken from a camera phone and it was getting dark.

Fozzie Bear

Nath wrote: »

Progress is coming along pretty fast in the last few days alright, really starting to take shape at Doughiska.

Encouraging to see them working late there tonight, here are some pics of the Doughiska junction taken around 8:30pm tonight.

Yup I was driving out of Galway last night around 11pm and they were still going. Really good to see them pushing on like this. Will be fun when they finally start work on the actual roundabout. Traffic nightmare.....

serfboard

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

Yup I was driving out of Galway last night around 11pm and they were still going.

Echoes my comments earlier about a 2009 opening for this road. I'd imagine that the financiers behind this project are lobbing a bit of extra cash at it to get this "non-performing" asset to perform - i.e. to bring forward the opening date so they can start getting the tolls in and start paying back some of the money they borrowed to build it.

boardswalker

Hi,
I have been following this thread lately and getting worried about the talk that the road will not open til well into 2010.
I met a friend recently who works for one of the subbies and he said they are well behind - they encountered unplanned difficulties etc. He said that even when it looks finished that there's a lot of testing and approving to be done.
On the other hand, the nra/contractor is still showing a jan 4 date and in the recent past they have always beaten this comfortably.
Will they open it in stages? Does the Ballinasloe-Galway stage open all together or could they open Ballinasloe to Athenry and then Athenry- Galway or some other variant.

Chris_533976

Because this section goes way offline (nowhere near the current N6), any sectional opening other than the Ballinasloe bypass (one junction) would be more trouble than its worth. I cant see them doing even that unless the current bridge in Ballinasloe collapses completely.

JupiterKid

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Because this section goes way offline (nowhere near the current N6), any sectional opening other than the Ballinasloe bypass (one junction) would be more trouble than its worth. I cant see them doing even that unless the current bridge in Ballinasloe collapses completely.

And that's quite possible given the state of many bridges in this sloppy, corrupt little country.:mad:

Sponge Bob

Somebody ought to press release the "imminent collapse" of the Ballinasloe N6 bridge to all the regional media in Galway Roscommon Westmeath as a matter of urgency . This is how Brian Guckian gets the publicity he craves simply by catching regional media on slow news days .

Its the only way to get the Ballinsaloe Bypass open for christmas and the rest of it can wait TBH ....IMO that is . I cannot bear driving past Portiuncula and the retards that park there any more . Bloody awful

Galway Advertiser/ G Independent / Tuam Herald / Trib Group / Connacht Telegraph / Mayo News / Western People / Roscommon Champion / Athlone Observer and Westmeath Independent all have pages they must fill at this time of year

L1011

We've got exactly the right weekend to push "imminent collapse" and all... get writing!

Sponge Bob

Somebody with a B.E after their name please , ta

Invite every county councillor ( and the NRA) PUBLICALLY to meet you on the bridge on Friday next at 2PM for a full report on the implications , make a right circus of it .

Jim Fahy loves these stories as do Keith Finnegan and TG4 , forgot about them .

Chris_533976

I know the contractors dont HAVE to open it early but it really would be common sense and the kind thing to do. Its silly that the motorway stops just before Ballinasloe, if I were in charge I'd have had the Ballinasloe bypass bit ready to go when Athlone - Ballinasloe opened. It really is a bit selfish (and silly) not to push on this section, not just for motorists but for the people of Ballinasloe too.

Delta Kilo

The reason they stopped short of Ballinasloe is because they wanted the suck bridge to be part of the PPP scheme. Its not selfish of them not to open it now. Why should they burst their bollocks trying to get a few ks done just to give people a FREE bypass of Ballinasloe and highlight the route to take to avoid the toll. It is, after all, the contractors who are going to be getting the money from the toll.

Its been debated before, the Ballinasloe Town Council held meetings with the contractors to get the bit around Ballinasloe finished, and they were refused. It is not going to happen.

If you want to speed up the progress, have a campaign to keep the farmers quiet. Every 2 months they are out barricading machinery until they get a new brown envelope. Put a stop to that, then we will see progress.

L1011

Pisser Dignam wrote: »

Becaue they are your fellow countrymen?

This country's problems in a nutshell. :mad:

We're not Spanish.




(the group building that scheme are Sacyr, who are from Spain).

Pisser Dignam

Delta Kilo wrote: »

Why should they burst their bollocks trying to get a few ks done just to give people a FREE bypass of Ballinasloe and highlight the route to take to avoid the toll.

Because they are your fellow countrymen?

This country's problems in a nutshell.

Pisser Dignam

MYOB wrote: »

We're not Spanish.




(the group building that scheme are Sacyr, who are from Spain).

Ah. Well, fellow Europeans then

Nath

Some more pictures of the Doughiska junction taken this evening around 7pm.

boardswalker

Actually, I've just seen that the latest Transport 21 Newsletter included the following statement -

"Over the next few months the motorway programme will continue to deliver new modern roadway across the entire country. By the end of 2009 Kilcullen to Carlow on the N9 will open as well as the Waterford bypass on the N25, N7 Nenagh to Limerick, N9 Waterford to Knocktopher and N6 Galway to Ballinasloe."

It seems to have been issued on 10 August.

nordydan

Ignore if its been mentioned, but the up to date google maps has the very western section of the route under construction:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=53.283998,-8.931713&spn=0.046798,0.110378&t=h&z=13

KevR

I would guess that those images were probably taken a year or so ago, judging by the lack of any bridge structure on the 'Galway Airport' road as it's marked on that map. I think the road name should be 'Garraun North' but I could be wrong.