M6/4 Motorway Galway to Dublin (for discussing completed sections)

Sponge Bob

EAFC_rdfl wrote: »

Coming towards Athlone this morning from Galway direction, about a km or 2 before the monksland exit there was a young deer standing on the grass just off the hard shoulder.

There does be a big sign with a picture of a deer on it some 2 -3 km west of that point

JupiterKid

I drove to Mullingar from Dublin and back yesterday and on the section of M4 between the services outside Enfield and the Kinnegad M4/M6 junction I thought that my tyre pressure might be low as there was a low rumbling sound from the road but later on it seemed fine.

Is there a problem with the surface of the section of M4 I wonder?

JupiterKid

JupiterKid wrote: »

I drove to Mullingar from Dublin and back yesterday and on the section of M4 between the services outside Enfield and the Kinnegad M4/M6 junction I thought that my tyre pressure might be low as there was a low rumbling sound from the road but later on it seemed fine.

Is there a problem with the surface of the section of M4 I wonder?

It's always been like along there, it's as if the surface is quite pitted in the same way as it would be if many of the stones in the surface broke away after laying.

I believe that the contractors had to relay sections of it weeks after opening.

funnyname

Cats eyes are very poor from the Tullamore exit to Kilcock (both directions), any chance these will be improved in the near future?

L1011

Much of the M4 westbound is patched due to the same surfacing problems

Its not our (taxpayers) issue, its Eurolinks as they need to return the road in a servicable condition to the NRA when their contract expires; but the NRA should probably be pushing Eurolink to do the repairs required now.

Aidan1

As far as I was aware, all of those PPP contracts had two requirements stitched in, one being that the road being maintained in a serviceable condition, and the other being that it be entirely resurfaced prior to being handed back to the State.

KevR

M4 toll gone up to €2.80

M6 toll seems to still be €1.80

antoobrien

KevR wrote: »

M6 toll seems to still be €1.80

It was announced that the car toll wouldn't be going up here (can't find a link tho)

KevR

Had to take the R446 to Loughrea and then get back on the motorway there yesterday because the M6 was shut.

Galway Advertiser wrote:

M6 Galway/Dublin Rd has reopened eastbound between J19 Oranmore and J17 Athenry — the road was closed and several were injured in the multi-vehicle incident which occurred when a boat left its trailer and careered across the road into a wall.

Sounds like a messy/nasty smash! Hope everyone is ok.

KevR

Galway News wrote:

TWO HOSPITALISED FOLLOWING M6 COLLISION

May 28, 2012 - 8:14am
Two people were taken to hospital last evening [May 27] following a multi vehicle collision between Athenry and Oranmore.

Four units of the fire brigade attended the crash just before 4 last evening on the M6 eastbound.

It's understood the incident involved a boat being towed by a car which later became loose.

The incident led to serious traffic delays and all roads have since been reopened.

Both of the hospitalised were treated for non life threatening injuries.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/26013-two-hospitalised-following-m6-collission


Apparently a queue almost a mile long quickly developed.

Irish and Proud

Just drove the entire M6 to Galway - it's some road. Some of it is so smooth it's like gliding. Pity about the weather though.

mayo23

Traveling westbound through the M6 toll at Ballinasloe a few days ago, I was offered a leaflet about how to drive on a motorway. It was made by the RSA. Anyone else get this? I thought it was a bit unusual.

KevR

During the closure, what exactly did they do to the Westbound carriageway between Athlone and Ballinasloe? I didn't see anything when I drove it at the weekend apart from a very small resurfaced patch.

my understanding is that they installed an additional drainpipe from the central reservation.

L1011

There appears to be some plans afoot to re-do the Maynooth junction (seriously underpowered for its size, it was a bog standard diamond but is now a mutant). Local Labour news had some reference to NRA plans to put a new junction for the town on another road, and there's also a thread over in the Kildare forum on it:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81907089#post81907089

Chris_5339762

Needs to be D3 to Maynooth anyway. Re-do the junction then to add some freeflow to it.

L1011

Slightly constrained site. One side would be massively disruptive to a long established business (Barretts/Triton) but could be done with some appropriate CPOing and replacement land, the other two sides that haven't been mutated yet are just yards and replacement land would be easy.

Sponge Bob

Roll it in with D3 from the Spa Hotel to wherever it ends ...either at the existing junction or a new junction and a partial west ring road of Maynooth north to the Moyglare road.

funnyname

The cats eyes on the section from Dublin to Athlone need to be replaced as it beginning to become a hazard to drive on that part of the motorway during the hours of darkness.

Also how come the junction at Athenry is not lit, you don't see the exit until the last second.

Also while I'm here there is a very poor section eastbound on the outside lane just before the 3rd bridge before the Kilbeggan/Tullamore exit, it's a rollercoaster of a dip and I wouldn't like to be on a motorbike going over it.

KevR

Definitely in favour of the M4 being widened to Maynooth (if not Kilcock). There should be enough room for wide lanes and the sightlines should be good enough for 120kmh running

KevR

KevR wrote: »

Definitely in favour of the M4 being widened to Maynooth (if not Kilcock). There should be enough room for wide lanes and the sightlines should be good enough for 120kmh running

By the looks of it, that section of motorway was designed to have three lanes each way when it was built. Just like most of the earlier motorways, all they need to do is remove the hedge in the central median and build the third lanes, just like on the M1 north of dublin.

Carawaystick

There's 2 big sheds being built at the Moate East junction, like warehouse buildings, seem way too big for agricultural buildings

On the Athlone side of the lonk road from m6 to old n6

I don't know what's being built there but hardly good planning building on motorway access routes

KevR

The steel central barrier between Athlone and Ballinasloe is damaged in a number of locations. Some of the spots have been damaged for quite a while - they don't seem to be in any hurry to do repairs.

One can only assume that barrier strength has been compromised and the potential for a crossover incident would be greater at the damaged locations in the event of a new collision.

buzz11

I recently noticed that on the M6 from Ballinasloe to Galway (could be longer distance, I only noticed this stretch), the rumble strips are completely absent on both sides i.e. yellow hard shoulder and rhs white continuous line

Why has this been omitted and is it not an essential part of a motorway construction?

antoobrien

buzz11 wrote: »

I recently noticed that on the M6 from Ballinasloe to Galway (could be longer distance, I only noticed this stretch), the rumble strips are completely absent on both sides i.e. yellow hard shoulder and rhs white continuous line

Why has this been omitted and is it not an essential part of a motorway construction?

This question belongs in the M6/4 Motorway Galway to Dublin (for discussing completed sections) thread but they haven't been omitted, if you drive over the lines you'll know it fairly lively, though in parts they may have been worn away.

buzz11

antoobrien wrote: »

they haven't been omitted, if you drive over the lines you'll know it fairly lively, though in parts they may have been worn away.

You are wrong. The rumble strips end/start at junction 14 which is where the Galway Ballinasloe PPP motorway section was built separate to the other parts, they have left them out.
The outer yellow and white lines are paint only, no rumble strips (but reflective eyes are in place) They aren't worn and you won't know when you've driven over the lines (except noise from reflective eyes)

Watch for it the next time you drive that section, you'll see what I mean.

antoobrien

buzz11 wrote: »

You are wrong. The rumble strips end/start at junction 14 which is where the Galway Ballinasloe PPP motorway section was built separate to the other parts, they have left them out.
The outer yellow and white lines are paint only, no rumble strips (but reflective eyes are in place) They aren't worn and you won't know when you've driven over the lines (except noise from reflective eyes)

Watch for it the next time you drive that section, you'll see what I mean.

I drove that section for 2 years every couple of weeks, I know what I'm on about. If you drive over the yellow lines, you know about it.

KevR

The emergency lane yellow line and median white line between Galway and Ballinasloe have been rumble-strip-free since day one.

Not sure why they were omitted, it's a good safety feature.

EAFC_rdfl

buzz11 wrote: »

You are wrong. The rumble strips end/start at junction 14 which is where the Galway Ballinasloe PPP motorway section was built separate to the other parts, they have left them out.
The outer yellow and white lines are paint only, no rumble strips (but reflective eyes are in place) They aren't worn and you won't know when you've driven over the lines (except noise from reflective eyes)

Watch for it the next time you drive that section, you'll see what I mean.

antoobrien wrote: »

I drove that section for 2 years every couple of weeks, I know what I'm on about. If you drive over the yellow lines, you know about it.

KevR wrote: »

The emergency lane yellow line and median white line between Galway and Ballinasloe have been rumble-strip-free since day one.

Not sure why they were omitted, it's a good safety feature.

Yip I use it every day and there has never been any rumble strip on the PPP part of the M6 (from between the 2 Ballinasloe exits down to Galway). We can't be right all of the time Anto

NetDabbler

Carawaystick wrote: »

There's 2 big sheds being built at the Moate East junction, like warehouse buildings, seem way too big for agricultural buildings

On the Athlone side of the lonk road from m6 to old n6

I don't know what's being built there but hardly good planning building on motorway access routes

This is the NRA Depot and it's at junction 7, Moate (West).