M7/M8 motorway: is something up?

Amtmann

This road (also known as the Abbeyleix/Durrow Bypass) started construction in June 2007. Very little work seems to be underway these days however, and many parts of the site seem abandoned. I have heard rumours that many of the construction crew were let go, and that the road is unlikely to open in time (autumn 2010).

Does anyone posting here have more information?

sydthebeat

the whole construction was the abbeyleix, mountrath, durrow and cullohill by-pass..... where the m7 is to split at aghaboe and lead into the m8 to cork and m7 to limerick.

the cullohill by-pass was finished, i think, 10 months in advance.

i dont know of any stoppage, and i would be extremely surprised as now only abbeyleix and durrow are the only towns you past through between dublin and cork...

Amtmann

sydthebeat wrote: »

the whole construction was the abbeyleix, mountrath, durrow and cullohill by-pass..... where the m7 is to split at aghaboe and lead into the m8 to cork and m7 to limerick.

the cullohill by-pass was finished, i think, 10 months in advance.

i dont know of any stoppage, and i would be extremely surprised as now only abbeyleix and durrow are the only towns you past through between dublin and cork...

No. Cullahill has not yet been bypassed, and a multitude of photographs taken at various points along the entire scheme reveal that work has practically ground to a halt.

So again, does anyone actually know what's going on there?

sydthebeat

you cant lay tar during cold frosty weather....

overtime has stopped and daywork is now 8 - 5

they were ahead of schedule so perhaps they are slowing up until better weather comes along??

Amtmann

sydthebeat wrote: »

you cant lay tar during cold frosty weather....

The M8 Mitchelstown to Fermoy scheme is roaring ahead. Major works have been done this winter. Just today, over 2km of asphalt has been laid.

overtime has stopped and daywork is now 8 - 5

Where are you getting this info? I know of one person near the scheme who's said that last week no work took place along his land, which is near where the toll plaza is to be.

they were ahead of schedule so perhaps they are slowing up until better weather comes along??

Don't think so. The weather hasn't impeded work on most other schemes in the country, so this one shouldn't be any different. Overbridges that were due to be open weeks/months ago are languishing in a skeletal state, unchanged since last November. I visited areas of the site last October and took photos, and I visited it again last weekend and believe me, in a lot of cases - the majority of the scheme - no work whatsoever has been done.

Something is wrong. CRG may be after running out of cash.

Amtmann

For pictures, I refer people to these posts from Commuting and Transport (my usual haunt): http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58963876&postcount=129

and here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58950727&postcount=118

roosterman71

They are still working around the Borris in Ossory area as far as I know.

Last year on the M4 Moate by-pass, work ground to halt after Christmas, but this was due to many foreign national wokers not coming back after Christmas

Amtmann

I see...still, the Moate road (the N6) ultimately opened well ahead of schedule. CRG have admitted to being behind target. And let me tell you there isn't a hope in hell of the M7/M8 scheme opening ahead of schedule. I also heard a rumour that they have let go 200 of the construction crew.

But, there may be some hope: CRG are also building the Waterford City Bypass, and in this case they actually are ahead of schedule. When that scheme finishes next autumn, it would be my hope that CRG will transfer its Waterford crew to Laois. Q3 2010 is still achievable, but only if they pick up the pace now. Sadly, work is slowing rather than speeding up.

moose112

Have they really that much left to do?

I do a lot of work in that part of the country and all the bridges are finished from what i can see apart from one or two.

Remember they had to contend with serious flooding last year river nore broke its banks a few times.

From what i am hearing it is to be finished by christmas.

On the other hand if the guys have no other work next year they
aint exactly going to be in a rush to work themselves out of a job

Amtmann

moose112 wrote: »

Have they really that much left to do?

I do a lot of work in that part of the country and all the bridges are finished from what i can see apart from one or two.

None of the overbridges are finished, and none of the roads they realign are fit to be surfaced yet I'm afraid.

Remember they had to contend with serious flooding last year river nore broke its banks a few times.

Fair enough, but not all sections of the scheme are along the Nore...yet work along every section of the route seems to be spectacularly unadvanced.

From what i am hearing it is to be finished by christmas.

That would be fantastic...where did you hear that? In reality though, that seems utterly impossible.

On the other hand if the guys have no other work next year they aint exactly going to be in a rush to work themselves out of a job

I can only point to the M8 Cashel to Cullahill and Mitchelstown to Fermoy projects, the M9 and M6 schemes, the Waterford Bypass, as well as the N18 Gort to Crusheen and the Limerick Tunnel works and say that all of these are proceeding at blinding speed, recession or not.

daisydo

Hi i live in Ballacolla, the reason that the work has stopped is they are no longer getting a bonus for having the work done ahead of schedule. The job is 7 months ahead and they have stopped work for a month. The construction of the structures, bridges etc is still ongoing.

Amtmann

daisydo wrote: »

Hi i live in Ballacolla, the reason that the work has stopped is they are no longer getting a bonus for having the work done ahead of schedule. The job is 7 months ahead and they have stopped work for a month. The construction of the structures, bridges etc is still ongoing.

Thanks for your information. When will the overbridges west of Ballacolla on the Roscrea road open? Who told you this?

Amtmann

From the Commuting and Transport forum:

Furet wrote: »

The M7 crossing the R434 road west of Durrow. This photo looks towards Limerick.



The M7 seen from the R434 west of Durrow looking towards Portlaoise.


The M8 seen from the R434 west of Durrow looking north.


The M8 looking south from the same position.


The M8 looking south, seen from a local road west of Cullahill village about 3km west of the present N8. Quality is poor, but if you look closely at the upper left hand side of the photo you can see the route for several kilometres.


The M8 looking north from the same position. This must be the "hard rock" section at Cullahill the last newsletter referred to. Not much sign of progress.

Not a jot of progress has been made at the first overbridge immediately north of the C-C scheme terminus. The bridge looks just as it did last November.

hi_sir

ye lads have no clue what it takes to build a road for starters you cant tar in frosty weather you cant do major muck shifts in wet weather and as some lad has said there is no bonous for early completiton and the goverment slow at making there payments to the contractors that leads to problems as these jobs are ran on tight budgets and some sections of jobs run on montly budgets so if the money used and the payment is slow at getting in some sections may have to stop
but the main problem is the weather

Amtmann

hi_sir wrote: »

ye lads have no clue what it takes to build a road for starters you cant tar in frosty weather you cant do major muck shifts in wet weather ... ...the main problem is the weather.

I suggest you look at this post in that case. Also, read this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055329059

Massive earthworks and pavement works conducted this winter, from the start of November right through to today.

As for the "muck shifts" (bulk earthworks?), I'd remind you that work on this scheme started in June 2007 - bulk earthworks should be finished, or substantially complete by now. Also, no overbridge open yet, not one.

And what about all the rumours?

hi_sir

firstly i was stating facts about weather and what you can and cant do in bad weather and i work on the m7 so i think i know what i am talking about,the job had to be closed for a week due to weather.and the tar boys wont lay tar unless its over 4 degres.
there no rumours but its gas to see yer speculation whats the big panic on geting the bridges on the side roads opened.
Furet get a hard hat on monday morn and come down to the compound in portlaoise and meet with head of earthworks and voice your concerns

Amtmann

hi_sir wrote: »

firstly i was stating facts about weather and what you can and cant do in bad weather

That's grand; just be aware that 50 miles south of the M7/M8 scheme in County Cork massive earthworks were done and tar has been laid on the M8 Mitchelstown to Fermoy Project this winter, and the same weather conditions have prevailed for the most part on both sites.

...i work on the m7 so i think i know what i am talking about,the job had to be closed for a week due to weather.and the tar boys wont lay tar unless its over 4 degres.

hi_sir, I'm delighted that you've chosen to participate in this thread, because we have no real information about the scheme and how it's progressing. I hope you'll stick around and post updates every so often to let us know how works are proceeding. Also, your post seems to imply that certain sections are actually ready to receive tar. Is this in fact the situation?

there no rumours but its gas to see yer speculation whats the big panic on geting the bridges on the side roads opened. Furet get a hard hat on monday morn and come down to the compound in portlaoise and meet with head of earthworks and voice your concerns

I have heard a few rumours - one has it that 200 workers were laid off. But even if that is wrong (and I hope it is), the speculation that you see on this thread and elsewhere is the result of very bad Public Relations management by CRG. The M7/M8 scheme is the only Transport 21 PPP project that does not have a dedicated, up-to-date website - unlike the Shannon Tunnel and Waterford Bypass works. In addition, the quarterly newsletters released by CRG for the M7/M8 scheme contain little detail; but one has referred to setbacks and delays. So you see, when in a time of recession works come to a stop on a massive construction site with no explanation given to the public whatsoever, of course people will speculate. It's up to the company to keep people informed. It's in CRG's interest to do so.

But anyway, as I said I'm glad you're here now to inform us of a few things. I wonder, could you give us an idea of when large-scale works will resume on the site?

Also:

1) Is the scheme currently ahead of schedule?
2) When will the overbridges be completed on the R434, N7 and just south of Cullahill on the M8 section?
3) In your estimation, when do you think they'll start laying the CBM?
4) If the Waterford Bypass is finished early, do you think CRG will transfer resources from Waterford to Laois?

Many thanks in advance. Cheers.

EDIT: I'm too far away to call into the compound on Monday, but a few weeks ago I did call to ask about a few overbridges. I was told someone would call me back; they never did.

hi_sir

i never herd anything about 200 going some lads went but then as structures finish the shutters are finished as drainage finishes etc those lads leave the job as there job is finished
the side roads have taring crews on them but dont expect them to be opened next week or anything even do a road is tared it wont be made live straight away alot more to be done be for its passed to open
why should the company have to inform the general public what it is doing or not doing at the end of the day they have a contract with the nra and a completion date so it should between then whats going on and the site may of stoped for few days but thats it and that was down to weather

Amtmann

Why should a company have to inform the general public about what it is doing or not doing...

I could be wrong about this, but as far as I know all PPP contractors have an obligation to provide quarterly newsletters. The NRA puts them all up here: http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/

The M7/M8 scheme has four newsletters up on that page, but if you compare them with the M4 or M8 Fermoy Bypass newsletters for example, you will see how lacking in detail CRG's letters have been for the Laois project.

Now, in relation to websites, CRG in Waterford have this fine site: http://www.waterfordcity.ie/n25bypass/index.htm while DirectRoute have a site here for the Shannon Tunnel: http://www.limericktunnel.com/index.html

So you see, it's a norm for a company to provide information to the public.

So hey_sir, do you think the project will open before Q3 2010 or after that date?

hi_sir

but a company if it does provide you with info who to its going right or fabracated
id say it ill be done for that date unless we will get a real poor summer

Amtmann

hi_sir wrote: »

but a company if it does provide you with info who to its going right or fabracated

That's where interested dilettantes like me come into it.

id say it ill be done for that date unless we will get a real poor summer

Cool. Can you post updates every so often? (Eg: overbridge openings, CBM laying, asphalt paving etc.)

hi_sir

will i get any overtime for posting:D

Amtmann

hi_sir wrote: »

will i get any overtime for posting:D

I think when the M8 is finished a few of us from Commuting and Transport will probably have a meet up and a few drinks to celebrate...you'd receive more than a few pints!

Danno

There were crews of workers on the overbridge south of Cullahill last Tuesday.

Wild Bill

M7/M8 scheme: M7 just west of the M8 junction

Wild Bill

M7 looking east 500m west of the divide with M8

Wild Bill

M8 looking north from the R433 overbridge.

Wild Bill

General observations: all the overbridges in this scheme appear to be completed and open to traffic (I crossed most of them while slaving for boardsie ) - the merge underpass of the M8 to M7 seems complete but my battery went dead just as I was warming up the camera - so only a few shots.

This scheme seems way more advanced than I'd imagined. :cool:

Wild Bill

And the R435 link from the new M7 to the current (old) N7 is complete and open but has a crap surface of the tar and chipping style on an otherwise beautiful formation. :mad:

roosterman71

Wild Bill wrote: »

And the R435 link from the new M7 to the current (old) N7 is complete and open but has a crap surface of the tar and chipping style on an otherwise beautiful formation. :mad:

I agree with that. Part of the route, near the roundabouts over the M7 has nice smooth tar, while the main stretch has what feels like gravel on the surface. Its a poor finish to an otherwise good job