The Road Scheme Commemorative Plaque Thread

spacetweek

Furet wrote: »

Timely. And before the yoke even opens! I'm impressed!

spacetweek

I'm wondering if people reading this thread can help. I have a site on Irish road and motorway development but it's sometimes hard to get detailed info on older schemes, particularly the opening date.

Does anyone have access to the plaques for the following schemes. I only have the year but I need the exact date:

M7 Naas Bypass 1983 (oldest in the country)
M1 Whitehall-Airport 1985
N11 Newtownmountkennedy BP 1990
N4 Mullingar Bypass 1994
M1 Balbriggan Bypass 1998
N4 Sligo-Collooney 1998

L1011

This being brought up again reminds me I've still not got the N6 ones. I'll try tomorrow, really...

Also have found the locations of four more - two are going to need to be done early on a weekend morning to avoid being killed or the boys in blue stopping me and two will need me to park up somewhere and walk to it. M7 Portlaoise, M1 Airport-Balbriggan, N4 Palmerstown BP and the Belgard Road.

Tech3

I spotted the Ennis bypass plaque a few days ago while driving the N18, will post it up when Im covering the G-C scheme in the next week or two.

L1011

spacetweek wrote: »

I'm wondering if people reading this thread can help. I have a site on Irish road and motorway development but it's sometimes hard to get detailed info on older schemes, particularly the opening date.

Does anyone have access to the plaques for the following schemes. I only have the year but I need the exact date:

M7 Naas Bypass 1983 (oldest in the country)
M1 Whitehall-Airport 1985
N11 Newtownmountkennedy BP 1990
N4 Mullingar Bypass 1994
M1 Balbriggan Bypass 1998
N4 Sligo-Collooney 1998

This was built in two stages, Whitehall/Santry Bypass and Santry Bypass-Airport; the plaque for stage 1 is just beyond the first overpass on what is now the N1 after the tunnel was built. Dunno of the one for the second one, sorry.

KevR

N18/N19 plaque near Shannon Airport:

Click thumbnail for full size image.

A bit overgrown. If I wasn't wearing shorts at the time I would have stamped down some of the nettles before taking the picture..

Amtmann

Thanks Kev. Nice uploads to wikipedia by the way.

Chris_533976

That N19 one is quite nice. A little different anyway.

TBH a lot of them look like gravestones.

Edit: Although a gravestone with "Transport 21" written on it is quite apt

mobius42

Chris_533976 wrote: »

That N19 one is quite nice. A little different anyway.

TBH a lot of them look like gravestones.

Edit: Although a gravestone with "Transport 21" written on it is quite apt

Honestly, most of them are headstones!:)

L1011

Is the N19 one the only one fully in Irish around?

Saw the Carlow Bypass one today and also blasted past a plaque on a bridge which I could read "carlow county council" on - I think its for the 1980s S2 Leighlinbridge Bypass. Need to actually pass these when I'm not at work in a tracker'ed van!

Tech3

MYOB wrote: »

Is the N19 one the only one fully in Irish around?

The Ennis bypass has English on one plaque and Irish on another plaque beside it. Its got the usual big transport 21 sign on it aswell.

L1011

Got one today, N11 Arklow Bypass.



I never realised it was done that long ago!

Tech3

Judgement Day

Is there a point to this thread? I have come across train spotters, bird twitchers but bypass plaque enthusiasts - I mean come on lads! Most of these plaques bearing the names of political 'has-beens'/'never weres' are not even of scrap value. I hope the ethnic community get around to recycling the bronze ones so that at least somebody will gain from this waste of public money.

Amtmann

I started the thread in order to enable those of us with an interest in road history to put a date on various scheme openings.
That is the purpose (at least for me, anyway).

spacetweek

Judgement Day wrote: »

Is there a point to this thread? I have come across train spotters, bird twitchers but bypass plaque enthusiasts - I mean come on lads! Most of these plaques bearing the names of political 'has-beens'/'never weres' are not even of scrap value. I hope the ethnic community get around to recycling the bronze ones so that at least somebody will gain from this waste of public money.

Don't pay any attention to the politicians. We're all aware of what the gov is like. This is about historical records - the plaque is the most reliable source of info on the opening date of a road, as other sources are often wrong or unobtainable.

spacetweek

MYOB wrote: »

This was built in two stages, Whitehall/Santry Bypass and Santry Bypass-Airport; the plaque for stage 1 is just beyond the first overpass on what is now the N1 after the tunnel was built. Dunno of the one for the second one, sorry.

Thanks; I actually knew that, but don't have full info.

I believe from reading forums that the sequence was:
1982 Whitehall-Santry. Open to traffic, but no motorway restrictions.
1985 Santry-Airport opened; motorway restrictions applied to whole lot.

I presume the original plaque, if one existed, has been moved now with the Port Tunnel works. Anyone know?

L1011

I didn't get to see the date (or even much of the inscription) on the plaque that I saw, but its sited along what was the original Whitehall section so could be the original one. Theres the single overbridge south of the tunnel and its under it, northbound side.

L1011

One for one of our shorter lifespan projects:



14 years before it itself gets bypassed.

L1011

Rake of them for you today! Nice sunny day with no time pressure and clear h/s near all of them... and I got *one* of the M6 ones you wanted Furet! Didn't pass the other unfortunately

Amtmann

Cheers MYOB!

L1011

The newest one in the state, until two weeks from now anyway!



Picture isn't the best as it was damp and murky and on a cameraphone (so have all my previous ones, mind) but I think its legible anyway...

L1011

This is a stranger one, there's no date and no real indication what scheme its from. Its the bridge on the Leighlinbridge Bypass, basically the core structure of the bypass.



As an aside, do any PPP schemes get plaques? I did a search for the N4 toll one at the likely locations (off the junctions) and theres none, theres also none on the mainline.

I've also noticed that council schemes (regional roads) get ignored - the R449 which was built a few years ago includes a stretch of dual carriageway, lots of single carriageway, new roundabouts, a motorway interchange... no plaque. Compare to the 5km realignment on the N52 above!

Amtmann

The Fermoy Bypass PPP has one at the toll plaza just beside the offices. That's a strange one you photographed above alright. Looks like it could be from several decades ago.

L1011

Its 1980s, I'm sure. (W)S2 bypass done a very long time ago, I can't remember it not being there.

I wonder were the three Doyle builders related to the Doyle engineer!

Amtmann

Probably a well connected local dynasty!

Roryhy

I could have sworn that the Leighlin bypass was under construction in the early to mid 90s when i was travelling to a table quiz with my school. Can't find any reference to it in google

L1011

Well, it was built by the County Council and not the NRA. NRA was founded in 1994, not sure when they took over road building though. So it could be early 1990s anyway.

Roryhy

I was wrong, it was opened in 1986

L1011

Was pissing rain all day today it seemed but I've located three more I should be able to get pics of shortly - the N4 Longford Bypass (classic, two uncoloured carved stone plaques - Irish and English), N4 Edgeworthstown IRR and N4 Dromod/Roosky BP (both standard T21 stones).

Some summer sunday morning I need to get extremely bored and go photograph all the ones that are on the mainline of motorways or otherwise behind clearways (M1 Phase 1, M1 Airport-Balbriggan, M1 Balbriggan BP, M8 Portlaoise BP, N28 Ballincollig BP). I'm not enough of a roadgeek (yet) to risk getting nicked for stopping for them!