Disgusting Dooradoyle Flyover

Eric Gas

The new tunnel, and road networks around Limerick are brilliant, and I am thankful for them. But the state of the flyover in Dooradoyle, just next to the Crescent Sopping centre is a disgrace!! A steep hump of a road, with large horrible metal walls along the footpaths. A few years ago, this area had a river running through it, visible from the road. There was a nice green area, with a bench and trees. The surrounding walls were a nice stone. When the flyover was completed, I assumed the awful metal walls at each side were temporary. Are they actually a permanent feature? They could have put in see-through railings (like the Shannon Bridge) or built a nice stone wall, added some flower baskets, or nice street lamps. So many people use this road, to get to the Crescent from town, or passing by, on their way to the county. It's a pity the building contractor was allowed to go ahead with such a disgusting, cheap, tacky project. The sight of this flyover annoys me as a motorist, I feel so sorry for the Ballykeefe/SCR residents who have to wake up to it every morning. Is there anything that can be done about this? Who is responsible, the County council, the City Corporation? I need to direct my anger at those responsible, has anyone any suggestions?

Berty

The metal walls are built back from the actual parapet to keep people / scumbags from being able to judge where traffic is thereby dropping things / throwing things on top of them as they pass.

Bill Cosby

Looks terrible alright. Those houses in ballykeefe must have been compensated because theres no doubt it devalued their property.

Raiser

Berty wrote: »

The metal walls are built back from the actual parapet to keep people / scumbags from being able to judge where traffic is thereby dropping things / throwing things on top of them as they pass.

It does actually happen that Motorists travelling at 80kph get a cement block through their windscreen - I witnessed Scum throwing debris off one of the Annacotty to Carew Park Rd. Flyovers a few years back.

- The Bridge is ugly mainly because of all the Scum bobbing about in the green slime of our Gene Pool.......

notahope

no houses in ballykeefe received any compensation !

oh well

surely theres a more picturesque way of building a bridge wall/railing and still maintain the safety of traffic passing underneath. I too thought the metal barricades was a temperory feature and wondered when they'd ever get around to finishing the bridge off. What a lovely welcome to the County from the City side - really time these two bodies were almalgamated and worked together for the benefit of the whole area.

ClutchIt

Pics?

Itsdacraic

ClutchIt wrote: »

Pics?

Raiser

notahope wrote: »

no houses in ballykeefe received any compensation !

Stan the Photos Man on this Forum went down there and came back with two cracked lenses

Eric Gas

Berty wrote: »

The metal walls are built back from the actual parapet to keep people / scumbags from being able to judge where traffic is thereby dropping things / throwing things on top of them as they pass.

I do a lot of driving, all over the country, and I've never seen a flyover like this. Any flyover I've seen has railings running along the footpath. If the authorities are worried about people throwing things over onto passing traffic beneath, they should have constructed high railings, or a large stone wall, not a horrible sheet metal wall. No thought what so ever went into the construction of this. It was the cheapest, quickest option, and now the people of Raheen/Dooradoyle, and all of Co. Limerick are stuck with this horrible sight!

steveon

I agree its once again no taught whatsoever has gone into this bridge which is extremely ugly and replace as already stated a scenic route into Limerick. Something should be done about it and if they were worried about people throwing bricks off it then a tunnel should have been build and the original road left alone which in my opinion should have been done in the first place.

cyberspi

personally I prefer safety to aesthetics. People give out about money wastage, the money isn't there for stone walls and such, if its the choice of a bridge looking well or another road being finished I'll take everything being completed thank you very much.. they can always go back and make things look better when all the jobs in progress get completed and there is money left over..

rubensni

The only way anything will be done will be if someone who lives in the area gets onto the Post or Leader. The County Council poured money into the area when they moved the County Hall out there a few years back relaying footpaths, new roadway, etc. only to give this monstrosity planning permission. No joined up thinking, is there!

rubensni

cyberspi wrote: »

personally I prefer safety to aesthetics. People give out about money wastage, the money isn't there for stone walls and such, if its the choice of a bridge looking well or another road being finished I'll take everything being completed thank you very much.. they can always go back and make things look better when all the jobs in progress get completed and there is money left over..

This is a toll road. We're going to be paying for this for 40 years so we shouldn't have to look at an eyesore just because some private company wanted to save a few bob.

cyberspi

rubensni wrote: »

The County Council poured money into the area when they moved the County Hall out there a few years back relaying footpaths, new roadway, etc. only to give this monstrosity planning permission. No joined up thinking, is there!

there was a lot more money available a few years back.

I am unaware of any plans for that bridge to be tolled?

rubensni

cyberspi wrote: »

I am unaware of any plans for that bridge to be tolled?

Cyberspi, your weak attempt at a joke undermines your credibility. The tunnel/LSRR phase 2 is a concession PPP which is being funded by tolls on the tunnel. Frankly, if the contractors are cutting costs on the parts of the project we can see, I'd fear for the quality of work in the tunnel which is out of our sights.

Tech3

The overbridge is actually impressive looking at it from the mainline of the new road. Safety comes first the look of the bridge second IMO.

mysterious

What can be done to improve the bridge

Planting flower baskets maybe?

Trees either side.

Come on people look for a solution and stop the bloody moaning. It's not like they can dimantle the bridge. This irish mental block on everything with a problem has got to stop ffs.

Like seriously.

cyberspi

wheres the joke? am I going to be charged to go from town to the crescent via the bridge? also, you're missing a crucial word - partially, as in partially funded, PPP stands for Public Private Partnership, as I'm sure you are already aware. The council/NRA/Government/EU have to fund a set percentage, what would you like the council to cut from their road budget in order to pay for the beautifying of the bridge? the repair of pot holes? the gritting of roads? the money isn't there to do everything, LCC has a defined budget set by central government and the money needs to be spent on necessity above aesthetics!

Mc Love

Edited as CyberSpy was being sarcastic (rolls eyes to heaven)

cyberspi

sorry Mclove, that was my feeble attempt at sarcasm, have edited the post at the same time as you made yours..

Mc Love

Smileys might have helped your sarcasm, me thinks

cyberspi

I'll bare that in mind

rubensni

mysterious wrote: »

What can be done to improve the bridge

Planting flower baskets maybe?

Trees either side.

Come on people look for a solution and stop the bloody moaning. It's not like they can dimantle the bridge. This irish mental block on everything with a problem has got to stop ffs.

I think a limestone/granite cladding would blend in with the character of the area and wouldn't be too expensive. In a recession it wouldn't be too expensive to put up a stone wall (labour tends to be the most expensive cost, but there's plenty of unemployed masons around).

The fact is the Council have €110,000 to erect new art alongside this very roadway. (http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0831/1224253511751.html) I would suggest that money would be better spent on helping beautify that bridge.

cyberspi

unfortunately that money is an arts grant and can only be spent on such..

MissHoneyBun

tech2 wrote: »

Safety comes first the look of the bridge second IMO.

I agree but safety and aesthetics aren't mutually exclusive in other parts of the country so I don't see why Limerick should be treated any differently.

Raiser

cyberspi wrote: »

unfortunately that money is an arts grant and can only be spent on such..

Pity we are probably going to see the money wasted on plastic-looking multi-coloured 2D Animals.......

- The only one I ever saw and liked has been the Irish Elk on the approach to Cork, thought that was a great idea and very well carried out.

MissHoneyBun wrote: »

I agree but safety and aesthetics aren't mutually exclusive in other parts of the country so I don't see why Limerick should be treated any differently.

I'd agree to be honest for months People thought it was still under construction and then when the last high vis jacket departed it slowly dawned on us all - This is it??????? Christ that eyesore looks cheap and nasty!!!!!!!

Itsdacraic

Raiser wrote: »

- The only one I ever saw and liked has been the Irish Elk on the approach to Cork, thought that was a great idea and very well carried out.

Until he got his balls cut off

Berty

Itsdacraic wrote: »

Until he got his balls cut off

And is now covered in spray paint.

Sure the Hurley kept getting robbed/broken off the statue outside the AIB. Just goes to show you cant leave anything outside anymore. :rolleyes:

limklad

When I read "Disgusting Dooradoyle Flyover" I said yipee, no more through traffic through Dooradoyle, I might get around much easier,with traffic bypassing Dooradoyle until i read what OP mentioned, that damn bridge.

That Bridge is too steep on the Dooradoyle end. When It first open I saw old age pensioners struggling to climb it, and during the big freeze, it was a dead trap to walk it. There is no safely concerns when that bridge was built. The designers drawn something on the drawing board within current regulations and then when It was built it is complete disaster.

Look at the ex Rosbrien Roundabout where now you travel from Patrickwell to towards the Dublin road, you have to stay on the right lane and then under the bridge then veer a sharp steep left incline where you have to slow dramatictly (which I have no problem with. It the slip lane on top to join the main road is way too short to join a motorway speed , yet travel along the road farther and the Limerick/Childers road that joins the motorway is very long, which gives drivers time and space to join the traffic. The insane road design drives me crazy,the same goes for the Tipperary Junction. There was no need to get rid of that roundabout in Rosbrien, it could have been easily incorporated into the Motorway design.

Eric Gas

Totally agree Limklad, The bridge is a disaster, there was no safety concerns when that bridge was built. It is so steep, I wonder, is it built within regulation?? The horrible, cheap appearance of the bridge along with the dodgy design, are results of a project, where the designer/building contractor/council couldn't give a damn! It's a disgrace. The only concerns they had were cost! Now the city and county is stuck with this eyesore for years to come. PS, I can't wait to see all the grafitti the large metal walls will attract.