Government Capital Spending on Roads: 2016-2022

medoc

marno21 wrote: »

I've driven this once and it seemed like relatively ok single carraigeway, are they looking for a 2+2/dual carraigeway?

Yes it's far from the worst bit of N52 but the section passing Durrow only has one hard shoulder and lots of houses and a church etc. The plan during the boom was dual carriageway but now it's down for single carriageway. The counts are over 13000 on this road and given the possible growth and the fact that it will be 10+ years before it would open maybe it should be planned as 2+2. But I do agree it's not at the top of the priority list.

spacetweek

I don't see how the improvement could be to single C, the existing road is a good quality single C.

Considering how straight and wide the existing road is the only acceptable option really is to widen the existing road.

road_high

spacetweek wrote: »

I don't see the improvement could be to single C, the existing road is a good quality single C.

Considering how straight and wide the existing road is the only acceptable option really is to widen the existing road.

Bit of widening, signs, lines, and improvement at Durrow (i.e. build a proper car park for that large graveyard for example) would do wonders. The bit to Offaly bounds from Kilbeggan is excellent quality. Total fanciful spending and vanity we can't afford to go new offline with this

sondagefaux

marno21 wrote: »

In fairness, what I'd be advocating here is more akin to what happened with the M7 and M8, where the M8 branches off the M7 a good bit further west than it used to, and runs nowhere near Abbeyleix or Durrow.

There's no real need for the N5 to service Frenchpark, Tulsk or Strokestown. They can be adequately served by a regional road.

The N5 should branch off the N4 at Boyle. Boyle to Frenchpark is only about 14km.

The money saved on not having to upgrade the 50km of road between Longford and Frenchpark could be used to upgrade the N4 between Longford and Boyle and to upgrade the R361 between Boyle and north of Frenchpark (reclassified as N5) to connect with the Ballaghaderreen bypass.

road_high

sondagefaux wrote: »

The N5 should branch off the N4 at Boyle. Boyle to Frenchpark is only about 14km.

The money saved on not having to upgrade the 50km of road between Longford and Frenchpark could be used to upgrade the N4 between Longford and Boyle and to upgrade the R361 between Boyle and north of Frenchpark (reclassified as N5) to connect with the Ballaghaderreen bypass.

Hasn't a good chunk of that already been upgraded though? The section from longford to near Strokestown is a high quality road and upgraded circa 2000.
The policy appears to be to follow the existing N5 now though I do see the merit in what you and other have been saying.

marno21

Latest update on road schemes in the Capital Dripfeeding Plan and others.

Capital plan (schemes with planning):
N4 Collooney to Castlebaldwin

This scheme is currently subject to advance works, with a tender for engineering consultants to take the scheme through the tender, construction and handover stages currently awaiting an award.

N5 Westport to Turlough

This scheme is currently at the advance works stage with a tender expected soon.

M7 Naas Newbridge bypass upgrade + R407 Sallins bypass

Tenders have been accepted for this scheme with an award expected & a start in Q3 is likely.

N8/N25/N40 Dunkettle Interchange

Construction tenders were issued in May, with construction to begin in Q1 2019. The concise detailed design and traffic management planning is the reason for the long delay between tender and construction.

N22 Macroom to Ballyvourney

This is at the advance works stage with a consultancy tender expected shortly and a construction tender soon after.

N56 Dungloe to Glenties

This scheme has been split into several stages:

* Phase 1: Cloghbolie to Boyoughter opened in 2013.
* Phase 2: Boyoughter to Kilkenny opened in January 2017.
* Phase 3: Kilkenny to Letterilly is expected to start in Q3 2017, with a Q1 2019 opening.
* Phase 4: Letterilly to Glenties is at the advance works stage with a 2019 start anticipated.

The remainder is being progressed with funding guaranteed as part of the Capital Plan.

N56 Mountcharles to Inver

This scheme has been split in 2:

Phase 1: Mountcharles to Drumbeigh (2.5km); this is to start in Q3 2017 with a Q1 2019 finish.
Phase 2: Drumbeigh to Inver Bridge (2.4km); will start after completion of Phase 1.

N59 Moycullen Bypass

In planning since the 1970s and shovel ready, but we've heard little on this recently. There is €2m allocated for 2017 so there should be movement.

Capital plan (schemes without planning):

N2 Slane bypass

This scheme was started afresh in February 2017, and has passed the feasibility study stage. It is currently at the route selection stage.

N6 Galway City Ring Road

This scheme was sent to An Bord Pleanala in May 2017, with a planning decision due. It is expected to be shovel ready by 2021.

N21/N69 Limerick to Foynes

A submission to An Bord Pleanala is expected in Q4 2017, with design and EIS preperation currently ongoing. The detailed route of this scheme has been released with junctions planned north of Adare, at Croagh and with the existing N21/new Foynes link at Rathkeale. The mainline is planned as Type 1 DC with the Foynes link planned as Type 1 SC with no local access.

M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy

In light of heavy local objection, this scheme was sent to An Bord Pleanala in May 2017. A decision on planning is due before progression to the detailed design and tender stage. The window for submissions from the public closes shortly, and a decision will be made in 2018 after an Orla Hearing occurs.

N72 Mallow Relief Road

This scheme remains at the feasibility stage, and with no funding allocated for 2017, it is anticipated there will be no movement on the scheme in 2017.

N78 Athy Southern Distributor Road

This scheme was sent to ABP in April 2017, with the CPO published at the same time. If approved by ABP, a 2020 opening is anticipated.

Killaloe Bypass/Shannon Crossing/R494 Ballina-M7

This scheme is at the CPO stage. At present, funding will be initially provided for the new Shannon crossing, with the other two components to follow.



Capital plan (others):

A5 Western Transport Corridor

If this makes it through the ongoing public hearing, this could start in late 2017, with the first stretch from Newbuildings to Strabane.

Other schemes (without central funding):

N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge

This scheme is to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala imminently, however it is not funded at present.

N13 / N14 / N15 Donegal schemes

Consultants are currently taking these three schemes through the feasbility study, route selection, design and environmental impact assessment stages.

M20 Cork to Limerick

This has been reactivated but there is currently no funding to take this through the planning stages. It will take until Q1 2018 for "initial data collection and model updates" to take place.

N52 Ardee bypass

This scheme is shovel ready and is expected to be included in the Capital Plan midterm review.

N69 Listowel bypass

This scheme was sent to An Bord Pleanala in May 2017, planning decision due.

N86 Tralee to Dingle

This scheme (bar the two ongoing realignments near Lispole and Camp) has planning approved and is going through the advance works stage at present. The two current sections are nearing the completion of earthworks and should be open for the summer 2018 season.

Pipeline schemes:

TII have indicated to DTTAS that they would like to proceed with planning on pipeline projects to be advanced when the above are completed. So far we have heard of 1:

N24 Cahir to Limerick Junction

marno21

Here is what the queue (national roads) is like at the minute, in accordance with the TII's Project Management Guidelines. I've left out a few smaller schemes but I can add them if you have the info.

Complete:
N56 Cloghbolie-Boyoughter (2013)
N56 Boyoughter-Kilkenny (01/2017)

Phase 7 - Completion and handover
N17 - Tuam Bypass

Phase 6 - Construction
M11/N30/N80 Gorey-Enniscorthy
M17/M18 Gort-Tuam
N25/N30 New Ross bypass
N76 Tennypark-Brownstown
N86 Lispole-Ballynasare
N86 Ballygarret-Camp

Phase 5 - Tender
M7/R409 Naas/Newbridge bypass upgrade & Sallins bypass
N8/N25/N40 Dunkettle Interchange

Phase 5 - Advance works
N2 Monaghan-Emyvale (tender due shortly)
N4 Collooney-Castlebaldwin (tender due shortly)
N5 Westport-Turlough (tender due shortly)
N22 Macroom-Ballyvourney (advance works ongoing)
N52 Ardee bypass (advance works)*
N56 Kilkenny-Letterilly (tender due shortly)
N56 Letterilly-Glenties (advance works)
N56 Mountcharles-Drumbeigh (tender due shortly)
N56 Coolboy-Kilmacrennan (tender due shortly)
N59 Moycullen bypass (advance works)
N61 Coolteige (tender due shortly)
N70 Kilderry Bends (tender due shortly)
N86 Dingle-Annascaul & Gortbreagoge-Camp

Phase 4 - Planning submitted - decision due
N5 Ballaghaderreen-Scramoge*
N6 Galway City Ring Road
M28 Cork-Ringaskiddy
N69 Listowel bypass*

Phase 3/4 - EIS/MO/design ongoing
N21/N69 Limerick-Foynes

Phase 2 - Route selection
N2 Slane bypass

Phase 1 - Feasibility study
N13/N56 Letterkenny-Manorcunningham
N14 Letterkenny-Lifford
N15 Ballybofey/Stranorlar bypass
N72 Mallow Relief Road

Phase 0 - yet to be started (firm plans)
M20 Cork-Limerick
N24 Cahir-Limerick Junction

In addition to these schemes, TII would like to add a number of schemes to the end of the queue to be progressed as funding becomes available. So far the only confirmed scheme is the N24 scheme as above. Others which have been mentioned with the N24 scheme are:

* N2 Monaghan-NI border
* N4 Mullingar-Longford
* N17 Tobercurry bypass
* M20 Cork-Limerick
* N21 Abbeyfeale bypass
* N21 Newcastlewest bypass
* N25 Carrigtwohill-Midleton
* N25 Waterford-Glenmore
* N11/N25 Oilgate-Rosslare
* N52 Tullamore-Kilbeggan
* N71 Inishannon bypass
* N81 Blessington bypass

marno21

Front page of tomorrow's Sunday Independent indicates that the M20 and N2/A5 will be the "centerpiece of the Summer Economic Statement".

http://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DEPnR8gXkAUzj6M.jpg

sondagefaux

marno21 wrote: »

Front page of tomorrow's Sunday Independent indicates that the M20 and N2/A5 will be the "centerpiece of the Summer Economic Statement".

http://cf.broadsheet.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/DEPnR8gXkAUzj6M.jpg

The statement will be made on Thursday

The Government is to continue to set aside hundreds of millions of euro in a “rainy-day” fund even as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar diverts greater resources towards spending on infrastructural projects.

Mr Varadkar and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe will this week announce they will accelerate capital spending by using much of a €3 billion pot that former minister for finance Michael Noonan previously intended would be set aside. They will not, however, entirely abandon Mr Noonan’s plan to build up a fund to guard against future economic shocks, such as Brexit.

This week’s summer economic statement will mark Mr Varadkar’s first big policy move away from his predecessor’s position as he seeks to increase infrastructural spending. The statement is set to be brought to the Cabinet’s next meeting and then be announced by Mr Donohoe in the Dáil on Thursday.

...



The Government examined alternative plans recently, such as redefining funds held by the National Treasury Management Agency and its Ireland Strategic Investment Fund for “rainy day” purposes. Michael McGrath, the Fianna Fáil finance spokesman, is understood to have written to Mr Donohoe objecting to this approach.

“From a Fianna Fáil point of view, we remain committed to the rainy-day fund once we have achieved a balanced budget” in 2018, Mr McGrath said. “It is possible to combine a rainy-day fund [with increased] on- and off-balance-sheet capital investment.”

Government sources maintain the confidence-and-supply deal commits only to the establishment of a fund and does not spell out the amount of money that must be put into it.

One well-placed figure pointed out that any money diverted from Mr Noonan’s original plans will go entirely towards infrastructure and not be used for day-to-day spending.

Mr Varadkar signalled during the Fine Gael leadership campaign that he would use this money to accelerate infrastructural projects such as motorways and Metro North, a move that Mr Noonan criticised.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/varadkar-seeks-to-spend-part-of-3bn-rainy-day-fund-on-infrastructure-1.3148810

I think it's the right move. There's no point in having a rainy day fund if you're never going to use it.

Brexit is a rainy day and its economic impact on Ireland is precisely the type of event that the rainy day fund is designed to mitigate.

One of the most effective ways of countering an economic downturn is through capital spending, especially spending on infrastructure which improves long-term productivity, such as roads.

The lead time before major roads projects move to the construction phase is at least a couple of years. Now is the right time to set aside money to finance major roads projects to help mitigate the negative effects of Brexit. Waiting until after it happens would be short-sighted. I'm disappointed that FF don't seem to understand this, although not surprised that they've chosen to play politics with this.

Whatever about his other policies, politicians of all parties, and independents, should support any measures that will help to offset the negative consequences of Brexit and improve the long-term productivity of the economy.

Building (and improving) roads on key routes is one of those measures.

sondagefaux

Looking good for a major boost to capital spending, especially on roads.

The Government is planning to announce a 10-year capital spending plan worth in excess of €20bn, or €2bn a year, which is set to deliver major projects like the long-awaited Cork to Limerick motorway.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe will publish their summer economic statement on Wednesday, which will lay out the road map for the capital plan later in the year.

The Cabinet is to hold a special meeting to finally sign off on the plan ahead of its publication and Dáil debate which will be held on Thursday. Key details of the plan, obtained by the Irish Examiner, include:

A dramatic rise in capital spending from 2019, driven by a balanced budget in October;
A Celtic Tiger-style plan which will see major emphasis on road building like the €1bn M20 between Cork and Limerick and other major transport projects like the controversial Metro North;
Higher education “which has been starved of funds” and the health service in terms of increasing capacity are also to be prioritised.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, several Cabinet ministers confirmed the desire to ramp up capital spending from next year, which will be made possible by the first balanced budget in over a decade.

A minister said: “We are more confident now, given the quarterly tax returns at the end of June, than we were. We will see a big ramping up of capital spending.

“European rules look like changing but that is a factor. What is absolutely guaranteed is that we will balance the books in 2018, and that the reason we do, that the space dramatically opens up from 2019.”

When asked what numbers are possible, at least two ministers have confirmed spend is likely to be “between €2bn-€3bn a year for up to 10 years”.

One said: “Instead of Government having a few hundred million to play around with, we are now talking about billions over a sustained period of time and that is while being compliant with the fiscal rules.

...

It is not expected that the economic statement will include specific details of individual projects.

The Irish Examiner has learnt Mr Varadkar placed heavy emphasis on road building to connect rural areas and regional cities at a special Cabinet meeting last Thursday. “There was a fair bit of discussion about roads and connecting rural and regional areas by road,” said one minister.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20bn-spending-plan-set-to-deliver-key-road-projects-454470.html

zmgakt7uw2dvfs

What are the chances of the N24 getting some serious attention here, especially between Pallasgreen and Clonmel?

sondagefaux

Keaton Eager Hotel wrote: »

What are the chances of the N24 getting some serious attention here, especially between Pallasgreen and Clonmel?

We'll have to wait and see.

It is not expected that the economic statement will include specific details of individual projects.

The Irish Examiner has learnt Mr Varadkar placed heavy emphasis on road building to connect rural areas and regional cities at a special Cabinet meeting last Thursday. “There was a fair bit of discussion about roads and connecting rural and regional areas by road,” said one minister.

marno21

Keaton Eager Hotel wrote: »

What are the chances of the N24 getting some serious attention here, especially between Pallasgreen and Clonmel?

TII are proposing to proceed on a section of the N24 to upgrade between Limerick Junction and Cahir. Would likely be 2+2 dual carriageway.

It's being advanced as a "pipeline scheme", to be progressed when the current round of schemes going through the planning phases are open to traffic.

Likely see work starting around 2022/23 if approved, barring financial constraints.

road_high

Keaton Eager Hotel wrote: »

What are the chances of the N24 getting some serious attention here, especially between Pallasgreen and Clonmel?

Being realistic I'd be pleasantly surprised if people were driving on anything new by 2025- they have to start from scratch effectively. I seem to recall the Mooncoin bypass on the Kilkenny end of it being fairly advanced, but was all knocked on the head once the downturn kicked in.

It's dreadful it's been allowed just fester away like this. Even some minor realignments and widening would have helped a lot vs this do nothing state of nothingness.

road_high

marno21 wrote: »

TII are proposing to proceed on a section of the N24 to upgrade between Limerick Junction and Cahir. Would likely be 2+2 dual carriageway.

It's being advanced as a "pipeline scheme", to be progressed when the current round of schemes going through the planning phases are open to traffic.

Likely see work starting around 2022/23 if approved, barring financial constraints.

I think they should go the whole hog with full Motorway standard, I doubt the savings are that significant.

zmgakt7uw2dvfs

road_high wrote: »

Being realistic I'd be pleasantly surprised if people were driving on anything new by 2025- they have to start from scratch effectively. I seem to recall the Mooncoin bypass on the Kilkenny end of it being fairly advanced, but was all knocked on the head once the downturn kicked in.

It's dreadful it's been allowed just fester away like this. Even some minor realignments and widening would have helped a lot vs this do nothing state of nothingness.

Previously a route was selected for Pallasgreen to Cahir; has this been disregarded, or would they simply build the Limerick Junction > Cahir part of this route?

marno21

Keaton Eager Hotel wrote: »

Previously a route was selected for Pallasgreen to Cahir; has this been disregarded, or would they simply build the Limerick Junction > Cahir part of this route?

Nope, this and all work done on other projects, has been scrapped.

Start from scratch on all.

Previously the N24 had:

N24 Ballysimon-Pallasgreen
N24 Pallasgreen-Bansha
N24 Bansha-Cahir
N24 Cahir-Rathkeevin
N24 Rathkeevin-Kilsheelan
N24 Carrick-on-Suir bypass
N24 Mooncoin bypass

All work done on these has been scrapped, and we will start from scratch with new schemes, possibly not with the same routes as before or between the same places as above.

So far we only have heard of N24 Limerick Junction-Cahir which will take in parts of the Pallasgreen-Bansha and Bansha-Cahir schemes.

Note: Pallasgreen-Bansha and Bansha-Cahir were advanced as one before being cancelled in 2011.

road_high

I don't understand this scrapping of plans. Sounds a monumental
waste of time and money

marno21

road_high wrote: »

I don't understand this scrapping of plans. Sounds a monumental
waste of time and money

It's not by choice. The previous schemes traffic models are out of date and they are not compliant with DPER's project appraisal guidelines.

Only current projects with planning permission are being advanced as is. Schemes in the Capital Plan without planning had to get a full redesign, such as the Slane bypass which is now on its 3rd iteration.

betistuc

I haven't seen any mention of the M20 scheme in the Capital plan. Has it been overlooked yet again? There was so much talk of it leading up to yestertday's announcment. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong Capital Plan

sondagefaux

betistuc wrote: »

I haven't seen any mention of the M20 scheme in the Capital plan. Has it been overlooked yet again? There was so much talk of it leading up to yestertday's announcment. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong Capital Plan

The Capital Plan is going to be revised.

The Capital Plan is now being reviewed to ensure that capital spending remains strictly aligned with national economic and social priorities, consistent with Programme for Partnership Government objectives. This includes examining how available capital funds can best be allocated to underpin sustainable medium-term economic growth and future growth potential.

As part of the review, a public consultation has also been undertaken and public capital investment proposals invited from Departments. These will be assessed with a view to making recommendations to Government in Q3 2017, to inform final decisions by Government on revised capital allocations. These will be announced in the context of Budget 2018, and feed into a longer term Capital Plan in support of the forthcoming National Planning Framework.

https://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/summer-statement.pdf

Individual projects weren't going to be listed in today's Summer Economic Statement:

It is not expected that the economic statement will include specific details of individual projects.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20bn-spending-plan-set-to-deliver-key-road-projects-454470.html

The statement commits to an extra €500m in spending on capital investment each year from 2019 to 2021, an extra €1.5 billion in total. There's also an expected extra €500m in 'fiscal space' available next year, of which €300m will be available for spending:

€300m of this amount is available for new expenditure increases

https://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/summer-statement.pdf

The Government's Summer Economic Statement has confirmed that it will increase capital spending by €500m each year from 2019 to 2021.

This spending on the likes of hospitals, schools and roads will be boosted by funding that was initially set to be put into a rainy day fund.

The statement also puts the amount of extra money - or fiscal space - available next year at around €1.2 billion, with €500m of that remaining once the cost of new measures already agreed are taken into account.

The Government says it still plans to establish a rainy day fund, which will receive €500m a year between 2019 and 2021, as opposed to the €1 billion previously earmarked.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0712/889566-governments-summer-economic-statement-published-today/

Capital allocations will be announced later this year:

As part of the review, a public consultation has also been undertaken and public capital investment proposals invited from Departments. These will be assessed with a view to making recommendations to Government in Q3 2017, to inform final decisions by Government on revised capital allocations. These will be announced in the context of Budget 2018, and feed into a longer term Capital Plan in support of the forthcoming National Planning Framework.

https://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/summer-statement.pdf

Basically, there's going to be an extra €1.5 billion capital spending between 2019 and 2021 (on top of existing commitments), with an extra €300m also available in 2018, although that may not all be used for capital spending.

The precise allocation of how this extra money for capital investment will be spent is going to be decided later this year.

Have a look at Annex 1 (Table A1) in the Summer Statement.

The government expects to spend €10 billion more per year in 2021 than it did in 2016, with a reduction of €900 billion in interest spending in 2021 compared to 2016 (€5.3 billion in 2021 compared to €6.4 billion in 2016).

marno21

betistuc wrote: »

I haven't seen any mention of the M20 scheme in the Capital plan. Has it been overlooked yet again? There was so much talk of it leading up to yestertday's announcment. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong Capital Plan

It wasn't in the old Capital Plan which is under review and the results of which will be published in September. It's expected to be included in the reviewed Capital Plan given all the chatter about it by Varadkar and Donohue

sondagefaux

Because of plans to increase investment in national infrastructure by €500m each year, between 2019 and 2021, the M20 motorway, between Cork and Limerick, is a step closer to happening, the two city’s business leaders said last night.

...

Cork and Limerick Chambers, jointly spearheading a campaign to secure the development of the M20, welcomed the spending increase.

“The M20 would not just connect the country’s second and third cities by motorway, but would also link in with the Galway-to-Limerick motorway and, therefore, be a game-changer for the Atlantic seaboard,” said Cork Chamber CEO, Conor Healy.

Limerick Chamber CEO, James Ring, said the fact that Minister Donohoe spoke of the additional funding being made available for economic and social infrastructure is promising. The M20 ticks both boxes emphatically.

On Tuesday, the two chambers published a report which shows that building the M20 has the potential to support 5,400 additional direct jobs; would increase the labour force within a 45-minute commute of major employment centres by 23%; would cut journey times between the two cities by 16 minutes, and would prevent 118 accidents every year.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/500m-extra-per-year-boosts-cork-limerick-motorway-hopes-454682.html

marno21

Going posting this elsewhere so said I'd post it here too:

This is what's done according to TII nationwide, roads that are completed fully (including 3 PPPs under construction):



This is what it'll look like when the current Capital Plan is implemented:



The N59 west of Oughterard has since been long fingered due to planning issues.

road_high

In all fairness, do we really need to be pumping money into effectively tourist routes all along the western seaboard when there's still such glaring gaps inter city and major N routes?

marno21

road_high wrote: »

In all fairness, do we really need to be pumping money into effectively tourist routes all along the western seaboard when there's still such glaring gaps inter city and major N routes?

They have been advanced heavily over the last 5-6 years because they are incredibly cheap to do and I believe get/got EU funding. The N56 and N86 projects combined are costing around €130m for 52km. Gort-Tuam is the same distance for 4x the price.

Another advantage is because they are online they are quite close to the existing road and can be done in bitesize chunks. The N56 Dungloe-Glenties started 5 years ago and they've around 8/9km done out of 26.

road_high

marno21 wrote: »

They have been advanced heavily over the last 5-6 years because they are incredibly cheap to do and I believe get/got EU funding. The N56 and N86 projects combined are costing around €130m for 52km. Gort-Tuam is the same distance for 4x the price.

Another advantage is because they are online they are quite close to the existing road and can be done in bitesize chunks. The N56 Dungloe-Glenties started 5 years ago and they've around 8/9km done out of 26.

Couldn't we be do the same on heavily used N secondaries like the N80, N52 etc? The N80 in particular has N primary level traffic on so much of it but yet is like the Cinderella route

marno21

road_high wrote: »

Couldn't we be do the same on heavily used N secondaries like the N77, N80, N52 etc? The N80 in particular has N primary level traffic on so much of it but yet is like the Cinderella route

The tourist routes are being done as they are cheaper for a variety of reasons, primarily related to the fact that the road is being realigned online.

1. The tourist routes are being done to a lesser standard than the N52, N80 etc realignments. Type 3 SC (6.0m width) as opposed to Type 1/2 (12.3m/8m width).

2. The tourist routes are being done online in most cases, meaning less land purchase costs and cheap to get shovel ready for the county councils involved.

3. Because they are online,they can be done in short chunks as no "daisy chaining" is needed.

4. Roads such as the N52 and N77 cannot be done online in most cases as they have been destroyed with one off houses. TII mention this issue frequently as it mostly means offline routing (expensive) or CPOs (expensive).

5. A lot of the work done so far on these routes are along absolutely deplorable stretches of road. The N56 Dungloe-Glenties wasn't fit for purpose as a road, let alone a 100km/h national secondary.

fernrock

Clare Co Co have just spent what I believe is €90,000 renovating an existing roundabout in Kilkee. While the surface did need resurfacing , it now resembles a skateboard ramp with a lump of metal on top.
Local gossip is that the cost of this came from the "Culture " budget.

At the other end of the town there is a four road offset junction which is crying out for a roundabout . There is a mexican standoff here if more than two cars arrive at this junction together.

I am sure a max of €3000/5000 would provide a basic roundabout at this junction.

Since when does culture take precedence over road safaty and saving lives?

irishgeo

fernrock wrote: »

Clare Co Co have just spent what I believe is €90,000 renovating an existing roundabout in Kilkee. While the surface did need resurfacing , it now resembles a skateboard ramp with a lump of metal on top.
Local gossip is that the cost of this came from the "Culture " budget.

At the other end of the town there is a four road offset junction which is crying out for a roundabout . There is a mexican standoff here if more than two cars arrive at this junction together.

I am sure a max of €3000/5000 would provide a basic roundabout at this junction.

Since when does culture take precedence over road safaty and saving lives?

different budgets.

probably use it before you lose it.