Minor schemes & realignments

marno21

Roscommon County Council have tendered for tree removal along the route of the 3.4km N60 Oran realignment

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase.asp?PID=131895

AugustusMinimus

I see there is a scheme to replace an old bridge in Mountrivers Co Clare. But why on earth are they knocking the old bridge. Why not let it remain and have it for pedestrians only. Absolute madness.

https://twitter.com/gilleeece/status/1014925627269500929?s=21

Just to note that one of the photos in that tweet is of a different bridge. Doesn’t hide the fact that an old stone bridge is being knocked when it could remain beside a new bridge.

marno21

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

I see there is a scheme to replace an old bridge in Mountrivers Co Clare. But why on earth are they knocking the old bridge. Why not let it remain and have it for pedestrians only. Absolute madness.

https://twitter.com/gilleeece/status/1014925627269500929?s=21

Just to note that one of the photos in that tweet is of a different bridge. Doesn’t hide the fact that an old stone bridge is being knocked when it could remain beside a new bridge.

The 2nd bridge seen in the aerial photo is a temporary bridge installed to facilitate the road being operational during bridge rehabilitation.

The original bridge is being knocked and replaced with a new bridge in exactly the same location. There was no feasibility for keeping the old bridge as the new bridge will be taking its place. There isn't funding to replace this bridge with a new one downstream combined with the added costs of road realignment. If the bridge wasn't sufficiently bad enough to require demolition, they wouldn't be doing this.

This bridge is part of a contract to rehabilitate 4 bridges, 2 of which will involve bridge demolition and replacement (Dysart Bridge on the N23 in Kerry and this bridge Mountriver Bridge on the N67 in Clare), and two which will involve bridge widening and strengthening (Beheenagh Bridge on the N72 in Kerry between Rathmore and Barraduff and Ballymona Bridge in Kerry on the N70).

The tweet above seems to be from someone who knows half the story and isn't aware of why this is being done. It's not being done because someone in Clare County Council is on a crusade against bridges. The bridge simply isn't fit to remain in place.

JohnC.

They also look to be replacing it with an externally similar looking bridge, just with 2 spans instead of 3.

AugustusMinimus

I really do think it is a shame that this bridge was demolished.

It was demolished due to a state of disrepair, simply that it was no longer up to standard.

I don’t know the cost of CPOing additional land and the cost of slightly rerouting the road but I don’t think it would have been that significant.

L1011

If the bridge didn't have the hydraulic capacity for flood waters it'd have to go; may be the reason here.

Kevwoody

marno21 wrote:

This bridge is part of a contract to rehabilitate 4 bridges, 2 of which will involve bridge demolition and replacement (Dysart Bridge on the N23 in Kerry and this bridge Mountriver Bridge on the N67 in Clare), and two which will involve bridge widening and strengthening (Beheenagh Bridge on the N72 in Kerry between Rathmore and Barraduff and Ballymona Bridge in Kerry on the N70).

Excavators and site offices have moved in at Beheenagh Bridge on the N72, great to see this dangerous bridge being removed. Will there be a temporary bridge installed here similar to the one on the N67?
I passed it a few weeks ago and saw the temporary structure and thought for a second it was the new bridge! Makes me wonder could more have been done to keep the N23 open during construction? People are ignoring all the road closed signs, sitting at Kerry Airport yesterday I saw at least 3 coaches pass heading to Castleisland, and within 10 minutes they had to come back to Farranfore.

roadmaster

I presume this new road is part of the planning and will become public but i cant recall a private PLC using Etenders to advertise work. Maybe they have in the past.

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=131819&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

L1011

Its not common but it does happen. That road is a required condition of the planning and has to be built and handed over before the rest of the work starts; its basically a relief road for Maynooth Main Street.

Dev1234

Regarding the N63 Galway coco got back to me and have stated that the temporary traffic lights will be removed within the next 3 weeks and tarmac to be completed by the end of August.

marno21

Engineering consultancy services required by Cork County Council for N73 Annakisha realignment. Absolute dogs dinner of a road

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase.asp?PID=132302

Donegal Storm

Not sure if its been mentioned but there looks to be a realignment/widening ongoing along few km of the N2 south of Emyvale. Drove it for the first time in a while earlier and a lot of mature trees have been chopped with marker pins along the new alignment

marno21

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Not sure if its been mentioned but there looks to be a realignment/widening ongoing along few km of the N2 south of Emyvale. Drove it for the first time in a while earlier and a lot of mature trees have been chopped with marker pins along the new alignment

Yep, this is the N2 Monaghan-Emyvale Phase 3. The whole lot from Clontibret-Border will eventually be replaced by 2+2 dual carriageway in the next few years.

spacetweek

marno21 wrote: »

Yep, this is the N2 Monaghan-Emyvale Phase 3. The whole lot from Clontibret-Border will eventually be replaced by 2+2 dual carriageway in the next few years.

Fine. But just in case that takes some time, upgrading the existing road is worthwhile.

Rulmeq

I noticed some roadworks over near Peamount the other day, and found this online dating from 2006.
http://www.sdublincoco.ie/Media/Item/11436


It's a nice new route, but it will probably mean more traffic queueing at the lights at the hatch bar.

roadmaster

This probably comes under more realignments than minor schemes. I had a few meeting in North Monaghan and Cavan today with me over back the N54 a few times. The sections in Monaghan are not to bad at all with just some dodgy sections on the east side of clones ( we wont mention the death trap that is the A3 section of this road in Fermanagh . But the N54 in Cavan is very poor is there any reason the monaghan sections got upgraded but not the cavan sections. Even the N54 monaghan section that has fermanagh at each end is very good.

serfboard

roadmaster wrote: »

any reason the monaghan sections got upgraded but not the cavan sections

Heather Humphreys?

roadmaster

Looking by the surfacing this morning i would say the road was completed long before she was in office

munchkin_utd

roadmaster wrote: »

Looking by the surfacing this morning i would say the road was completed long before she was in office

yep, most of that work happened in the late 90s and early 2000s bit by bit.

Just a pity that the part of the road through Fermanagh is still as bad as ever was from the Cavan border at Legakelly/Castle Saunderson to the first time it switches into Monaghan

Donegal Storm

Is there any particular reason theres so much resurfacing going on at the moment around the country? Off the top of my head I've seen resurfacing on the N14, N15, N17, N4 and N2 over the past few weeks and for the most part I never noticed issues with any of the sections being resurfaced. Seems like a waste of money that could have been spent on actual improvements to the roads

marno21

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Is there any particular reason theres so much resurfacing going on at the moment around the country? Off the top of my head I've seen resurfacing on the N14, N15, N17, N4 and N2 over the past few weeks and for the most part I never noticed issues with any of the sections being resurfaced. Seems like a waste of money that could have been spent on actual improvements to the roads

A lot of them would be either reactive or preventative maintenance. The national road network has a backlog of maintenance requirements that are only being fulfilled now due to funding shortages during the recession. Once a steady state of maintenance is reached, more money will then be funnelled into new capital projects (starting 2019).

Donegal Storm

I suspect preventative maintenance in most cases, just speaking from memory as I've never taken any notice of the surface at any of the sections but they never stood out as needing replacement. Heres where the N15 is being resurfaced for example, looks no worse than any other decent stretch of road in the country

https://goo.gl/maps/maYpWfspsRJ2

spacetweek

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Is there any particular reason theres so much resurfacing going on at the moment around the country? Off the top of my head I've seen resurfacing on the N14, N15, N17, N4 and N2 over the past few weeks and for the most part I never noticed issues with any of the sections being resurfaced. Seems like a waste of money that could have been spent on actual improvements to the roads

Shh! Don't say anything about it or they might stop doing it!

roadmaster

spacetweek wrote: »

Shh! Don't say anything about it or they might stop doing it!

Dont worry with the crap weather back they will find money to start surfacing works all over the place

road_high

munchkin_utd wrote: »

yep, most of that work happened in the late 90s and early 2000s bit by bit.

Just a pity that the part of the road through Fermanagh is still as bad as ever was from the Cavan border at Legakelly/Castle Saunderson to the first time it switches into Monaghan

The road network in co Fermanagh is very poor in my experience. The continuation of the N3 through to Donegal by Lough Erne is woeful

marno21

N80 Maidenhead gone to tender

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=135290&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

BelfastVanMan

marno21 wrote: »

N80 Maidenhead gone to tender

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=135290&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

How much of the road is being upgraded? A couple of KMs max, presumably?

marno21

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

How much of the road is being upgraded? A couple of KMs max, presumably?

2km or so

BelfastVanMan

marno21 wrote: »

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

How much of the road is being upgraded? A couple of KMs max, presumably?

2km or so

Thanks Marno. :-)

Do we know is it type 1 or type 2 SC?

road_high

marno21 wrote: »

N80 Maidenhead gone to tender

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=135290&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

Are they not started on those for the 4 months? Or is that all just site preparation stuff? Seem to recall a large enough compound with lots of cars working there

Donegal Storm

Looks like the whole length of the Monaghan bypass is being resurfaced now as well, they're also digging a trench and laying terram all along the verge on both sides, maybe widening the shoulder..?

BelfastVanMan

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Looks like the whole length of the Monaghan bypass is being resurfaced now as well, they're also digging a trench and laying terram all along the verge on both sides, maybe widening the shoulder..?

Be nice if it was being 2+2'd.....

I guess one can always dream.

This will become a distributor road once the 2+2 N2 from Castleblayney to NI border is done, anyway, but I can still see both the short and longer-term benefits of making the existing N2 Monaghan bypass 2+2 DC.

spacetweek

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Be nice if it was being 2+2'd.....

I guess one can always dream.

This will become a distributor road once the 2+2 N2 from Castleblayney to NI border is done, anyway, but I can still see both the short and longer-term benefits of making the existing N2 Monaghan bypass 2+2 DC.

No way is there a point in having the existing bypass a 2+2 when it'll be replaced with another 2+2. Traffic levels are insignificant around there.

guylikeme

spacetweek wrote: »

No way is there a point in having the existing bypass a 2+2 when it'll be replaced with another 2+2. Traffic levels are insignificant around there.

Dunno... monaghan gets pretty packed sometimes

marno21

The Monaghan bypass is too narrow for 2+2. It's also too short for 2+2 to have much of a use and the roundabout in the middle shows it was always planned as a distributor road rather than a bypass.

BelfastVanMan

marno21 wrote: »

The Monaghan bypass is too narrow for 2+2. It's also too short for 2+2 to have much of a use and the roundabout in the middle shows it was always planned as a distributor road rather than a bypass.

Hmm, fair point.

Kevwoody

It's a pity they couldn't have built it the same as the Carrickmacross bypass instead of sticking 3 roundabouts on it.

marno21

N70 Kilderry scheme in Kerry is really taking shape with the alignment in place now. Just tarmac required on the offline section and the two tie ins to be completed.

I would imagine this will be complete or close to complete by Q1 2019 with the new road open for the 2019 summer season.

To say this is a major improvement on the existing route is an understatement.

wingfo

Been driving the n25 a lot lately between cork and Waterford.Cork to midelton is good wide road and most of the route to Waterford, obviously Castlematyr and Killagh youghal bridge and a few km beyond would have to be bypassed/ widened.
My point is would a 2+2 dual carriageway be possible to be build as there's enough space with hard shoulder/grass verges on either side of the road.
No cpo,s needed it would be cost effective and the traffic volume doesn't really need a motorway. Thoughts ???

BelfastVanMan

wingfo wrote: »

Been driving the n25 a lot lately between cork and Waterford.Cork to midelton is good wide road and most of the route to Waterford, obviously Castlematyr and Killagh youghal bridge and a few km beyond would have to be bypassed/ widened.
My point is would a 2+2 dual carriageway be possible to be build as there's enough space with hard shoulder/grass verges on either side of the road.
No cpo,s needed it would be cost effective and the traffic volume doesn't really need a motorway. Thoughts ???

Too many side entrances on the existing road, methinks.

wingfo

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Too many side entrances on the existing road, methinks.

Carrigtohill to Middleton had a lot of side entrances as well but they worked around that

BelfastVanMan

wingfo wrote: »

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Too many side entrances on the existing road, methinks.

Carrigtohill to Middleton had a lot of side entrances as well but they worked around that

Yes, but it is a low-standard DC, and the modern standard 2+2 Type 2 DC won't have central reservation crossing points so it wouldn't be acceptable to locals who may have to drive for miles just to reach a roubdabout or Compact GSJ, for example, just to turn around.

marno21

wingfo wrote: »

Been driving the n25 a lot lately between cork and Waterford.Cork to midelton is good wide road and most of the route to Waterford, obviously Castlematyr and Killagh youghal bridge and a few km beyond would have to be bypassed/ widened.
My point is would a 2+2 dual carriageway be possible to be build as there's enough space with hard shoulder/grass verges on either side of the road.
No cpo,s needed it would be cost effective and the traffic volume doesn't really need a motorway. Thoughts ???

Some of this has been said by BelfastVanMan but..

This is a major issue with a lot of national primary routes that are up for upgrade. A lot of national routes were widened to various standards of wide single carriageway, and these have functioned well but do have quite a few limitations.

Some of these were built as greenfield routes, mainly since the mid 90s. These can easily be upgraded to 2+2, a good example is the N25 around Kilmacthomas and the Youghal bypass, these are grade seperated single carriageways. The issue though with the rest of the route, is that although it is wide, it has frequent accesses and side junctions. These houses would require CPO and the junctions would require bridging.

I think it may be worthwhile for TII to retrofit some WS2 offline schemes as 2+2 such as the Kilmacthomas/Youghal sections as above, the Ballyshannon/Bundoran bypass, Jamestown/Drumsna bypass amongst others.

wingfo wrote: »

Carrigtohill to Middleton had a lot of side entrances as well but they worked around that

Carrigtwohill-Midleton was built by building a new carraigeway alongside the existing carriageway. It's a much lower standard than the N25 East Cork Parkway between Carrigtwohill and Dunkettle, and had median gaps until these were sealed. The Carrigtwohill-Midleton section is to be upgraded in the National Development Plan due to safety issues with the existing alignment.

marno21

N81 Knockroe has gone to tender

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=136080&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

road_high

Between Enniskillen and Derrylin on the main Cavan road there’s a small stretch of realignment that’s like as it’s been abandoned (no funding presumably?). Pity as it looks half completed and the road and surface are dreadful alongside it.

roadmaster

Ratoath outter relief road gone to tender due back shortly

roadmaster

I was heading down to tullamore yesterday and outside clonmellon on the N52 there was major survey work going on the lads where putting pins in every 20 meters with a blue and yellow cables being connected. Any ideas what the survey was for?

serfboard

roadmaster wrote: »

I was heading down to tullamore yesterday and outside clonmellon on the N52 there was major survey work going on the lads where putting pins in every 20 meters with a blue and yellow cables being connected. Any ideas what the survey was for?

Sorry, I can't answer your question, but I'm using your contribution as an excuse for a rant!

IMO, the Tullamore bypass is an unforgivably sh1tty bypass - single lane, with roundabouts every few hundred meters. I wouldn't mind if this was built in the 1980s, but it wasn't - it was completed in 2009, when we (I presumed) had long learned the lessons of underpowered bypasses.

What should it have been? A 2+2 Grade-Separated DC, if not all the way to the M6 (which it should have been - the 2017 AADT on the portion to the M6 is 13K), then at least on the actual bypass itself.

Alun

Does anyone here know what the story is with the roadworks on the R755 Kilmacanogue Roundwood toad near Calary is?

Work seemed to start OK, then went dead for several months before being resumed again recently. Now, the old section of roadway that had been dug up has been reinstated with fresh tarmac and white lines, and the works appear to have ground to a halt again.

alias no.9

serfboard wrote: »

Sorry, I can't answer your question, but I'm using your contribution as an excuse for a rant!

IMO, the Tullamore bypass is an unforgivably sh1tty bypass - single lane, with roundabouts every few hundred meters. I wouldn't mind if this was built in the 1980s, but it wasn't - it was completed in 2009, when we (I presumed) had long learned the lessons of underpowered bypasses.

What should it have been? A 2+2 Grade-Separated DC, if not all the way to the M6 (which it should have been - the 2017 AADT on the portion to the M6 is 13K), then at least on the actual bypass itself.

You might almost think the local politicians driving the scheme were viewing it as an opportunity to open up development land rather than a bypass.