The roadworks near Maam Cross and Oughterard

amandstu

What is going on there?Are they "rewetting" the bogland as I can see a lot of work off the main highway?

I saw a story today about how they have "rewetted" a bog in some other part of the country and so wonder if that could be an explanation for the artificial ponds that seem to have been made near the road ,as well as a few tracks that seem to lead nowhere with JCBs working away in the middle of the fields.

Has been going on now for a year and a half.Should be a nice stretch when done.

ArtyC

amandstu wrote: »

What is going on there?Are they "rewetting" the bogland as I can see a lot of work off the main highway?

I saw a story today about how they have "rewetted" a bog in some other part of the country and so wonder if that could be an explanation for the artificial ponds that seem to have been made near the road ,as well as a few tracks that seem to lead nowhere with JCBs working away in the middle of the fields.

Has been going on now for a year and a half.Should be a nice stretch when done.

Love taking a spin out that side but the longer it goes on the more I’m scratching my head wondering did it need this amount of work and money thrown at it .
The coast road has gotten even busier and it’s in very bad condition . Fair few accidents on it lately , sad but there will be more. Mixed traffic; work commute , lorries , buses , staycation crowd & cyclists .

Cluedo Monopoly

amandstu wrote: »

What is going on there?Are they "rewetting" the bogland as I can see a lot of work off the main highway?

I saw a story today about how they have "rewetted" a bog in some other part of the country and so wonder if that could be an explanation for the artificial ponds that seem to have been made near the road ,as well as a few tracks that seem to lead nowhere with JCBs working away in the middle of the fields.

Has been going on now for a year and a half.Should be a nice stretch when done.

I very much doubt its rewetting. I'd put it down to inefficiency and a bad tender process. Nobody will want to drive out to Connemara because of the delays and badly operated contraflows.

amandstu

tphase wrote: »

I hope you're right.
I got stuck in a some of those jams and it was not caused by local or even in county traffic.
Cops were nowhere to be seen because traffic management is the responsibility of the contractors.
It's going to get a lot worse when they start the next set of works between Tullyboy (eastern end of current works) and Oughterard

Woah,this continues right into Oughterard?

How long will that take ?It has been around 18 months already.....:eek:

As mentioned, this was always planned as a long one, with it planned for 70 weeks and starting back in Jan 2020.

As with a lot of things, covid put the schedule in the bin

Be patient, it'll be done soon enough

Pete_Cavan

[Deleted User] wrote: »

As mentioned, this was always planned as a long one, with it planned for 70 weeks and starting back in Jan 2020.

As with a lot of things, covid put the schedule in the bin

Be patient, it'll be done soon enough

On other similar projects, the existing road or parts of it became a segregated walking/cycling route, do you know if that is the case for this project DaCor?

Pete_Cavan

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

On other similar projects, the existing road or parts of it became a segregated walking/cycling route, do you know if that is the case for this project DaCor?

I'm honestly not sure, I haven't been able to find any plans for these works.

What I do know comes from the following

Prep & Test works

Test trenching was carried out on behalf of Galway County Council and funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland in advance of construction of the N59 Maam Cross to Bunnakill Road Project. A hand-dug test trench was excavated in a previously known but unprotected road in an area of blanket bog.

The trenches showed that the road, which appears today as a low embankment traversing the bog, is constructed of peat with a thin layer of gravel all that remains of its original surface. It would appear that small stone banks flanked the road on either side. The road is likely to be an early iteration of the main route through central Connemara to the west coast and was in use prior to the early 19th century. The exact date of construction is unknown.

Total cost is 10 million

Also, there's 2 bridges to be built, Maam Cross is to be changed to a staggered junction and peat restoration areas are to be established (no idea what those are). To be fair to the contractors, there's a lot to be done in such a small scheme, in a very sensitive but dangerous (for heavy equipment in a bog I mean) environment and there would be a serious amount of environmental requirements for them to follow.

The prep works for the next section, Bunnakill to Claremount have begun

Pete_Cavan

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I'm honestly not sure, I haven't been able to find any plans for these works.

What I do know comes from the following

Prep & Test works



Total cost is 10 million

Also, there's 2 bridges to be built, Maam Cross is to be changed to a staggered junction and peat restoration areas are to be established (no idea what those are). To be fair to the contractors, there's a lot to be done in such a small scheme, in a very sensitive but dangerous (for heavy equipment in a bog I mean) environment and there would be a serious amount of environmental requirements for them to follow.

The prep works for the next section, Bunnakill to Claremount have begun

Thanks for the reply.

what_traffic

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

On other similar projects, the existing road or parts of it became a segregated walking/cycling route, do you know if that is the case for this project DaCor?

No not this section East of Maam Cross, the greenway will just cross at Bun na Coill / Bunnakill (roughly where ya meet the first set of traffic lights when heading West)

what_traffic

Environmental requirements is the major issue as DaCor points out. The water run off from construction area into surrounding water steams and the lakes is one of the major issues for this project, that is why its a steady as it goes project.

amandstu

Coming along a bit better now.Anyone know what the big green cages are for?

Some kind of an environmental monitoring unit?

Green Peter

Great job, time to do another stretch.

amandstu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117799886#Comment_117799886

Wishful thinking or is there more to come?