M17/M18 - Gort to Tuam [open to traffic]

and the mopeds, certain tractors, etc etc

m17 wrote: »

The townland of ballybanagher corofin pic1 22/04/15 pic2 22/05/16

west on track must hate all this progress, What speed will the x51 do on this motorway?

How fast will bus journies from Tuam to Galway become?

And will folk from South Mayo find it quicker to nip down and across rather than suffer the N5 when travelling to Dublin

Could Lagan be holding off completion because they have to pay sub contractors a lump when this is done?

wintear wrote: »

Could Lagan be holding off completion because they have to pay sub contractors a lump when this is done?

Subcontractors would only be paid on a measured rate in most instances e.g. metre square, linear metre, tonne etc. A subcontractor will usually be paid at the end of every month when they would submit an interim valuation. On each months work the main contractor in this case lagans would stop retention at usually 5%. So let say for arguments sake the subcontractor is looking to be paid for installing for 100 metres of kerbing at 1 euro a metre. At the end of the month he will bill Lagans for 100 euro. They will give him 95 euro and hold the retention of 5% or in this case 5 euro. This will cover them in the event of the works failing or becoming defective. When the subcontractor has finished his works in total they will release 2.5% of the retention held, lets say in this case he will get 2.5 euro back. Then at the end of the defects period (a guarantee) which will be agreed between Lagans and the subcontractor at the start of the works he will get the final 2.5% or in this case 2.5 euro. In this instance the subcontractor will only ever get paid the maximum of 100 euro with the only exception being if he is entitled to further monies, e.g. compensation for damage to his works, delays to his schedule etc.

You have to realize in these situations Lagans will only get paid for the works that are completed also. As soon as the subcontractor goes to Lagans with his bill for the kerbing, they will in turn bill the concession company for payment for the installation of the kerbing.

the nature of subcontracting also ensures that if Lagans are paying him 100 euro for that section of kerbing, then will be billing the concession company for 100 euro plus their overheads and profits in this case might be 150 euro. The main contractor Lagans will only award a subcontract at a lesser rate for what they originally had it priced...their can be a very odd excption but thats for another day.

It is in everyones interest to get the works finished early. Main contractors will have overheads e.g. core engineering staff , vehicles, rent of offices etc. Every day they have to attend site it is costing them huge money to keep a site open and working. Lagans make money by getting works done on time...as is the case with the subcontractor.
If i pay a painter €1000 to paint my house its in his interest to get in done in two days and not four days. His costs for loading his van and paying a man to hold the ladder are being reduced greatly for every day extra he is at my house...he will still only be getting the agreed 1000 euro. road building is no different.

So to answer your question i don't believe there is any valid reason that Lagans would be delaying finishing works so as not to pay subcontractors.

jenningso wrote: »

Could you drive a tractor etc. through this? Or is it for livestock only?

maybe a 35 with the roll bar taken off

marno21 wrote: »

Surely a phased opening will have to happen here.

I can't see it happening. This stretch is between the (future) roundabout south of Tuam and the N63 junction.



It would make no sense, in advance of a full opening, to put traffic on the M17, and then have it come off at the N63 and go back in through Claregalway.

The only partial openings that make sense to me would be the Tuam bypass (unlikely, as a lot of work still to do there) and the M17 (which would require Rathmorrissey junction to be completed). I can't see either of these happening.

Some of M17's photos are misleading in that they show an advanced level of progress. I would however, draw your attention to his other photos which show less advancements. Not all of the M17 is as advanced as the section around Corofin (and in fairness to M17, he does state that, and his (non-tarmaced) photos show that).

As I've seen on other road threads, as soon as people see photos with a bit of tarmac on them - they get overexcited. "Are we there yet, are we there yet" replaced by "Is it open yet, is it open yet - aw, why isn't it open?"