N8/N25/N40 - Dunkettle Interchange [open to traffic]

steeler j wrote: »

forget the n25 for now ,u need a north ring road ,too much traffic using the n40

I think most people agree that we need a NRR, both E and W sections.

My only question was around the new spur from Glanmire to the N25: this is the bit I oppose.

But we need to get commuter traffic off the N40. That's the only long-term solution.

steeler j wrote: »

park and ride off the main routes to the city

Yes and we need more fast cross-city routes too. A lot of N40 traffic is trying to go cross-city E-W and N-S.

I still think there's cheap quick wins to be had from "green corridors" even before the park and rides are implemented.

Park&Rides at:
Blarney - Commuter rail
Dunkettle - Commuter rail
Black Ash - Bus
The new Sarsfields Court / Upper Glanmire / Whites Cross link road(s) - Bus with dedicated corridor

And additional light rail at:
Mahon
Ballincollig

To both bring this thread back on topic and to keep with the crayon designs...I still don't understand why the pedestrian/cycle design for the new interchange is so poor. A friend pointed out just one better design which I've attached as overlaid on the proposed design.

Proposal being implemented is in red/blue, alternative low-cost proposal in green.

It'd require an underpass or crossing near the new Little Island roundabout at the East, but that's as difficult as it gets.
Crosses 1 road instead of 5 by my count.
Navigates 1 Roundabout instead of 3.
Brings users directly into Eastgate.
Is all on the flat.
Much of it already exists.
No reduction in service quality for existing Ballinglanna users.

You could still implement the red section of their proposal. But that's a desired route for very few people at present.

The original documents that this came from (which are in another thread) are along the lines of "what-ifs" so I don't think this will be delayed on account of the NBP. I hope I'm right.

I actually thought contracts had been signed and there was a skeleton crew on site already doing propriety work.

Nothing is happening onsite at the moment at all. Regular updates from the newsletter are along the lines of "we are planning things!" at the moment, specifically a major redesign of the tunnel overheight system, which now must be on all of the slip roads to the tunnel, presumably.

In far more important news, there has been a massive explosion in the number of Dunkettle Bunnies. For a while, there were very few, only one or two in the evening, sometimes none. Friday evening at 530pm there were about 10 on the southbound side, of various sizes, and 3 or 4 on the northbound side.

JupiterKid wrote: »

FG deserve to be completely decimated at the next general election - their incompetence and downright wilful inaction on properly tacking the housing crisis, the massive transport backlog and the mismanagement of the health sector beggar belief...

Not to mention their complete and systematic failure, on both a local and a national level, to tackle the bunny crisis in any meaningful way.

Coveney needs to step in here. Public infrastructure projects are quickly becoming a farce in Cork.

Doesn’t seem to be happening elsewhere though.

€100m upgrade to Cork city traffic blackspot in peril

By Elaine Loughlin

Political Correspondent

Follow @Elaine_Loughlin

Friday, July 05, 2019 - 06:30 AM

The €100m Dunkettle interchange upgrade is under threat with the Government considering halting work due to spiralling costs.

There are now fears the cost of the infrastructure project, which is critical in relieving congestion around Cork City, could end up as high as €170m.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has called on the Government to “come clean” on the current cost of the upgrade, which has already been delayed.

Documents seen by the Irish Examiner show work is being carried out to agree a “target cost” for the project, which was first estimated to come in at €100m, but then jumped to €115m. However, the document reveals that, “at this early stage of assessment, there are areas of significant differences with the contractor in relation to pricing rates submitted”.

The document, issued on June 27, also warns that contractors Sisk may be let go if agreement on price cannot be reached and a procurement process to find another company to carry out the work would have to begin.

“This will delay the completion by some 12-18 months. It is a question of value,” wrote Peter Walsh, Transport Infrastructure Ireland director of capital programmes.

Mr Martin said “there will be huge alarm” around the revelations that the main work on the upgrade, which was due to begin earlier this year, could now be completely stopped while a new tender process is under way.

“It’s very worrying and I am very concerned about it,” he said. “It begs the question, how have the Government got this wrong again?”

He and others had been seeking an update on the project for months, adding that rumours are swirling around the cost of the development which may rise to between €160m and €170m.

The Department of Transport did not provide any updated costings to the Irish Examiner. However, a spokesperson said the target cost stage would be concluded in the coming weeks.

“Advance works have been carried out, the contractor’s design has been finalised and quantified and work is currently progressing on the establishment of the target cost,” the spokesperson confirmed.

“If the parties agree a target cost with the stage one contractor, construction can commence, subject to the necessary approvals as required under the public spending code. Alternatively, if the parties cannot agree a target cost, stage two will be retendered.”

More than 100,000 vehicles use the interchange every day and it is one of the biggest congestion blackspots in Cork.

Mr Martin said planning permissions for residential developments had been granted on the basis of the upgrade being carried out and the city development plan reflects the fact that the project will go ahead.

“There is significant gridlock around this interchange,” he said. “There are massive volumes of traffic going through it each day, especially at rush hour.

“I think the Government need to come clean on this and need to be transparent.”

The Cork South Central TD said the latest revelations add to a trend of spiralling costs on public projects.

“There is a wider issue here also in terms of how accurate the figures for projects in the National Development Plan now are,” said Mr Martin. “It’s all looking very ropey when you have overspending on the National Children’s Hospital and the National Broadband Plan. Now this project seems to be out of kilter as well.”

Last month, Sisk chief Stephen Bowcott said Dunkettle is “in the hands of the Government as to how to proceed”. In April, the company, which has carried out the first phase of the two-phase contract, said they had found the site to be more challenging than expected.

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

The above whinging is exactly what the likes of Sisk and BAM want to hear in these situations. They get themselves identified as preferred tenderer, get to the negotiating table and ratchet up the price, government either signs up to the contract or deals with the political consequences of scraping the process. Its lose lose for government, Sisk won't really have lost anything if the job doesn't go ahead and have hit the jackpot if it does.

On the other hand, if the price HAS ballooned to €170m, there should be serious discussions about the initial cost estimate and what the deviations are.

Hold fire on the politicians right now, but a bit more transparency as to exactly what's going on would be welcome. This is public money.

Lackadaisical wrote: »

I'd assume they didn't estimate the fact that the junction is basically sitting in reclaimed land in a wetland / saltwater swamp. It's way more complicated than the M50 junctions because of that.

Anyone who puts a quotation in for a job should see the bleeding obvious, it is tidal down there, anyone who goes down there can see that and of course the tunnel goes under the water.


So if any contractor went down there and did not notice the conditions, then I do not think they should have been given the job.

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

It would be interesting to know how much truth there is to ground conditions being worse than originally thought. If this is coming from Sisk, I would be very suspicious of it.

That's my opinion too.