N6 Kilbeggan to Athlone Progress

JupiterKid · 13-08-2007 1:12am #1

I was down in Athlone vising friends today and I can't get over the fantastic progress on the new N6 HQDC that will connect the new section at Kilbeggan. Most of the bridges seem to already have been built and earthworks look very advanced. I wouldn't be surprised if this section of road opens ahead of schedule.

Which brings me to a question. If we can complete 30 or 40 kilometre stretches of road in less than 2 years, then why did it take like 5 years to build a couple of miles of bypass back in the 70s and 80s?

spacetweek · 13-08-2007 7:03pm

JupiterKid wrote:

Which brings me to a question. If we can complete 30 or 40 kilometre stretches of road in less than 2 years, then why did it take like 5 years to build a couple of miles of bypass back in the 70s and 80s?

Good question. I think back then funding wasn't guaranteed year-on-year (in fact this was the case up until pretty recently) so the council could have had the rug pulled out from under them at any point. When this happened, work presumably had to stop until next year. Pretty frustrating.

A better question is why it takes 2 years to build 30 k's of N6 etc. but roads like the 12 km Kildare BP took the guts of 5. Also the 23km Gorey BP appears to have only taken 2 years when the 11 km M50 South Eastern Motorway took 4-odd, etc. etc.

How long will the M3 take???

murphaph · 13-08-2007 7:17pm

There are loads of reasons why one motorway takes longer than another, from engineering considerations (the M50 SE would be a good example of tough terrain) to legal ones (again the M50 SE project was dogged by objections). Kildare had the snails thing, didn't it.

Victor · 14-08-2007 6:32am

Kilbeggan to Athlone had the ability to pretty much take any alignment it wanted, others didn't.

The excavations on the Glanmire bypass are up to 16m deep. On the M50 South Eastern Motorway they had to go through rock - next to housing estates. Other projects have large bridges or other complications.

Other reasons are finance, a larger, more capable construction industry and being in the finance minister's consitituency.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4 · 14-08-2007 11:41am

JupiterKid wrote:

I can't get over the fantastic progress on the new N6 HQDC that will connect the new section at Kilbeggan. Most of the bridges seem to already have been built and earthworks look very advanced. I wouldn't be surprised if this section of road opens ahead of schedule.

as far as a know the N6 is nearly a year ahead of schedule. The section from kilbeggan to athlone is scheduled to be open by roughly december 2008 as far as i know. it should be opened my March 2008 at the letest by the look of things

GerardKeating · 14-08-2007 11:59am

Matias Scarce Rosebud wrote:

as far as a know the N6 is nearly a year ahead of schedule. The section from kilbeggan to athlone is scheduled to be open by roughly december 2008 as far as i know. it should be opened my March 2008 at the letest by the look of things

do you mean December 2007 ?

14-08-2007 6:45pm

It looks like they are about to start tying in the new road at near Kilmartin roundabout, Athlone. That'll slow traffic down for the next few months.:(

Hopefully it won't cause too much disruption.

Carawaystick · 14-08-2007 9:04pm

I passed the works at Tober east of Moate 2 weekends ago, no sign of formwork or structures there yet... I though't ther'd be decent progress by now.

Irish and Proud · 14-08-2007 9:21pm

Carawaystick wrote:

I passed the works at Tober east of Moate 2 weekends ago, no sign of formwork or structures there yet... I though't ther'd be decent progress by now.

Maybe the contractors are working from Athlone out towards Kilbeggan. Maybe we'll see the Athlone to Moate section open around Christmas, and then to Kilbeggan by summer next!

The M4/N6 Kilcock to Athlone projects are a model in terms of rollout - 50 miles of motorway/HQDC from construction (M4 to Kinnegead - 2003) to completion (N6 to Athlone 2008) in just five years. Now, can the M50 contractors take some notes!

BTW, if anyone spots a worker along the M50, please take a picture - M50 construction workers are a rare species! :rolleyes:

Regards!

mickd · 14-08-2007 10:50pm

JupiterKid wrote:

why did it take like 5 years to build a couple of miles of bypass back in the 70s and 80s?

The reason was that co councils were responsible for building the roads, and we know what a bastion of incompetence local government is. Now we have the NRA which after 10 years are finally proving adept at road construction.

15-08-2007 8:46am

Irish and Proud wrote:

Maybe the contractors are working from Athlone out towards Kilbeggan. Maybe we'll see the Athlone to Moate section open around Christmas, and then to Kilbeggan by summer next!

More likely they will open Athlone - Kilbeggan first then finish off the Moate link road, a bit like the Ennis bypass.

Bypassing Moate is the main priority.

Mailman · 15-08-2007 2:28pm

the only two things I see wrong with the M4/M6 are:

100kmph speed limit from Kinnegad to Kilbeggan for no reason.

The toll; the portion of the road built under PPP was short and technically simple to construct yet a private firm can extract a toll for decades to come on the back of all the work paid for by the Public on the other stretches of the road.
I don't like tolls but I wouldn't be half as resentful of the M4 toll if the stretch of road had been built by the government and tolled by the government taking the full share of the toll.
the rate of progress on the other stretches of the road undermines the original justification for PPP that private firms are more efficient in delivering infrastructure than purely publically funded projects through the NRA contracting.

15-08-2007 3:55pm

Mailman wrote:

the only two things I see wrong with the M4/M6 are:

100kmph speed limit from Kinnegad to Kilbeggan for no reason.
.

I believe that the N6 will be upgraded to M6 (change green signs to blue, replace dotted yellow line with solid & change speed limit) in the next few months.

Mailman wrote:

The toll; the portion of the road built under PPP was short and technically simple to construct yet a private firm can extract a toll for decades to come on the back of all the work paid for by the Public on the other stretches of the road.
I don't like tolls but I wouldn't be half as resentful of the M4 toll if the stretch of road had been built by the government and tolled by the government taking the full share of the toll.
the rate of progress on the other stretches of the road undermines the original justification for PPP that private firms are more efficient in delivering infrastructure than purely publically funded projects through the NRA contracting.

+1

Chris_533976 · 15-08-2007 4:06pm

I'd rather a nice long stretch of motorway not designed as a bypass of a single town be tolled. At least it can be avoided without destroying towns.

For example, the Fermoy bypass is tolled, and everyone still goes through Fermoy - and traffic in Watergrasshill has gone UP since the bypass opened.

Far better IMO to toll a stretch that isnt specifically designed as a bypass of a town.

Or have no tolls at all, thats better

impr0v · 15-08-2007 4:43pm

Irish and Proud wrote:

The M4/N6 Kilcock to Athlone projects are a model in terms of rollout - 50 miles of motorway/HQDC from construction (M4 to Kinnegead - 2003) to completion (N6 to Athlone 2008) in just five years. Now, can the M50 contractors take some notes!

The contractors on the M50 are the same as those on the M4 - a Siac-Ferrovial joint venture. In their defense, there's a huge difference between working on a greenfield site and working in between four heavily subscribed lanes of traffic.

murphaph · 15-08-2007 7:26pm

Mailman wrote:

The toll; the portion of the road built under PPP was short and technically simple to construct yet a private firm can extract a toll for decades to come on the back of all the work paid for by the Public on the other stretches of the road.

.......and worse still is the fact that the state paid for the land first! PPP or PFI is a con IMO. It cannot be better for a nation to use them when a nation (AAA rated) can borrow money for less than ANY private consortium. Ultimately the public must pay and I'd rather pay less through state borrowing. we have this morbid fear of borrowing for fear of increasing the national debt, yet it's OK to borrow for capital projects, just like getting a mortgage!

Happy Bertie · 15-08-2007 8:09pm

If you think that the company with the PPP contract is going to make so much money then invest your money in that company. It's one way to take away the anger of feeling ripped off with tolls.

I wonder how many people invested in NTL Toll Roads plc back in 1989 when they took on a huge risk building the Westlink bridge. The banks were threatening to withdraw their investment in NTL back then.

DerekP11 · 15-08-2007 9:33pm

Happy Bertie wrote:

If you think that the company with the PPP contract is going to make so much money then invest your money in that company. It's one way to take away the anger of feeling ripped off with tolls.

I'd really love to, but I can't as Im skint by having to pay tolls on the M50, M8and M4. Oh and the eastlink and port tunnel skin me a few times a month aswell.

Victor · 15-08-2007 9:39pm

I have to pay bus fares **every** week.

DerekP11 · 15-08-2007 9:41pm

Victor wrote:

I have to pay bus fares **every** week.

Buy a car. Everyone else has in this god forsaken country.

D'Peoples Voice · 16-08-2007 1:33pm

Victor wrote:

I have to pay bus fares **every** week.

I pay more for parking my car in Dublin city in one day,
than I do on toll roads in one month!

If they are going to abolish tolls,
I'd prefer if they abolish car park charges.
Abolishing tolls will cause gridlock in Dublin, because everyone will start driving to work so what's another bit of gridlock?

dodgyme · 16-08-2007 1:39pm

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

Abolishing tolls will cause gridlock in Dublin, because everyone will start driving to work ?

Public transport is by far more convenient if it exist. Removing tolls will have no effect on the gridlock

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

I pay more for parking my car in Dublin city in one day,
than I do on toll roads in one month!?

so you still take the car then.

soloeffort · 16-08-2007 4:05pm

so does anyone actually know when they expect to have any of the next stage of the motorway from Kilbeggan to Athlone open?

impr0v · 16-08-2007 4:09pm

soloeffort wrote:

so does anyone actually know when they expect to have any of the next stage of the motorway from Kilbeggan to Athlone open?

Unofficially early Autumn '08, officially 'Late 2008'.

Victor · 16-08-2007 10:27pm

dodgyme wrote:

Removing tolls will have no effect on the gridlock

Removing tolls reduces the oppurtunity costs of using a car, thereby encouraging car use and increasing congestion.

GerardKeating · 17-08-2007 9:21am

impr0v wrote:

Unofficially early Autumn '08, officially 'Late 2008'.

So at least a year away

spacetweek · 19-08-2007 10:52pm

DerekP11 wrote:

Buy a car. Everyone else has in this god forsaken country.

Now now. :rolleyes:

19-08-2007 11:04pm

GerardKeating wrote:

So at least a year away

TBH apart from the "Moate factor" the rest of the road between Kilbeggan & Athlone is fairly good and if one travels along it before 6AM or after 21:30 PM (as I have to

) its OK! The new section will have a limited effect on my journey times 5-10 mins at best). Will easily take at least half an hour of those who use it during "normal" travel times.

N6 Kilbeggan to Athlone Progress

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