M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

bacon&cabbage · 15-06-2009 10:23pm

Started laying Asphalt at the Newport interchange at the weekend, some serious amount of work has been done there over the last few months

mysterious · 16-06-2009 4:24am

bacon&cabbage wrote: »

Started laying Asphalt at the Newport interchange at the weekend, some serious amount of work has been done there over the last few months

So the date is offcially early Dec..

Could we see a Novemeber opening. It seems to be really speeding up for sure.

bacon&cabbage · 16-06-2009 8:47pm

bacon&cabbage wrote: »

Started laying Asphalt at the Newport interchange at the weekend, some serious amount of work has been done there over the last few months

I Was passing today and the concrete median road barriers are now being constructed

One concern ... They havent left much time for the significant earthworks to settle, before laying the asphalt. (2-3 months maybe?)

Berty · 16-06-2009 8:58pm

bacon&cabbage wrote: »

I Was passing today and the concrete median road barriers are now being constructed

One concern ... They havent left much time for the significant earthworks to settle, before laying the asphalt. (2-3 months maybe?)

Not at all.

The large machine which lays out the sub base which is a composite of layers of 504, 505 and a top layer of CL804 grades it out to specific heights depending on the Engineers report for that section.

The rollers come in and compact it and nobody goes on it until the tarmac boys turn up.

You could let it settle for as little as one day.

The site foreman used to HATE me because I would walk across his sub base and dig a big hole with a shovel for a quantity sample after the grading. OH HE REALLY HATED ME.

mysterious · 17-06-2009 6:34am

So november opening??? late november?

I hope they plant lot's of native trees at the bog. Actually it would be logical to plant trees there to drain the soil and keep it solid..

bacon&cabbage · 17-06-2009 10:12pm

Berty wrote: »

Not at all.

The large machine which lays out the sub base which is a composite of layers of 504, 505 and a top layer of CL804 grades it out to specific heights depending on the Engineers report for that section.

The rollers come in and compact it and nobody goes on it until the tarmac boys turn up.

You could let it settle for as little as one day.

The site foreman used to HATE me because I would walk across his sub base and dig a big hole with a shovel for a quantity sample after the grading. OH HE REALLY HATED ME.

What i meant was was the metres of rubble/backfill/earth thats beneath what you describe here (apologies for my lack of knowledge of the correct terminology

)

I'd imagine this sinks and compacts a bit

Berty · 18-06-2009 8:00am

Its compacted as they layers of it arrive out of the back of the lorry otherwise the lorries themselves would sink as they pass over it.

Fear not, the days of our old national roads which are shoveled out of a trailer are long gone.

Berty · 18-06-2009 8:03am

I was making my many annoying trips up and down to Belfast when I was stopped on the M50 by traffic. I was staring at the median barrier with shock at the terrible job they have made of it.

It appears that they either used the incorrect slump of concrete or poured in the rain and tried to cover up their work with a trowel and some mortar.

It looks lumpy and uneven and off level.

It then arrived onto the Nenagh bypass where the barrier is a joy. It is the same company who laid the fermoy bypass barrier. Good Man too.

Tech3 · 21-06-2009 1:37am

bacon&cabbage wrote: »

I Was passing today and the concrete median road barriers are now being constructed

One concern ... They havent left much time for the significant earthworks to settle, before laying the asphalt. (2-3 months maybe?)

That section is coming along as it was a right mess about 2 months ago.

Berty, do you think the wearing course will be laid down on any stretch of the scheme soon?

Berty · 21-06-2009 1:44am

tech2 wrote: »

That section is coming along as it was a right mess about 2 months ago.

Berty, do you think the wearing course will be laid down on any stretch of the scheme soon?

Jesus, what are we doing up so late???

I would imagine that it would be futile to lay the wearing course on the Nenagh bypass until such time as the rest of the M7 is nearing completion.

Laying the wearing course is only mildly different from laying a sub base but the tests involved in testing the wearing course are sooo long and so painful.

I have not really seen the rest of the bypass. I would imagine that the Dublin Rd Roundabout in Limerick to the Nenagh section could be laid first, then Castletown to Nenagh and then finally nenagh.

Even the Dublin Road Flyover at Finnegans has Sub Base already laid on it, excluding the structures and the infill between them.

Looking at the schedule for completion they will need more than one team to lay the wearing course. It is a long bypass with esentially six lanes wide and even wider at the Toll Plaza to lay.

Tech3 · 22-06-2009 8:30am

The Nenagh-Limerick and Nenagh-Castletown are two different schemes though. The only toll plaza on the route will be on the M8/M7 scheme near Portlaoise.

Nenagh-Limerick is due to be finished December whereas Nenagh-Castletown is at least another year behind.

Berty · 22-06-2009 9:12am

tech2 wrote: »

The Nenagh-Limerick and Nenagh-Castletown are two different schemes though. The only toll plaza on the route will be on the M8/M7 scheme near Portlaoise.

Nenagh-Limerick is due to be finished December whereas Nenagh-Castletown is at least another year behind.

Sorry. You are correct. I got my schemes mixed up. It was 1:45am.

Tech3 · 22-06-2009 9:38am

Berty wrote: »

Sorry. You are correct. I got my schemes mixed up. It was 1:45am.

Wish you were right though because Nenagh-Castletown is so so far behind schedule

Also from a quick glance I could see sub base being laid on the N7 tunnel scheme at the weekend if you look on the eastern side of the Crescent overbridge. Great to see that scheme coming along now.

Berty · 22-06-2009 4:19pm

I think that I read somewhere that the CJV boys are thinking of holding another public open day.

The Germans are now finished with their work(Strabag) mostly and the Dutch have arrived to complete the internal works.

Roadbridge are the main contractor for the groundworks with Lagan doing the blacktop end(normally subcontract out) and Sisk being the structure people. Sisk are making good ground on the Ennis dual carriageway flyover.

My work rarely takes me along the dooradoyle or Dock Rd so I rarely get to see any work happening.

mysterious · 01-07-2009 9:43pm

On the Castletown - Nenagh section.

The pillars and bridge walls are finished at Moneygall flyover, the overbridge beam's still have to be placed.

The bridges at Castletown are 90% complete (from Toome to Moneygall). I asked my friend when it will be opened to traffic, he said two weeks.
The Castletown scheme at Clashnevin itself it picking up but at a slow pace, since it was here 3months ago that was fairly advanced in comparison to the latter half of this scheme. The trench is fairly extensive. Even regards to this been slow, the land is very diverse. From Nenagh to Toome, its very thick brown soil. From Clashnevin to Moneygall its like pure sand, and from Moneygall to Roscrea is pretty mixed and the altitude rises a fair bit. I'm not in anyway familiar with the land after Roscrea though other than its quite hilly.

I have not seen the Nenagh bypass to Limerick scheme in the last few weeks, but I did hear someone say the bypass itself is pacing up and is almost on it's final layer the whole way. I did travel near the Lmerick scheme (just beyond Ballnahinch/Killoscully) and the views from their you would swear the road is complete only for the fact there is no cars on it. I have to say it's a a beautiful sight. I don't think people fully realise just how stunning the view's this road swirls through the dulating valleys, as most of the motorway goes through very low valley lands beside the mountains. The old N7 is actually a good 200 meters above it at one point!!!

mysterious · 02-07-2009 2:30am

Here is the simple layout of the should be going ahead Nenagh R445 interchange.

It's more straightforward.
It's less design complications
Less conflicting movements
Little alterations to existing layout
This layout means that HS can fit under the new bridge.
It has two roundabout s (not three proposed by NRA)]
Also takes less land

spacetweek · 03-07-2009 8:20pm

Berty wrote: »

I was making my many annoying trips up and down to Belfast when I was stopped on the M50 by traffic. I was staring at the median barrier with shock at the terrible job they have made of it.

It appears that they either used the incorrect slump of concrete or poured in the rain and tried to cover up their work with a trowel and some mortar.

It looks lumpy and uneven and off level.

It then arrived onto the Nenagh bypass where the barrier is a joy. It is the same company who laid the fermoy bypass barrier. Good Man too.

I think I know what you're referring to. While the M50 was under construction they left out short sections (2-3 metres) of the concrete barrier every few k's to allow work vehicles to pass in and out. When that section was complete, they filled the gap manually using a wooden mold, smoothing the sides with trowels. The sections are very short and only occasionally encountered. I don't think they're a big deal.

Tech3 · 04-07-2009 11:41am

Gantrys are starting to be put up on the scheme now. They were working on one approaching the Newport interchange on the southbound lane.

Also some blue countdown markers have been put up approaching junctions on the Nenagh bypass.

Tech3 · 07-07-2009 5:01pm

A few more updates, I found this overbridge off the ballinahinch road. Its very near the bridhill interchange. I went around a few road lanes to find a closer one but no overbridge near the interchange itself it seems. Just a warning to not try these little roads I will never go on them again very poor condition with massive potholes. (best to use ballinahinch road parralel to the new motorway)

Looking southbound
3697572515_f5e0842c76.jpg?v=0

Looking northbound
3697568595_560355f962.jpg?v=0

Gantry on the mainline
] 3698375706_c2fa012cf5.jpg?v=0

Amtmann · 07-07-2009 11:08pm

Very impressive progress. This is a shoo-in to open before the year's end.

RE those first two pictures Tech 2: that's a very awkward overbridge to reach from the N7. Did you have to cross a railway track and then close the gates behind you on your way up to it?

101sean · 07-07-2009 11:24pm

To access that bridge from the N7 does require the track to be crossed and is very narrow, steep and winding, all construction traffic inc light vehicles is banned. It's only about 300m off the Silvermines Road, much safer access.

The cuttting there is about 12m deep in Glacial Till, only started digging that this time last year.

No one has checked out the bridges over the Ballinahinch cut yet, that's a 30m deep rock cut that caused a lot of headaches with very hard rock and ground water. Be interested to see how that looks now, it's a year now since I was there.

Tech3 · 08-07-2009 12:16am

Furet wrote: »

Very impressive progress. This is a shoo-in to open before the year's end.

RE those first two pictures Tech 2: that's a very awkward overbridge to reach from the N7. Did you have to cross a railway track and then close the gates behind you on your way up to it?

Yeah it was a very steep hill up and had to cross the railway tracks. Think the gates were opened not sure if there was ones there.

I can remember a notice to say stop and listen before you cross the track though! Those local roads there are god awful with potholes 3 inches deep at times.

Dont quote me on this but I think steel barriers might be used as I saw no concrete base on the median on a section of it but I could be wrong.

Tech3 · 08-07-2009 12:20am

101sean wrote: »

No one has checked out the bridges over the Ballinahinch cut yet, that's a 30m deep rock cut that caused a lot of headaches with very hard rock and ground water. Be interested to see how that looks now, it's a year now since I was there.

Where is that located sean? I was passing through the ballinahinch road and I could just drop off to the left for 2 overbridges but 1 road was closed to traffic for some reason? Also is there a overbridge close to the Birdhill interchange so I could get a shot of it?

Tech3 · 08-07-2009 12:40am

Here is the map of birdhill, the new M7 is already mapped on google maps. I passed over the birdhill link road and sure I passed the other road intersections. Only way to work it out seems to be just to drive up the link road to the interchange on a Sunday and see.

101sean · 08-07-2009 9:27am

If you carried on over the Birdhill link through Upper Lacken you should have come to a T junction, the right turn goes over the cut, it's the road that crosses over the new N7 to the first Ballinahich name on the map. The road was shut 9 months ago, thought it would be open now.

The bridge at the other end of it is down a tiny lane in the middle of Ballinahinch, it's a dead end accessing a farm.

Tech3 · 08-07-2009 2:37pm

101sean wrote: »

If you carried on over the Birdhill link through Upper Lacken you should have come to a T junction, the right turn goes over the cut, it's the road that crosses over the new N7 to the first Ballinahich name on the map. The road was shut 9 months ago, thought it would be open now.

The bridge at the other end of it is down a tiny lane in the middle of Ballinahinch, it's a dead end accessing a farm.

I'm certain I passed over that overbridge. The progress is similar now on all parts of the scheme anyway with the wearing course to go down soon. I'm just wondering how long more will it take to get to that stage.

Btw the link road looks standard single carriageway looking from the overbridge that crosses it. I didnt get a chance for a pic of that though. I could see another overbridge in the background and then the main N7 traffic going around the roundabout.

101sean · 08-07-2009 3:41pm

It is single carriageway, the bridge just before the N7 is a cattle crossing.

bacon&cabbage · 09-07-2009 8:31pm

Just had a look at what the Newport interchange will look like

http://n7nenaghtolimerick.com/newport.htm

I pity those comuting from Nenagh to Castletroy/Limerick CC :rolleyes:

>>Que mysterious to redraw the whole thing

Berty · 09-07-2009 9:11pm

bacon&cabbage wrote: »

Just had a look at what the Newport interchange will look like

http://n7nenaghtolimerick.com/newport.htm

I pity those comuting from Nenagh to Castletroy/Limerick CC :rolleyes:

>>Que mysterious to redraw the whole thing

I dont really agree.

If you consider the current situation then it will not change very much. They will be coming south along the N7(as they are now) and will need to exit onto a roundabout which will be significantly quieter and then take the underpass through onto the current exit to Finnegans.

I welcome the new quieter roundabout because I access the roundabout each morning from the R503 and the lower level of traffic coming from the N7 will make it easier to access the roundabout.

bacon&cabbage · 09-07-2009 9:32pm

Berty wrote: »

I dont really agree.

If you consider the current situation then it will not change very much. They will be coming south along the N7(as they are now) and will need to exit onto a roundabout which will be significantly quieter and then take the underpass through onto the current exit to Finnegans.

I welcome the new quieter roundabout because I access the roundabout each morning from the R503 and the lower level of traffic coming from the N7 will make it easier to access the roundabout.

I agree It will be alot quieter but the very fact that it is a roundabout is what upsets me

Consider those going from Castletroy north to nenagh,
the big roundabout and then the tiny castleconnell roundabout before merging with the N/M7

M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

Comments