[invinciblePRSTV]

Originally Posted by KevR

People were predicting huge tailbacks going through Ballinasloe (Westbound mainly) when the M6 from Athlone to East Ballinasloe. It was expected that traffic would arrive in Ballinasloe at faster pace and cause worse traffic going through the town. I drove Galway-Athlone-Galway everyday in the months leading up to the M6 opening and in the months immediately after the opening and traffic going through Ballinasloe was no worse after the opening.

My theory for why it got no worse is that on the old N6 there was no decent overtaking opportunities between Athlone and Ballinasloe which meant traffic bunched up in huge convoys behind slow drivers. These convoys always moved at a snails pace through the town with people slowing or stopping to turn off or on to the N6. When the M6 opened, traffic was travelling a lot faster between Athlone and Ballinasloe but there was obviously excellent overtaking opportunities so traffic was arriving at Ballinasloe at a much more steady rate, rather than in bunches.

Obviously there was grade seperation and a brand new motorway on the M6; in Cork it will just be grade seperation so not exactly the same..

Again let's be realistic here and compare like with like. Ballinasloe - Athlone is a rural motorway connecting a really small town (B'sloe) with two moderately sized urban area's (A'lone & Galway).

The SRR is the main artery for an urban area of 300k people and beyond. It is congested now and will be even with the flyovers in place.

So you have the main artery for the Cork urban area linking to 3 other Motorways/DCs via the tunnel. Without full grade seperation of the r'aboutl you will have 4 major routes all converging on one roundabout. Of course there will be major congestion.

[MrDerp]

Originally Posted by invinciblePRSTV

Again let's be realistic here and compare like with like. Ballinasloe - Athlone is a rural motorway connecting a really small town (B'sloe) with two moderately sized urban area's (A'lone & Galway).

The SRR is the main artery for an urban area of 300k people and beyond. It is congested now and will be even with the flyovers in place.

So you have the main artery for the Cork urban area linking to 3 other Motorways/DCs via the tunnel. Without full grade seperation of the r'aboutl you will have 4 major routes all converging on one roundabout. Of course there will be major congestion.

I'm not sure about this. There might be some knock-on effect, sure, but I don't think it'll be so drastic.

One simple question I ask myself is "how many people drive from Ballincollig to Dunkettle at rush hour?"

The last roundabout before Dunkettle is at Sarsfield Rd. Is every car waiting at that roundabout going to go through the tunnel? There are 6 exits before the tunnel:
1) Togher
2) Turner's X, City Center (Link), Airport
3) Douglas (West)
4) Douglas (East)
5) Carrigaline, Rochestown
6) Mahon Point

An absolutely massive catchment of Cork's population who, if going home, will get off before the tunnel.

I agree there are times when dunkettle backs up really badly, and this can affect the link, and this might be made slightly worse by traffic rapidly approaching, but it'll be infrequent. It's certainly not enough to have an overall negative impact associated with building the flyovers.

[KevR]

Originally Posted by invinciblePRSTV

So you have the main artery for the Cork urban area linking to 3 other Motorways/DCs via the tunnel. Without full grade seperation of the r'aboutl you will have 4 major routes all converging on one roundabout. Of course there will be major congestion.

I'm not saying there won't be congestion and I would definitely like to see Dunkettle sorted properly. I think the other flyovers should be done; as Chris said - to not do the other flyovers on account of Dunkettle becoming a bigger bottleneck would be crazy. I was merely giving an example of where people thought a road upgrade would cause a bigger bottleneck at an existing bottleneck but that failed to materialise; I wasn't trying to compare like with like although Ballinasloe was a notorious bottleneck.

[Hogzy]

Lads at the end of the day if they are built they are a step in the right direction. I cant see traffic getting any worse to be honest unless more people end up using the road due to their preception of it being congestion free.

[munchkin_utd]

Originally Posted by Hogzy

Lads at the end of the day if they are built they are a step in the right direction. I cant see traffic getting any worse to be honest unless more people end up using the road due to their preception of it being congestion free.

It'll be interesting to see.

It wouldnt be inconcievable that more non-essential spins are made by people heading to Wilton and Mahon point shopping areas once people aren't put off by the chance of getting stuck at those poxy roundabouts.

But it would take some amount of extra housewives on the road to create enough congestion on a freeflow junction that everything grinds to a halt the way it does now!!!

[cork_south]

http://corkpolitics.ie/wp/?p=4832 April 15th 2010 Flyovers tender welcomed Tags: Bandon Road, Cork, flyovers, Ireland, N25, politics, Sarsfield Road, South Ring Road South Central TD Michael McGrath has welcomed the publication of tender documents for the construction of the Bandon road and Sarsfield road flyovers. The tender documents have been published by Cork City Council and contractors have until 17th May to apply to be considered for the project. “The construction of flyovers at the Bandon road and Sarsfield road interchanges is a major boost for Cork. Both of these junctions have been real bottlenecks on the Southern ring road network and it is tremendous news that they will proceed to construction in the coming months. “I understand that a detailed programme covering both the design and construction phases will be finalised over the next couple of weeks. A scale model of the proposed scheme is available for viewing at the National Road Design Office in Glanmire. “Once these new interchanges are completed, the South Ring Road will be a critical piece of infrastructure and will be an important asset for the region. I have no doubt but that the investment in these interchanges will pay a rich economic dividend for Cork in the years ahead. The interchanges will also make daily life so much easier for thousands of Cork commuters. “In recent weeks, I have again spoken with Senior NRA officials and Minister Noel Dempsey in relation to this project. There is a real commitment to delivering this project for Cork. “I understand that the construction project will take approx. 18 months to complete. The NRA will secure extremely good value for money in the marketplace at the moment given the level of competition between the leading building contractors. I very much look forward to seeing progress on the development of these two key interchanges in the period ahead,” he said.

[Typewriter]

Two east and west photos from the pedestrian brige over the Sarsfield road roundabout. I took these last month at about 3pm on a Tuesday. I rediscovered them on my phone today just thought I'd share.

[fresca]

I had always thought that that pedestrian bridge over the sarsfield road roundabout was one of the longest pedestrian bridges in ireland.
it seems the new bridge in UL is now longer at 350m.
http://www.ulf.ie/events/president-o...-bridge-at-ul/

Originally Posted by green_jesus

Two east and west photos from the pedestrian brige over the Sarsfield road roundabout. I took these last month at about 3pm on a Tuesday. I rediscovered them on my phone today just thought I'd share.

[cork_south]

Today is the last day for the tender application.

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/sh...x?ID=APR147155
Publication Date: 12/04/2010 Application Deadline: 17/05/2010 Notice Deadline Date: 24/05/2010

[Bards]

December start for construction to commence (Pending Funding) - weird month to pick to start construction, right in the middle of Winter with short days and holidays etc

From Irish Examiner http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/flyov...on-120066.html
===========================================
MOTORISTS face up to two years of disruption while two flyovers are built on Cork’s busiest road.



A major plan is now being drawn up to keep city traffic moving during the €60 million project designed to eliminate two of the N25 South Ring Road’s most notorious bottlenecks.

Engineers leading the N25 Bandon Road and Sarsfield Road flyover project confirmed last night that work is scheduled to start in December, pending funding, and will take at least 24 months to complete.

The work on both roundabouts – located less than a mile apart – will take place at the same time as part of a single contract.

And with up to 60,000 vehicles using the roundabouts each day, engineers are now working on a plan to manage traffic while construction work continue.

They are already in talks with gardaí and the emergency services to ensure that traffic disruption is minimised.

It is likely that the closure of critical east-west lanes will not take place at rush-hour. Night-time and weekend work, which is expensive, will also be required.

Special arrangements will also be made for emergency service vehicles to continue using the Sarsfield Road roundabout to facilitate access to nearby Cork University Hospital.

As well as using press and local radio to keep the public updated, engineers are also considering using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to give live updates. They have also invited the public to email n25@ccc-site.com to be included on a mailing list for updates.

The traffic problem at each roundabout has worsened significantly since the €70m Kinsale Road flyover opened in 2006.

The new flyovers are designed to take east and westbound traffic up and over the roundabouts.

A lot of advance engineering work has already been done near the Sarsfield Road roundabout, at the boundary of St Finbarr’s GAA club’s land, and along the westbound lane between both roundabouts, near Bishopstown Court shopping centre. Engineers are now finalising the detailed designs for the two four-lane flyovers.

The Sarsfield Road roundabout will be realigned. Slip roads will be built on the northern and southern sides of the roundabouts to facilitate access to the Bishopstown, Wilton and Togher suburbs.

Pedestrian footbridges at both roundabouts will be removed.

A walkway and cycle lane on the northern side of the N25, between the roundabouts, will be maintained and a new cycle lane will be built on the southern side. Expressions of interest have already been invited from contractors and the short-listing process will be carried out early next month.

The short-listed contractors will then begin work on the preparation of their final tenders and these will then be submitted towards the end of September.

Preliminary works have already begun to locate existing services like electricity, sewage and gas pipes.

Some short-term lane closures will be needed to allow this work to continue but these lane closures will be carried out during off-peak hours or at weekends.

A scale model of the flyover scheme is available for viewing at the National Road Design Office in Glanmire. It is likely that the model will also be put on display over the coming weeks in both the City Hall and County Hall.

The flyovers have been in planning since 2003 and it is hoped that funding will be secured within months.

Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/flyov...#ixzz0oGRUbA75

[Hogzy]

Am i the only one who is shocked at all this all of a sudden?I know its been planned for ages and i suppose it had to happen some time but im shocked at all this all of a sudden!

[munchkin_utd]

i am also surprised but it is a rational and logical thing to do.

during recessionary times, you can get your capital projects done cheaper (even with the added cost of borrowing) and in place in time for when they are really needed during the good times.

And also in the bigger picture Cork is a less attractive and more expensive place to do business at the moment with the jams currently caused by the roundabouts.
If in teh future the flyovers help businesses be more efficient, more profitable, more viable; then that creates jobs, and the extra taxes help pay the loan on the road improvements.

well....... that 50% + of the working population dont pay income tax is another issue, but at least there would be less on the dole if the removal of the traffic jams were to stimulate economic activity and create(/ save) jobs in Cork City!

[invinciblePRSTV]

Again i'll believe it when i see it, but seeing as the latest piece of propaganda coming through my door yesterday was a Michael Martin flyer (although my address is miles outside of Cork South Centrals boundaries) which extolled how this project was progressing then i'm thinking Cork SC FF have managed to get funding of the flyovers made a priority. Political patronage is a dirty old game.

[fresca]

can you smell it.... ELECTION

Originally Posted by Hogzy

Am i the only one who is shocked at all this all of a sudden?I know its been planned for ages and i suppose it had to happen some time but im shocked at all this all of a sudden!

[Hogzy]

Originally Posted by fresca

can you smell it.... ELECTION

LOL i was gonna say the exact same too!!!