More Red Cow News...[article]

mike65

From unison.ie

'Spaghetti junction' new twist in Mad Cow tangle


THIS is the top secret "spaghetti junction in the sky" plan which Transport Minister Seamus Brennan hopes will solve the Red 'Mad' Cow Roundabout mess.

It will be the first ever in the country, involving a dramatic series of UK-style "cloverleaf" flyovers and loops on three levels, the Irish Independent has learned.

The junction will replace the worst bottleneck in the country, hopefully ending the daily nightmare for 90,000 motorists, as they will be able to travel in any direction unhindered.

Two similar junctions are planned for the M1 at the airport and the N4 at Lucan, along with an extra lane in each direction along the M50 motorway. This project would use the central reservation to save €100m on land compensation.

The minister is to ask the National Roads Authority (NRA) to fast-track the plan, which has been costed at €300m, it was also reliably learned.

The NRA has cut the cost in half - from an estimate of over €700m to €300m - through a shake-up of the project, which has been developed for the NRA by consultants Ove Arup.

At the Red Cow roundabout, motorists travelling from any direction are to have "free flow" driving on triple level flyovers. Drivers heading into or from Dublin will have free flow on a dedicated road.

Until now, the only options for the roundabout were to let Luas get stuck in gridlock or put it on "stilts", costing anywhere from €25m-€35m and delaying the project for two years because of a new public inquiry, bringing its overall cost up to more than €800m.

But the minister told the Irish Independent yesterday the "spaghetti junction" was the third option on the table. He strongly signalled that the alternative plan to put the Luas "on stilts" across the junction will be ditched in the face of the massive costs and delay. However, Mr Brennan said he had professional advice the stilts could be built for €25m and not the €35m figure put forward by the Railway Procurement Agency.

I thought the paragraph in bold was worth highlighting, how the fvck do they arrive at these numbers?

Consultant "It'll cost about...(scribble on envelope) 700 mill!"
Minister :eek:
Consultant "Okay we can do it for half that..."

Mike.

[boldness fixed - Victor]

Victor

Originally posted by mike65
Consultant "It'll cost about...(scribble on envelope) 700 mill!"
Minister :eek:
Consultant "Okay we can do it for half that..."

Car dealer: your Mercedes will cost €70,000,
You :eek: I only have €35,000
Car dealer: I actually have this different model for €34,995

mike65

Fair enough but would'nt it be wonderful if a project was
worked out correctly in the first place...Is it that hard?

Oh yes if only I had 35k for a car.....sigh.....:(

Mike.

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-958728182-pageUrl--2FThe-Newspaper-2FSundays-Paper-2FNews-2FIreland-2FAll-Ireland.asp

RPA will be asked to fast-track Luas work at Red Cow interchange
05/10/03 00:00
By Niamh Connolly

The Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) will be asked to fast-track construction work on Luas at the Red Cow interchange to facilitate early testing of the tracks.

The agency hopes to establish the extent of disruption caused by trams crossing the interchange's slip road.

The Dublin Transportation Office has so far used computer simulations to ascertain how Luas will impact the interchange. Testing of a tram in Tallaght has been scheduled for November 10, as this section of the line is expected to be completed on schedule.

The RPA and the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, remain at loggerheads about whether Luas should be elevated above the slip road on the busy M50 interchange.

The minister is to meet the RPAthis week to discuss its estimate of €50 million for the proposed track elevation, which it said will take twoand-a-half years to complete.

An earlier consultant's report commissioned by Brennan had suggested a cost of €25 million. He will argue the work can be completed in under two years.

Brennan aims to combine a plan by the National Roads Authority for an overhead `spaghetti junction' at the M50 interchange with plans to elevate Luas over the slip road.

Separately,the RPA has told Dublin businesses that Luas construction work will cease on Abbey Street from December 1 to mid-January.