M50 News

PoolDude

Has anybody got any updates on the M50 SEM? It looks like the section from Balinteer to Sandyford/Leopardstown is almost ready to be opened (roadmarkings were being completed last week) and I had heard November mentioned in some of the NRA's/Seamus Brennan's previous comments on the legal acton at carrickmines.

The DLRCOCO and NRA websites seem to indicate next year!! I noted recently that the Leopardstown road has been changed to prohibit all right hand turns onto/off it around Torquay Rd and Leopardstown Ave. My guess is that this is to free up the Leopardstown roundabout for the increased vlumes from the M50. Might make more sense to make it one way from the N11 up and make Brewery Rd one way down to the N11.

Anyway if anyone has info on either this or the completion of the M50 I'd apreciate it, Thx.

narommy

I heard part of it would be open to facilitate the Lepordstown Christmas races.
Must be the part you suggested.

PoolDude

I hope it is sooner than christmas and that they get the full motorway opened before this time next year!

stiofanD

PoolDude wrote:

Might make more sense to make it one way from the N11 up and make Brewery Rd one way down to the N11.

I believe that this was originally the plan before the Leopardstown Rd and Brewery road were 'upgraded', but the local residents shot those plans out of the water

spacetweek

I've heard that two sections would open "before Christmas" - (1) Ballinteer-Sandyford, and (2) Cherrywood-M11. The rest of the motorway would open in September 2005.

However, all the websites say that the two small sections will open in August 2005, and the rest in September 2005! This can't be right. If the Carrickmines section is delayed due to the protests, then the two small sections (which aren't affected) couldn't possibly take only 1 month less time to build. Methinks the NRA gave out the wrong info by accident and all the websites etc. copied it without asking any questions.

The Sandyford bit is going to be really useful - it's pretty stupid heading down to Ballinteer only to exit and find yourself forced to drive north again, back towards town (although I understand they opened some small link roads as far as the Sandyford roundabout a month ago). Now, with the Leopardstown bit, hopefully you'll be able to get as far as the N11 and it's easy to head south from there by turning right.

The Cherrywood bit seems daft though, I don't see the point of opening that section if you can't head north on the M50 at that point. You can head M50 south but you could just as easily do that on the N11 too. It will create a triangle of dual carraigeways!

PoolDude

I think thats the standard info available, hopefully it will open in the next week or two to Leopardstown. Perhaps next Monday's Monestorevin bypass will give them the opportunity to update us!

jlang

Driving on the parallel road bit last week, I saw they've put a 'temporary end of motorway soon' sign up on the big gantry over the motorway proper, so I'd expect them to open up as far as Leopardstown pretty soon. There's still a fair bit of work to do on the section from there on, unfortunately.

Zaph

There have been signs on Leopardstown Road for a few weeks stating that the traffic light sequences had changed in anticipation of a section of the M50 opening. No dates appear on them unfortunately.

jesus_thats_gre

They are also erecting traffic lights at the roundabout at the bottom of the Leopardstown Rd and Brewery Rd. So I am guessing we will be seeing some changes soon..

Alun

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

They are also erecting traffic lights at the roundabout at the bottom of the Leopardstown Rd and Brewery Rd. So I am guessing we will be seeing some changes soon..

About time too. That roundabout is hell to get onto at the best of times when it's busy.

Pataman

I dont see traffic lights making much difference. From what I see it is mainly the people coming from the industrial estate using both lanes of the roundabout trying to get onto the Leopardstown road. The yellow box is completely ignored and this block up the brewery road traffic.

Alun

Try coming out of the Leopardstown Business Park exit and going all the way round to go up Leopardstown Road at 5pm. The traffic streams onto the roundabout from Leopardstown Road and it's hell trying to find a gap.

fjon

The traffic lights will make a hell of a difference for pedestrians though! I live right beside there, and my flat-mate (who works in Vodafone) says some mornings it can take 10 mins to walk to work because he has to cross that roundabout! Without traffic it takes about 2 minutes.

PoolDude

Just got an unconfirmed report that the section to Leopardstown will open this week/weekend and that it will open in it's entirety as soon as January. The first piece appears achievable but it woud be a major achievement on the NRA's part (and DLRCC) to deliver the later. Here's hoping.

stiofanD

fjon wrote:

The traffic lights will make a hell of a difference for pedestrians though! I live right beside there, and my flat-mate (who works in Vodafone) says some mornings it can take 10 mins to walk to work because he has to cross that roundabout! Without traffic it takes about 2 minutes.

They'll make a hell of a difference for us cyclists too - it takes about 15 minutes to actually get on to the roundabout without being killed and then getting off it without being creamed involves more prayer than skill :eek:

Tom

At last - from www.aaroadwatch.ie



13:59 - The M50 Motorway from Balinteer Interchange to Leopardstown Rd opens on Thursday 4th at 1pm
This stretch of the road will be of direct benefit to traffic travelling to and from the N11 and Wicklow/Wexford directions. Traffic currently travelling to/from the M50 via the Sandyford Industrial Estate should divert to the new M50 Leopardstown entry/exit. Traffic coming from or heading to Kilgobbin, Ballyogan, Murphystown and Leopardstown areas will also benefit from the new Leopardstown entry/exit point to the M50.

Steve Conway

Here's a slightly more detailed version of the above:

M50 MOTORWAY TO LEOPARDSTOWN OPENS ON THURSDAY 4TH NOVEMBER
Updated: 03/11/2004

2km of the M50 motorway from Ballinteer Interchange to Leopardstown Road will be open to motorists by 1pm, Thursday 4th November. This stretch of the road will be of direct benefit to traffic travelling to and from the N11 and Wicklow/Wexford directions. Traffic currently travelling to/from the M50 via the Sandyford Industrial Estate should divert to the new M50 Leopardstown entry/exit. Traffic coming from or heading to Kilgobbin, Ballyogan, Murphystown and Leopardstown areas will also benefit from the new Leopardstown entry/exit point to the M50.

The new 2km stretch of motorway does not include the Sandyford Interchange or the link road to Kilgobbin Road. These will open next year. Traffic to/from Dun Laoghaire Ferry Port and Sandyford Industrial Estate together with local traffic in the Dundrum area should continue to use the Ballinteer Interchange entry/exit point to the motorway. Traffic using the Drummartin Link Road will continue to use this road to connect to the M50 at the Ballinteer Interchange.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has taken the following steps to increase the capacity of the Leopardstown Road in advance of the opening of the new 2km stretch of motorway;

· An extra lane on Leopardstown Road, at the junction of the N11 (White's Cross) means two lanes of traffic can turn right onto the N11. · The bus lane on the Leopardstown Road is not in use, providing additional capacity on the road until the M50 motorway opens to the M11 at Shankill. · No right turn into and out of Leopardstown Ave off Leopardstown Road. · No right turn from Torquay Road onto Leopardstown Road. · Adjusted timing on traffic lights at Leopardstown Ave and Torquay Road junctions on Leopardstown Road. · Adjusted timing on traffic lights at Central Park entrance off Leopardstown dual carriageway. The signed route from the M50 to Dun Laoghaire Ferry Port remains via Ballinteer Interchange exit, Ballinteer Road, Dundrum Bypass, R112, N11 and N31.

Steve Conway

The new section to Leopardstown Road is now open, I travelled along it at about 1.30 this afternoon.

Very nice, and greatly speeds the traffic-flow wanting to get to the N11 and the South East.

The roundabouts at Leopardstown Road did not seem to congested, though I think there should be traffic lights on the main one (the brewery Rd junction) as well as the ESB roundabout.

Borzoi

Steve Conway wrote:

The new section to Leopardstown Road is now open, I travelled along it at about 1.30 this afternoon.

Very nice, and greatly speeds the traffic-flow wanting to get to the N11 and the South East.

Have they upped the speed limit from Firhouse to Ballinteer to 70mph, now that there is no end of motorway untill Lep Road?

jlang

Borzoi wrote:

Have they upped the speed limit from Firhouse to Ballinteer to 70mph, now that there is no end of motorway untill Lep Road?

I don't think that was on the cards other than as one of the possible places on Brennan's list to look at under the mph->km/h changeover, and I think South Dublin Co Co rejected that anyway (or so I read in the Irish Times last week).

Steve Conway

Actually, other than a temporary DMD on the side of the road, there is no signage at all for the new route - the blue motorway signs still show Ballinteer as the exit to everywhere, with nothing straight on . . . will probably be altered over next few days.

They've removed all the lane restrictions and cones approaching Ballinteer from the west, but forgot to take away the countdown signs to (right lane closed).

PoolDude

So whats the rush hour experience like, anybody who has tried out the new route care to share their experiences (I'm in the US, so I won't try it till next week).

Alun

PoolDude wrote:

So whats the rush hour experience like, anybody who has tried out the new route care to share their experiences (I'm in the US, so I won't try it till next week).

My wife, who works in the Leopardstown Business Park took 50 minutes to get into work today from Bray leaving home at 7.20am! Normally, on a good day its 20 minutes, although it gets worse closer to Xmas for some unknown reason.

fjon

It didn't make a huge difference for me getting home today I'm afraid. Might be different in the morning though.
BTW there are no speed limit signs along the new stretch yet. Please let them make it 70 and not 60!!!

dmeehan

is there sign of the bray end opening?

Steve Conway

Did it again this afternoon at 3.15, and they have tidied up a bit and removed the lane closure signs.

Still no new signage approaching Ballinteer.

However, when you descend the long slope with the lovely view of Howth Head, you suddenly come across a huge big blue sign: "Wexford - 140km"

Made me feel I was going somewhere a lot nicer than just into work . . .

jlang

I don't think the signage at Ballinteer will be changing much. They've signposted the exit at various points for Ballinteer, Dundrum and Sandyford and it will remain the appropriate exit for all of those when all is finished. The little add-on sign for Dun Laoghaire with a ferry on it will presumaby be moved but I notice from the AA notice that they still recommend exiting at Ballinteer for Dun Laoghaire.

I see at Leopardstown they've again gone for signs saying M50 Northbound to N7. I presume one of these days Kevin Myers will get around to complaining about how the thicko-s from The South ended up in Wexford. But then, Leopardstown isn't really on the way to Blessington or Baltinglass or whever it is he lives so he'll probably never see them.

Pataman

Did the new road tonight, coming back from Tipp. Got from Ballinteer to Leopardstown, where I live, in about 4 mins. Heaven. Usually takes about 15/20 at that time of night. The downside is this morning the school run from Leopardstown through the industrial estate to stillorgan took 40 mins instead of 15

PoolDude

dmeehan wrote:

is there sign of the bray end opening?

When I posted last week with the unconfirmed report that the Leopardstown stretch would open last week which subsequently happened my same source indicated January! I'm not sure how realistic that is but you never know.

dmeehan

how much of the motorway is there between the bray end and carrickmines?
are there enough junctions to make it worth their while opening that stretch?

Alun

dmeehan wrote:

how much of the motorway is there between the bray end and carrickmines?
are there enough junctions to make it worth their while opening that stretch?

Only the Wyatville interchange which brings you around to the back of Cherrywood. Might shave a few seconds off your journey if you work there and commute in on the M11/N11 I suppose.

Victor

Oooh, I found this (not that they made it easy) http://www.dlrcoco.ie/Roads/LeopardstownM50.htm (380kb map)

sliabh

Victor wrote:

Oooh, I found this (not that they made it easy) http://www.dlrcoco.ie/Roads/LeopardstownM50.htm (380kb map)

Ah a picture tells a thousand words. They have been distributing this around Sandyford. Certainly it's on the notice boards where I work.

Alun

Victor wrote:

Oooh, I found this (not that they made it easy) http://www.dlrcoco.ie/Roads/LeopardstownM50.htm (380kb map)

I've been looking for something like that for ages ... it doesn't seem to be linked from www.dlrcoco.ie/Roads though, how did you find it?

PoolDude

They are still officially saying August, oh well it won't be that long coming around. The interesting thing I found from these pictures and others is that you can only go Southbound from Sanyford (but cannot go Northbound, except via the 'Green Route' to Balinteer where you can join the M50 proper) while you can only go Northbound from the Balinteer and Leopardstown exits.

mackerski

PoolDude wrote:

The interesting thing I found from these pictures and others is that you can only go Southbound from Sanyford (but cannot go Northbound, except via the 'Green Route' to Balinteer where you can join the M50 proper) while you can only go Northbound from the Balinteer and Leopardstown exits.

Try thinking of the Ballinteer and Sandyford junctions as two halves of a single full-access junction (just with reeeealllly long slip roads between the two and a few more roundabouts to negotiate).

Dermot

jlang

mackerski wrote:

Try thinking of the Ballinteer and Sandyford junctions as two halves of a single full-access junction (just with reeeealllly long slip roads between the two and a few more roundabouts to negotiate).

... that overlap with the slip roads from the next partial-access junction down at Leopardstown. :eek: Simple, really!

Looks complicated on the map, but it's not too hard to get where you want to go.

impr0v

Oral Hearing for the upgrade scheme being held in the Gresham Hotel on the 14th of December.

PoolDude

Yesterday's times indicated that the M50 from Leoparstown to the N11 has been 'black topped' southbound and that the northbound carriageway will be done withing weeks. I don't know if this means they will open it partially soon or if it will be opened ahead of schedule but its certainly positive news.

Alun

PoolDude wrote:

Yesterday's times indicated that the M50 from Leoparstown to the N11 has been 'black topped' southbound and that the northbound carriageway will be done withing weeks. I don't know if this means they will open it partially soon or if it will be opened ahead of schedule but its certainly positive news.

Well, the junction with the M11 is far from ready, and when I drove through it today, I can't say I noticed much "black top" on the last bit of M50 that would join up with it.

Victor

The found more archaelogical stuff in Carrickmines .....

thejollyrodger

I dont know if I should post this on this thread or not but if they dont go ahead with the Metro the M50 is going to be a car park.

Three lanes each way is a joke for a start, they need at least 4 and even when the finish 3 lanes it will be at capacity.

I think Bertie Ahern will be remembered for the Taoiseach who stalled and dithered on all the major infastructure projects. The only thing that can really move people around Dublin is a Metro.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2004/1215/940568537HM6M50.html
The proposed upgrade of the M50 in Dublin will not reduce traffic congestion as much as expected, unless the full Dublin transport plan is implemented, a Bord Pleanála inquiry has heard.

Improvements in journey times of up to 10 km per hour were dependent on all elements of the city's transport strategy, including the metro, being implemented, the project co-ordinator of the M50 upgrade, Mr Tim Corcoran, told the inquiry, which began in Dublin yesterday.

This comes less than two months after the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, announced in the Dáil the metro could not be built by 2007, as originally promised. No new date for its construction has been set.

The M50 upgrade involves converting 31 km of the existing two- lane M50 into three lanes between the M1 Belfast Road and Sandyford and includes an upgrade of 10 access points and the replacement of the West Link toll plaza with an electronic "free flow" facility. This, it is predicted, will increase average travel speed during the morning rush hour by 19 per cent in 2008 and 11 per cent in 2023, Mr Corcoran, told the hearing.

However, under questioning from Green Party TD, Mr Eamon Ryan, Mr Corcoran admitted that these targets had been set on the basis that all the elements of the Dublin transport plan, the "Platform for Change" strategy, would be implemented.

"If the model to 2023 is based on the assumption that every one of the elements of the Platform for Change is introduced, including the orbital metro, what assessment have you done of the strengths and weakness of the scheme if those elements don't get funded?" Mr Ryan asked.

Their studies depended on the other elements happening, Mr Corcoran replied. "It will affect the M50 if they're not".

Mr Ryan, who has submitted an objection to the proposed upgrade, told Mr Corcoran that Mr Ahern had said the planned metro would not go ahead.

Mr Corcoran said that they had been working on their plans for five years and had made no provision for this eventuality.

The Bord Pleanála hearings will continue until next Wednesday and are likely to resume after Christmas

Victor

thejollyrodger wrote:

Three lanes each way is a joke for a start, they need at least 4 and even when the finish 3 lanes it will be at capacity.

It is 4 lanes (3 lanes + weaving lane).

Alun

Victor wrote:

It is 4 lanes (3 lanes + weaving lane).

Forgive my ignorance but what on earth is a "weaving lane"?

mackerski

Alun wrote:

Forgive my ignorance but what on earth is a "weaving lane"?

An acceleration lane that doesn't end after the customary 100-or-so metres, but carries on as the left lane until the next exit, where all traffic still in that lane exits. They exist already on the stretches N7-Ballymount and N81-Scholarstown.

Dermot

dmeehan

mackerski wrote:

An acceleration lane that doesn't end after the customary 100-or-so metres, but carries on as the left lane until the next exit, where all traffic still in that lane exits. They exist already between on the stretches N7-Ballymount and N81-Scholarstown.

Dermot

and also on the South Ring (N25) in Cork between Douglas(West) and Kinsale Rd. Roundabout and between Mahon Pt. & Rochestown/N28 exit

ishmael whale

Simple, commonsense article from David McWilliams. Reflecting on it, its simply evidence of the lack of appreciation of the benefits that come from investing in Dublin's infrastructure. The idea that we couldn't find a few million in public funds to build this bridge, set against the couple of billion net tax raised from Dublin households, shows the inability of the political system to invest resources on the basis of any rational concept of priority.

http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/Articles/view.asp?CategoryID=-1&CategoryName=&ArticleID=262

The great toll bridge rip-off 22/12/2004
…………... We are being ripped off on the M50 toll bridge in what can only be described as highway robbery……... A bridge that was supposed to speed up traffic is actually slowing it down. Get your head around that. ………… What are we paying for? A small bridge. Not a great work of engineering, but a small common-or-garden bridge.
There might have been an argument years ago for a private toll company to build such a bridge because the state's coffers were not full, but today there is no reason.
Yet last year, the same company was allowed to build a second bridge to toll even more at a time when the government has loads of cash. Why? Would it not have been smarter for the state to build the second bridge last year, reduce the toll or eliminate tolls altogether, which would force competition on the first bridge, bringing down prices across the board? ……..
So not only does the state pay for all the road up to the 500-metre stretch of bridge, but it is complicit in the rip-off because it actually ushers the motorist into the clutches of the toll.
……… How is it done in other countries? In France or Italy, for example, the toll roads operate as an alternative to the competition of the national routes. …. In Ireland, the opposite occurs. The state builds the road and then gives a private company the monopoly to extort money at the bridge. This is a win/win proposition for the company and a lose/lose outcome for the motorist. It would be funny, if it were not so serious.
In Croatia, a country which is four times poorer than Ireland and not a member of the EU, it is possible to drive on a newly-constructed motorway from Split to Zagreb (500 kilometres) and pay one toll. …………….
In Ireland, we simply have to wake up and demonstrate against our state for negotiating such a rip-off supposedly on our behalf.
On Wednesday, when the 20 per cent increase in the toll was being debated in the Seanad, the French government opened the world's tallest bridge, connecting Clermont-Ferrand with Beziers across the Tarn valley.
The Millau Viaduct is 23 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower, spans 2.5 kilometres, has seven towers 387 metres high and was described by its builder, the famous British architect Lord Foster, as the “closest a drive will ever come to flying'‘.
The company that runs it estimates that it will make a 15 per cent return on equity over the lifetime of its 75-year lease. What return will NTR make on its investment in the M50 toll bridge?
……………… the state should seriously consider nationalising the toll bridge for the good of the citizen. It must buy out the contract because the toll bridge is slowing down, rather than facilitating, traffic.
The M50 toll bridge is the problem, not the solution to our ring-road traffic……...
The magnificent Millau Viaduct, an amazing engineering feat by any standards, cost €396 million to build.
Estimates put the price of buying out the poxy M50 toll-bridge at €300 million. Difficult as it is, the state has to bite the bullet…………

PoolDude

The NRA are still indicating August or Autumn as the completion timeframe for the M50 to the M11. The latest info from them is on their web page today:

http://www.nra.ie/News/PressReleases/d1646.HTML.html

It's strange then that the main carriageway's seem to be black topped with only the tidy up and junction completions outstanding. I would not have expected that to take 6 - 9 months.

Anybody got any further news on this?

loyatemu

from the NRA press release:

road users can travel on over 50 km of motorway/high quality dual carriageway from Donnybrook in South Dublin to beyond Rathnew in Wicklow

I'd hardly describe the stillorgan rd as "high quality dual carriageway" - its got about 50 sets of traffic lights and a speed limit of 30 in places!

the main carriageway's seem to be black topped with only the tidy up and junction completions outstanding

this is only at either end of the construction; I think there is still a lot of work to be done at carrickmines itself

PoolDude

An article in the Times on the 13th December indicated it had been black topped in on direction entirely at that stage and that it would be completed the other way in a number of weeks?

PoolDude

Just found this text on the web:

local news
M50 Opens to Leopardstown
The M50 opened to Leopardstown in November causing relief to hard pressed motorists in the Ballinteer and Sandyford areas. This, alongside the recent opening of the Drummartin By-Pass has resulted in far easier movement of local traffic. The full M50 is due to open to Shankill next Spring, well ahead of the target date of next September/October (December 2004)

So that puts it between Feb and April. Great!