M18 - Gort to Crusheen

Sponge Bob

Might I refer you all back to a previous post I made in this thread where I linked something Fred Barry said.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=56516127&postcount=61

"NRA chief executive Fred Barry said the inter urban motorway programme linking Dublin with Cork, Limerick, and Galway would be completed in two years time

and the next major priority would be the Leinster Outer Orbital, which would connect with most of the main routes out of the capital. "

Not Galway-Cork mind and most certainly not Derry - Galway - Cork - Waterford .

This NRA position has not changed

BluntGuy

glineli wrote: »

Interesting to see 2011 as the finish date. i wonder will they do like the ennis one and up it in stages, with the full dual carriageway opening first and then the slip roads somebit later.

Anyway its great news!!!

2011...

Would I be pushing it to say they could have this done by Q3 2010 if they really got stuck into this?

mysterious

Fair play to the government and the NRA at least acknowledging that this does need to be built.

Hopefully sense will prvail with Newlands cross, Gort - Oranmore.

Other schemes
Adare bypass
CastleIsland bypass
Longford bypass Phase 2
Cork limerick M20
Galway Tuam M17

Are there any other other schemes I've left out that need attention:D

glineli

Chris_533976 wrote: »

mmm doubt it for this one. Thing with Ennis was it was a horrific bottleneck and had a LOT of side road work (including several km of extra DC and a southern bypass). Crusheen - Gort is a simple scheme generally, a DC with two junctions. Although it would be nice for them to bypass Gort first, they'd have to open Gort - Crusheen junctions first which would leave the worst bit of road between Crusheen and the Ennis bypass.

I'd say this one will be just opened and thats all there is. Unless they open Ennis bypass - Crusheen junction first, but that would make Crusheen a bottleneck, which it isnt now. As it stands the current bit of bad road kinda filters it a bit.

True true

Heres hoping for a fast delivery, Q3 or Q4 2010!!!

Chris_533976

More infos but dear god some stupid journalism. Read the last paragraph.

PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 04, 2008 – Galway County Council today signed a EUR92M Design Build Contract with Wills Bros Ltd. and SIAC Wills JV Ltd.

The Contract provides for the construction of a high-quality Dual Carriageway extending from Ballingers Corner, North of Gort, Co. Galway to Cragard, Barefield, Co. Clare where it will join the N18 Ennis Bypass.

The scheme consists of 22km of dual carriageway, 10km of realigned local roads and 12km of accommodation access tracks. Construction work, which is scheduled for completion in 2011, also involves the construction of 14 new bridges and two grade separated junctions. Letters have been issued to landowners along the scheme’s route informing them that work on the road project is scheduled to commence next week.

Welcoming the contract signing, Mayor of Clare Cllr. Madeleine Taylor Quinn said, “I am delighted that we will soon have a dual carriageway that extends across County Clare from the borders of Limerick to County Galway. The provision of this new road link will make Clare an increasingly attractive location for commerce and investment.”

Mayor Taylor-Quinn added that the completion of the dual carriageway was of critical importance to the continued development of Shannon Airport and the entire West of Ireland.

“By expanding its reach into County Galway, this road project will ensure that Shannon Airport will continue to play a key role in implementing a range of existing national policies including balanced regional development, the regional gateways strategy, supporting industry and tourism, improving access and reducing urban congestion”, she explained.

The scheme forms part of the proposed Atlantic Road Corridor, which is an objective of the National Spatial Strategy, the Transport 21 Programme and the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The Atlantic Road Corridor involves the provision of a major road network to provide a link between the major Gateway urban centers identified in the National Spatial Strategy from Letterkenny through Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork and onto Waterford.

According to Mr. David Timlin, Director of Services, Clare County Council, “The proposed Atlantic Road Corridor is vital to the economic and sustainable development of the Midwest, Western and Southern Regions of Ireland in terms of regional development, economic competitiveness, accessibility, transport and freight costs and a major contribution to addressing the infrastructural deficit.”

The N18 Gort to Crusheen scheme is being funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The scheme is being undertaken by Galway County Council on behalf of Clare County Council in accordance with an agreement made under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 2001 and approved by the National Roads Authority under Section 14 of the Roads Act 1993.

Meanwhile, the proposed N18 Oranmore to Gort Dual Carriageway scheme is currently at the tender stage and the award of this contract is subject to the approval of the National Roads Authority.

Chris_533976

Clare herald copied the same story (or vice versa)

http://www.clareherald.com/2008/11/eur92m-contract-signed-for-22km-gort.html

Also they have an incredibly old pic from before the intermediate junctions on the Ennis bypass opened. Lazy sods.

Edit: Mystery solved, heres the source ->

http://www.dunphypr.com/?p=987

Mr Dunphy has not done himself justice with the blatantly wrong last paragraph of that article.

BluntGuy

Mark Dunphy wrote:

Meanwhile, the proposed N18 Oranmore to Gort Dual Carriageway scheme is currently at the tender stage and the award of this contract is subject to the approval of the National Roads Authority.

:mad:

Sponge Bob

€92m ?????

It was €156m in the Galway Papers

BluntGuy

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Also they have an incredibly old pic from before the intermediate junctions on the Ennis bypass opened. Lazy sods.

Hmph... what rubbish.

Speaking of the Ennis bypass, I know it's been discussed already, but I hope they NEVER do a system where they open a road like that again. Too confusing, and it could lead to very scrappy finishes...

Sponge Bob

BluntGuy wrote: »

Hmph... what rubbish.

It is indeed , I found the story here . 1/4 the total cost was planning and land acquisition .

http://www.advertiser.ie/galwayfirst/article/3914

Works set to begin on next phase of Gort-Crusheen bypass
Galway First, November 03, 2008.
By Caitlin O’hanlon


Work on the next phase of the Gort-Crusheen bypass is due to begin shortly, after the National Road Authority confirmed last week that it has signed a contract for the €200 million road.


The 23 kilometre dual carriageway, which is expected to drastically reduce journey times between Galway and Limerick, is set to begin at the northern end of the Ennis bypass and extend approximately 1km north of Gort, bypassing both the town and the village of Crusheen.


The bypass, which is part of the next phase of the Atlantic Corridor has been deferred numerous times over the last year because of Government budgetary cutbacks.


The Gort-Crusheen scheme, which will cost the County Council almost €156 million in construction costs alone, will include 11km of roadworks in Clare and the other 12 km in Galway.

Chris_533976

Is any newspaper or news source in the west of Ireland any good at all?

Work on the next phase of the Gort-Crusheen bypass is due to begin shortly,

That doesnt make any sense at all.

BluntGuy

What do they mean by the 'next phase'?

That implies that they'd already begun?

Surely they mean the next phase of the N18 Galway - Limerick road...

Sponge Bob

These are Galway Journalists , the sort who regurgimatate everything Frank Fahey tells them at the drop of a hat . Galway is Special !

Carawaystick

BluntGuy wrote: »

What do they mean by the 'next phase'?

That implies that they'd already begun?

Surely they mean the next phase of the N18 Galway - Limerick road...

Unless they mean moving on from the cpo/EIS/tender stage to the build phase

Stupido

Tender contract signed for just under €92 million.


In journalese this means €200 million

Chris_533976

The Galway Advertiser came out today and is the same shoddy heap of mistakes. Do these newspapers just copy/paste each other and the NRA website?

By Kernan Andrews

On Tuesday the contract for the N18 Gort to Crusheen Dual Carriageway – Design Build Contract was signed in County Buildings in Prospect Hill.

The contract provides for the construction of a high quality dual carriageway extending from Ballingers Corner, north of Gort to Cragard, south of Crusheen, Clare where it will join the N18 Ennis Bypass.

It will consist of 22km of dual carriageway, 10km of realigned local roads, and 12km of accommodation access tracks. It will also involve the construction of 14 new bridges and two grade separated junctions.

The contract amounts to approximately €92 million and is scheduled for completion in 2011. The scheme is being undertaken by Galway County Council on behalf of Clare County Council in accordance with an agreement made under Section 85 of the Local Government Act 2001 and approved by the National Roads Authority under Section 14 of the Roads Act 1993.

The proposed N18 Oranmore to Gort Dual Carriageway scheme is currently at the tender stage and the award of this contract is subject to the approval of the National Roads Authority.

The N18 Gort to Crusheen scheme is being funded by the Irish Government and part financed by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The scheme will form part of the proposed Atlantic Road Corridor which is an objective of the National Spatial Strategy, the Transport 21 Programme and the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

The Atlantic Road Corridor involves the provision of a major road network to provide a link between the major Gateway urban centres identified in the National Spatial Strategy from Letterkenny through Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Cork, and Waterford.

http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/4080

Edit: I wonder if ANY NEWSPAPER IN THE WEST OF IRELAND actually have one of their journalists watch RTE or read the Irish Times. If they did, they'd know that N18 Gort - Athenry is DELAYED UNTIL 2010 AT LEAST.

BluntGuy

The proposed N18 Oranmore to Gort Dual Carriageway scheme is currently at the tender stage and the award of this contract is subject to the approval of the National Roads Authority.

[No comment]

glineli

Taken from clare FM website

Disputes over sale of land for Crusheen bypass

There is fears work on the new Gort -Crusheen By pass could run into difficulties with some landowners along the route in the coming months.

This Thursday the Transport Minister will officially turn the sod to mark the start of development on the 22 kilometre stretch from Ballinger's Corner, north of Gort to Cragard in Barefield.

However while landowners have been informed that work is about to get underway, some aren't happy as they haven't completed negotiations with Galway County Council over the sale of the land.

Crusheen Councillor Michael Kelly is concerned it could mean trouble along the proposed route

BluntGuy

There is fears

Sorry, but it just seems every single article about this road scheme published in the area has to have some kind of stupid mistake in it.

Typewriter

A map for quirke_folder...

Chris_533976

Sod turning infos -

Minister Dempsey to turn sod on new dual carriageway
Galway County Council has announced that the Sod Turning Ceremony for the N18 Gort to Crusheen Dual Carriageway – Design Build Contract will take place at 11.00 a.m. this Friday, 14th November, 2008 at the SIAC Wills JV Ltd Site compound located on the L4514 Gort to Tubber road, in the townland of Ballybaun, approximately 3 km south of Gort.

The sod will be officially turned by Minister for Transport, Mr. Noel Dempsey, T.D.

Bards

from http://www.nra.ie/News/PressReleases/htmltext,15888,en.html


“Continued investment in transport infrastructure is the key to ourfuture competitiveness”

Mr Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Transport today (Friday, 14 November 2008) turned the sod to formally commence work on the new N18 Gort to Crusheen road project. This new road scheme, due for completion in 2011, will be just over 23km of dual carriageway in length and will cost €207.5 million to build.

• It is estimated that a time saving of 20 minutes or more can be attained on journeys between Ennis and Galway during peak hours.
• This road will bypass the town of Gort and the village of Crusheen in County Galway.

Speaking today Minster Dempsey said:

"This new road will eliminate one of the worst bottlenecks along the Atlantic corridor. The Gort to Crusheen project is one of the strategic links along the entire Atlantic corridor. This project emphasises the importance of investing in the road infrastructure so that business and regional economic hubs such as Limerick, Shannon and Galway can compete in this ever demanding national and global environment. The key benefits will be three fold, a safer road, direct regional economic investment and easier access for visitors. For the people of Gort and Crusheen it will give them back their towns by dramatically reducing through traffic”

The Minister added:

“Continued investment in transport infrastructure, even in these difficult times, is key to our future competitiveness. Next year Government will spend over €2 billion on our national, regional and local roads network."

Fred Barry, CEO National Roads Authority (NRA) said:

"The Gort to Crusheen scheme is another major step to linking Limerick, Shannon and Galway. As the Ennis bypass has proven, road infrastructure will continue to improve the quality of life for residents and deliver opportunities for businesses to development throughout the entire region."

The contract to build this road was awarded by the NRA to SIAC Willis JV. Work will commence at the northern-end of the Ennis Bypass and will extend to approximately 1km north of Gort.

Hoof Hearted

They had an ass and car hauling base material yesterday, so it's definitely underway....maybe?:D

serfboard

Speaking of lazy journalism ...

Clare FM wrote:

Noel Dempsey's first engagement is the official opening of the Gort- Crusheen By- Pass.

... and it does go on to say what has been said by another poster ...

Clare FM wrote:

However Minister Dempsey is expected to face protests from local landowners concerned about the compulsory purchase of their land.

While not against the project, some have accused Galway County Council of pressing ahead with the start date while their negotiations are ongoing.

Now, why does this remind me of something being announced before negotiations have been concluded ... oh yeah, medical cards for over-70s. And look what a great deal that turned out to be

marmurr1916

Looks like this will be the only major road scheme to go ahead for a while:

At a ceremony on the construction site of the Gort-Crusheen bypass 3km south of Gort, Mr Dempsey said the scheme will be the only roads project to start in 2009. He said there were six or seven road projects ready to go ahead next year, but the Gort-Crusheen bypass is the only one proceeding.

Chris_533976

"This new road will eliminate one of the worst bottlenecks along the Atlantic Corridor," Mr Dempsey said.

Thats absolute rubbish. Gort is bad, but Claregalway is much, much worse.

Tech3

the days of driving through gorts bumpy road are numbered!!

Have to agreee though claregalway is the most congested location on the whole n17/n18 route.

rekrow

Another great schedule by the NRA. The sod turning event is in the middle of November but the construction won't start til 2009! I little off topic but not sure if has been discussed elsewhere, but do people think Claregalway has improved anything since the lights and bus corridor have been implemented? I don't think they've had a major impact. I think money spent on progressing the relief road would have been a better spend. The largest number of buses I've seen using the lane while I've been siting it traffic is 5. These were all private and intercity buses. Without a commuter bus service the bus lane will do little to relieve traffic. Clever wording by Mr Dempsey to say they were targetting one of the worst bottenecks, rather than THE worst bottleneck.

serfboard

rekrow wrote: »

Clever wording by Mr Dempsey to say they were targetting one of the worst bottenecks, rather than THE worst bottleneck.

Well spotted

mysterious

They've spent the last 3 months announcing it ffs.:rolleyes:


Just get on wth it fianna fail, and give over with the press releases about how wonderful this road will be. It will be even more wonderful when one does not have to sit in jams in Gort.


Just build the effin thing!!!

Seriously 3 months, about this press release. They would have had the contact signed and earthworks already begun, if fianna fail did less mouthing and parading....................!