Sod Turning Ceremonies - M3 & N6

Bards

From NRA.ie

Sod-Turning Ceremonies

The official sod-turning for the M3 Clonee to Kells scheme will take place on Monday 30th April 2007.
The official sod-turning for the N6 Galway to Ballinasloe scheme will take place on Friday 4th May 2007.

fricatus

Have you got the exact link? I can't see that anywhere on the NRA website.

Any update on N9 Knocktopher-Carlow or Carlow-Kilcullen?

Bards

fricatus wrote:

Have you got the exact link? I can't see that anywhere on the NRA website.

Any update on N9 Knocktopher-Carlow or Carlow-Kilcullen?

www.nra.ie

main page.. scroll down to the bottom:D

I have also e-mailed the nra regards http://www.n9-n10kilcullen-waterford.ie/ in that it has not been updated for over two years!!

road_high

fricatus wrote:

Have you got the exact link? I can't see that anywhere on the NRA website.

Any update on N9 Knocktopher-Carlow or Carlow-Kilcullen?

KK coco tell me Spring 2008 for these. Please god it will happen.
Archeology ongoing now on these sections

Bards

mfitzy wrote:

KK coco tell me Spring 2008 for these. Please god it will happen.
Archeology ongoing now on these sections

as long as the Greens don't fup it up

fricatus

mfitzy wrote:

KK coco tell me Spring 2008 for these

That's slipped a little bit if I'm not mistaken.

mfitzy wrote:

Archeology ongoing now on these sections

I've heard that too via a mate from one of the archaeologists working on that section.

Rovi

Turn sod on Monday, stop work on Tuesday-

From www.unison.ie-

[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Arial]Discovery of prehistoric site hits Tara M-way work
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial]ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche has ordered that work be stopped on the controversial M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara, because of the discovery of an important national monument right in its path.
Just 24 hours after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the sod on the €850m Meath road project, tools have been downed after archaeologists discovered a pre-Christian site in the Tara/Skreen Valley.
The large circular enclosure, about the size of three football fields, is clearly visible and was probably used for rituals in the Iron Age or Bronze Age.
Yesterday, Environment Minister Dick Roche said he was consulting with the National Museum after the National Monuments Service inspected the site.
The discovery of the first national monument along the M3 route is vindication for opponents of the motorway who claimed it should have been rerouted to avoid the Hill of Tara and risk damaging the country's richest archaeological landscape.
The National Museum had also opposed the route.
Yesterday, the Department of the Environment confirmed that during the course of excavations two circular enclosures were found with evidence of an entrance and passageway from the outer enclosure to the inner enclosure.
"The monument has been heavily truncated by ploughing in the past and the surviving features are shallow and fragile," a statement said.
"No works which would interfere with the monument may be carried out, except works urgently required to secure its preservation, carried out in accordance with measures specified by the minister."
But the statement added: "The minister is advised the surviving elements of the monument are extremely fragile, underlining the need for an early decision on how to proceed."
Yesterday, the Campaign to Save Tara said it was "jubilant" at the find, adding surveys carried out as part of the route selection process for the M3 should have found the artefact.
"It had been the Save Tara Campaign that first alerted the National Museum to the potential significance of the Lismullen site, which is within 100 metres of the Rath Lugh monument and directly within the path of the proposed motorway," spokesman Michael Canny said.
"The Lismullen site had not been accurately identified during the initial archaeological survey of the route and the discovery of a henge, almost 80 metres in diameter and comprising of two concentric circles, caused surprise to the archaeological contractor and near-apoplexy at the National Roads Authority."
Another group, Tarawatch, said it was 'legally incumbent' on the minister to halt works, place a preservation order on the site, and reroute the M3 motorway like he did in Waterford in 2005 when he rerouted the N25 to avoid a large Viking site in Woodstown.
It is understood the director of the National Museum, Pat Wallace, will respond to the minister on the submission from the National Monuments Service by the end of this week.
The National Roads Authority said that it would meet all its statutory requirements and was liaising with the department and the National Museum.
Paul Melia and Elaine Keogh
[/FONT]

road_high

fricatus wrote:

That's slipped a little bit if I'm not mistaken.

I've heard that too via a mate from one of the archaeologists working on that section.

It's certainly slipped from the NDP 2000 dates of 2007/2008 to have the whole thing finished. I think early 2008 has been the target for a while on these sections, unfortunately. I would love to see them go to construction in the morning. However there are funding constraints etc. It's going through tender at the moment as far as I'm aware...
Guess it's kinda off topic but what the hell!

Gonzo

I think work on the M3 is back on track, the NRA have put up their huge M3 project Signs in 2 locations just outside Clonee and there is also more construction vehicles in the fields near the Dunboyne Junction of the N3.