What do you think of the M50 Upgrade??

LegacyUser

Hi,

I drive on the m50 every day and the more i see the progress the more i dont think its going to work. the traffic jam at the new redcow interchange is worse than ever, i see they have a set of traffic lights at the top of the bridge allowing the traffic to merge but i think when this is complete there will still be major tailbacks down onto the m50 but this time they will be worse as it will be coming from the newlands cross junction which is terrible.
what do u think? is there any other junctions progressing like this?

Sundy

Well the first thing is that the N7 junction is far from finished and when it is the traffic lights will be gone. Extra traffic congestion is to be expected during construction. Another problem that there was with the old junction was that it had a very low capacity for cars, whereas when the new junction is finished there will be alot more room for cars to queue if necessary without affecting the mainline.

Oh and from what i see on the paper some sort of tenders are being put out for a new junction at newlands.

ThatBloke

The problem at the moment is they are making constant changes to the layout of the N4 and N7 junctions (as the construction process dictates) these changes always take a couple of days to get used to for most motorists and so traffic moves more slowly through the junctions than it would normally.

When it's all finished it will make a huge difference, we just have to put up with short term inconvenience for long term gain I suppose.

patrickc

Sundy wrote: »

Oh and from what i see on the paper some sort of tenders are being put out for a new junction at newlands.

newlands is grand 3 lanes, when n7 redcow interchange is finished it'll be good no queues (hopefully) don't mess with it and make congestion worse I say

Irish and Proud

The M50 upgrage (Phase 1) is one big joke in terms of the works. In contrast, Jons Civil Engineering who got the contract for Phase 3 have all 4 centre lanes in operation even though they only started in June 07. Could you say the same for (Phase 1) - need I say more! :rolleyes:

whosedaddy?

yeah, but the lanes for phase 3 are only 1 mile long with no interchanges... you're comparing grapes and pumpkins here.

Irish and Proud

whosedaddy? wrote: »

yeah, but the lanes for phase 3 are only 1 mile long with no interchanges... you're comparing grapes and pumpkins here.

But the onus is on the contractor to ensure that pumpkins are not too big to chew :rolleyes: (they should have more plant and personnel on site!) - the guys doing phase 1 have been given far too long to complete the job - the mainline should take 1 year at most, and it should have been done first along with any overhead structures (bridges and gantries etc) affecting same. Then 2 lanes plus an auxiliary each way should have been opened to counter traffic disruption while the interchanges were being modified.

I have so often seen the centre of phase 1 with hardly a soul on site - during broad daylight that is!!! :mad: Why should motorists have to put up with such bulls***!!! :mad:

No excuses!

Regards,

djpbarry

ThatBloke wrote: »

When it's all finished it will make a huge difference

I can't say I share your optimism. While the capacity of the M50 will undoubtedly be increased, I would not be surprised if the number of cars using it also increases. Car ownership in this country is increasing fast, although this is likely to taper off as the economy slows.

Irish and Proud

djpbarry wrote: »

I can't say I share your optimism. While the capacity of the M50 will undoubtedly be increased, I would not be surprised if the number of cars using it also increases. Car ownership in this country is increasing fast, although this is likely to taper off as the economy slows.

Understatement of the decade mate! - The capacity of the M50 will double after the entire upgrade is complete. Current traffic levels vary from around 80,000 pcus to 100,000 pcus per day. The engineers stated (in the EIS) that assuming full completion in 2008 (rather optimistic I guess! :rolleyes:), the traffic levels would quickly double to around 200,000 pcus - traffic levels typical on major freeways in America! Remember the economic magnet effect surrounding the provision of infrastructure - particularly motorways.

Regards!

Irish and Proud

Irish and Proud wrote: »

Remember the economic magnet effect surrounding the provision of infrastructure - particularly motorways.

Regards!

With a bit of luck that will also hold true for the regions when the current spate of motorways are completed.

Places like Athlone, Port Laoise, Limerick Galway plus many others, anything that stops so many people having to commute for nearly 2 hours each way every day!

dcr22B

In relation to Newlands Cross, would there be enough room to redo the junction a la the Kinsale Road Roundabout in Cork, seems to be a good job at present (from what I have seen of it on a couple of occasions).

Fratton Fred

I think they have over complicated the Red Cow junction. Diverting the Luas, free flow lane for anyone turning left, a flyover for traffic going straight on the N7 and the existing roundabout for anyone turning right would have done the job.

I know the existing free flow lane from the N7 inbound onto the M50 north is always blocked, but the extra lanes on the M50 would free this up.

I think the whole thing has been over complicated, over-engineered and in general should win some sort of award for stringing a job out as long as is humanly possible.

The only thing worse, is the extension of the outer ring road from Kingswood to Jobstown. How long does it take to build a straight road across a field for god's sake. I'm not saying the guys who are building it aren't working hard, I'm sure both of them are working their arses off:rolleyes:

Zoney

djpbarry wrote: »

I can't say I share your optimism. While the capacity of the M50 will undoubtedly be increased, I would not be surprised if the number of cars using it also increases. Car ownership in this country is increasing fast, although this is likely to taper off as the economy slows.

Indeed, there sections of national roads that have traffic volumes increasing by 10% or more year on year. That's outright crazy! Indeed some places have had 20% growth in previous years!

This has direct implications. The M7 already needs three lanes between the start of it (end of upgraded N7 Naas Road) and the M9 junction - and that's *before* the N9 is upgraded to motorway/HQDC! The M1 needs three lanes out to Balbriggan or so! Guess what will happen when those extra lanes are provided?

The problem is partly that despite needing to upgrade roads from goat-tracks to motorway, there should be more public transport investment occuring in tandem - the amount done has been needed, but much more is necessary. Simply from a economic point of view of paying forevermore to keep increasing capacity on the roads, it simply isn't sustainable to encourage people solely to rely on roads. The keyword of course is "rely". People need to be able to rely on public transport!

spockety

patrickc wrote: »

newlands is grand 3 lanes, when n7 redcow interchange is finished it'll be good no queues (hopefully) don't mess with it and make congestion worse I say

I presume you're joking?

How can you say Newlands Cross is grand.. 3 lanes is all well and good until you come to an at grade junction with a set of traffic lights on it..

The N7/M7 will not be on the road to proper completion until you can head off the M50 Westbound and not come to a set of traffic lights 1 mile down the road..

Fratton Fred

spockety wrote: »

I presume you're joking?

How can you say Newlands Cross is grand.. 3 lanes is all well and good until you come to an at grade junction with a set of traffic lights on it..

The N7/M7 will not be on the road to proper completion until you can head off the M50 Westbound and not come to a set of traffic lights 1 mile down the road..

if they do upgrade the junction, we will still need the army to patrol the road blowing up all the drivers doing 60km/h in the middle and outside lane. then it might move easier.

why do HGV drivers feel the need to overtake another HGV doing 1km/h less than they are. I've seen lorries on the N7 that take about three miles to overtake someone.

BostonB

The M50 was built too close to Dublin, and then they built a shopping center on every exit. Its an inner ring road. The upgrade isn't enough.

BostonB

BostonB wrote: »

The M50 was built too close to Dublin, and then they built a shopping center on every exit. Its an inner ring road. The upgrade isn't enough.

It's the shopping centres that caused the problem not the M50 being located where it is.
But yes that's all it is now - an inner ring road.

Sundy

Deleted User wrote: »

It's the shopping centres that caused the problem not the M50 being located where it is.
But yes that's all it is now - an inner ring road.

The problem with the M50 is that its way more than just an inner ring road.. Its the main artery for traffic in this country but its constantly clogged with commuters making it unsuitable for its main purpose.

D.L.R.

Makes you wonder - I mean, it was designed as a bypass of Dublin, right?

Most daily traffic in Ireland departs/arrives in... DUBLIN CITY! So what's the point of bypassing the number 1 destination in the country at the expense of access to that destination?? Surely better radial routes should have been given priority - ie M4 and M7 motorways right into the heart of Dublin. Yes the port tunnel gives good access to the city but its not ideal if you're coming from the southwest for example, and its pricey.

Clearly the M50 serves as a local road now as well as national. But still it doesn't solve the problem of huge volumes of traffic coming in and out of Dublin city from the west every day. It just spreads the load, like trying to clean up spilt wine with a rubber napkin. What a mess

I'm not advocating motorways over public transport (far from it), but the fact is Dublin City (not Greater Dublin now, but the city centre) as a destination does not sufficiently connect with the motorway network. It is "bypassed" instead.

D.L.R.

D.L.R. wrote: »

Makes you wonder - I mean, it was designed as a bypass of Dublin, right?

Most daily traffic in Ireland departs/arrives in... DUBLIN CITY! .

Not entirely true, a large percentage of the traffic does indeed go to the city, but just as much goes to different suburbs or from one suburb to another.

Many commuters don't work at the end of the road they use to enter Dublin
It's far better to go round the motorway to get from the N4 to Tallaght than to go into the city and come out again. .

BostonB

Its a simple problem. Most people are not able to live near their work. So they have to commute. Public transport is so poor that people drive. People live where they can afford to buy and live. If you allow massive residential development outside of the city, and don't plan it, you'll create this massive movement of people on a daily basis. The poor planning has screwed the city for decades to come.

The M50 is being used as an inner ring road and also as a bypass for the city center. In my experience at peak times it usually quicker to through the city center as the M50 and the routes used for access to the M50 are a car park.

GerardKeating

whosedaddy? wrote: »

yeah, but the lanes for phase 3 are only 1 mile long with no interchanges... you're comparing grapes and pumpkins here.

Also the terrain is totally different, most of the m50 toward blanchardstown is on an embankment, while the N4 area is a cutting with a lot less space to work in.

trellheim

Was over the ballymount Interchange this AM [ Ballymount->Tallaght direction ] .. how on earth is it an improvement ?

Now traffic lights stop one of the main industrial flows [ Ballymount Ind Est-> M50 Northbound ]

Previously I had freeflow in my direction - now I have to wait on lights...

trellheim

trellheim wrote: »

Was over the ballymount Interchange this AM [ Ballymount->Tallaght direction ] .. how on earth is it an improvement ?

Now traffic lights stop one of the main industrial flows [ Ballymount Ind Est-> M50 Northbound ]

Previously I had freeflow in my direction - now I have to wait on lights...

Try going M50S to Belgard Rd in the morning now the lorries block the eastern set of lights making it much slower! :mad:

AlekSmart

Make no mistake people,The "New Improved" Cookstown/Ballymount/Belgard junction setup is DEEPLY flawed and if not revisited RAPIDLY will only serve to make a total cobblers of the entire M50 Project......:mad: