M50 upgrade phase 2 to start next week

darkman2

More delays as M50 works step up gear
Saturday January 19 2008

Independent.ie


FRUSTRATED motorists are in for even more woe, as another 24km of the M50 is turned into a building site from next week.


A simple lorry breakdown on the southbound lane of the notorious motorway caused huge tailbacks during yesterday's morning rush hour, but more regular troubles are forecast in the coming months, as phase two of the M50 upgrade begins.

This next phase involves adding an extra lane and installing free-flow interchanges between the Westlink toll bridge and the M1 at Dublin Airport and, on the southside, between Ballymount and Sandyford.

The €650m project begins next week and isn't due for completion until late 2010.

A consortium, led by well-known builders PJ Hegarty and Spanish firm Itinere Infraespucturas, will carry out the upcoming work. The same company will be given €20.8m a year over the next 35 years, to maintain the full 38km of the M50.

"They've got two jobs. One is to complete the construction phase, the other is to do the maintenance and operation for 35 years," said Sean O'Neill, communications officer for the National Road Authority.

"The next two weeks will be traffic management set-up," Mr O'Neill said. "It's not going to have an impact on travel, but it's the like the official handing over of the baton."

This is going to have a far bigger impact on traffic then the current works. These works will be on a different scale altogether with both the North and South sides of the M50 under construction. This phase is really big and complex and big traffic disruption is inevitable. Hopefully the new website will be up in the next few days showing the initial changes.

rekrow

Only in Ireland could phase 2 of a project take place AFTER phase 3. It's a pity that there are no lessons learned for the routes being built at the moment. Still sticking to the 2+2 format with non free flow junctions. Still will keep the NRA busy in the years ahead retrofitting the roads being built at the moment. Nenagh bypass is the same, not even 10 years open and they retrofitting the whole lot.

whosedaddy?

I guess we can argue the additional impact on the traffic (only time will tell) as the real bottleneck is the bit they are currently working on.

Will the southbound tailback in the morning be much worse ones there are 60 km/h restrictions and narrow lanes in place? Or the northbound and southbound mess in the evenings? I don't think so. Only removing the toll barrier and getting N7 and N4 moving will solve that. personally, i'd prefer some overlap and get it done quicker (well, some chance of that), instead of waiting for an ever delayed project to be completed, before starting the next one.

BUT - it will dastically increase the risk of mayhem caused by breakdowns, as the lanes without hard shoulder will increase substancially.

Time to negotiate teleworking arrangements..... :rolleyes:

ardmacha

Still sticking to the 2+2 format with non free flow junctions.

That said some of the routes now being built hardly warrant a motorway at all. What is inappropriate on the M50 is not necessarily inappropriate on a rural section some distance from a major city. A junction with a rural national secondary road doesn't have to built in a same way as one with a quasi-motorway like the N7, N3 etc.

Hopefully the new website will be up in the next few days showing the initial changes.

Now the lack of website is ridiculous.

darkman2

http://www.m50.ie/pages/planyourjourney/m50-mainline.html

New Traffic Layout at M1 Interchange.
A new traffic merge will be in place at the M1 Interchange for traffic heading onto the M50 southbound. The new traffic merge will affect traffic coming from Dublin and using M50 southbound and may result in queuing at M1 northbound during peak times. This new layout comes into effect at 6am on Friday 1st February 2008, until further notice.
Road users are advised to approach the M1 Interchange slowly and to look out for new signage to ensure they are in the correct lane at all times.

Great - any chance we can see whats actually being built anytime soon:rolleyes:

Victor

darkman2 wrote: »

Great - any chance we can see whats actually being built anytime soon:rolleyes:

There will be a free flow from the M50 eastbound onto the M50/M1 towards the city and from the M1 southbound to the M50 westbound. The images are in the EIS on the SDCC website.

D.L.R.

from the M50.ie website:

Phase 2 of the M50 Upgrade Project has started (January 2008), to upgrade the section of motorway

* from the M1 (Airport) Interchange to the N3 (Blanchardstown) Interchange at the northern end and
* between Ballymount and the M11 on the southern end.

But the upgrade doesn't reach the M11. Get it right, M50.ie!

triple-M

New Traffic Layout at M1 Interchange.
A new traffic merge will be in place at the M1 Interchange for traffic heading onto the M50 southbound. The new traffic merge will affect traffic coming from Dublin and using M50 southbound and may result in queuing at M1 northbound during peak times. This new layout comes into effect at 6am on Friday 1st February 2008, until further notice.
Road users are advised to approach the M1 Interchange slowly and to look out for new signage to ensure they are in the correct lane at all times


i love the way they say that it "may result in queuing" when it will clearly result in mile long tailbacks

whosedaddy?

... The new traffic merge will affect traffic coming from Dublin and using M50 southbound and may result in queuing at M1 northbound during peak times. ....

triple-M wrote: »

i love the way they say that it "may result in queuing" when it will clearly result in mile long tailbacks well beyond the airport and possibly even swords

How can queuing on M1 northbound result in tailbacks beyond the airport...

mackerski

whosedaddy? wrote: »

How can queuing on M1 northbound result in tailbacks beyond the airport...

More to the point, how can works at the M50 result in northbound queues on the M1? You have passed the M50 before the M1 commences.

Traffic from the tunnel?

Bluetonic

mackerski wrote: »

More to the point, how can works at the M50 result in northbound queues on the M1? You have passed the M50 before the M1 commences.

A case forgetting the old M1 is now part of the M50 me thinks!

triple-M

:(oops i really should think things through before i say them,wil result in tailbacks the other way then:p i thought it meant heading on M1s going onto m50s roundabout where there are already delays,i retract my last statement