M8 motorway (general thread)

Amtmann

Has anyone noticed how brilliant the Cashel-Cullahill section continues to look? The verges are strimmed and mowed religiously every fortnight, and the planting is growing and establishing rapidly. There are practically no weeds along the embankments either (amazing when you compare this section with the M8 sections further south), and the road just looks incredible manicured.

The Cashel-Mitchelstown section is beginning to look a little better. More planting has been added, and the plants that were put in in 2008 are growing. In addition, Gorse has colonised large swathes of the embankments making the road look dull, but better than the rotten spectacle that opened two years ago.

The Mitchelstown-Fermoy section has been let go to rack and ruin. The plants have not been sprayed around their bases, and the weeds are not being kept under control.

The M8/M7 section is also being poorly maintained since it opened, with many of the crash barriers now overgrown.

Amtmann

More subsidence on the Cashel-Mitchelstown scheme, once more north of junction 12, this time though on the northbound carriageway at the bridge just 200m before the "Welcome to County Limerick" sign. :rolleyes:

-Corkie-

Furet wrote: »

More subsidence on the Cashel-Mitchelstown scheme, once more north of junction 12, this time though on the northbound carriageway at the bridge just 200m before the "Welcome to County Limerick" sign. :rolleyes:

Hmmm at the limerick sign... Is this bad karma from limericks bog of doom...:D. I read a post by Chris also about the bridge near the tunnel is sinking as well. Furet I think its time to start a thread called `Our sinking infrastructure`.;)

cantalach

SARASON wrote: »

Hmmm at the limerick sign... Is this bad karma from limericks bog of doom...:D. I read a post by Chris also about the bridge near the tunnel is sinking as well. Furet I think its time to start a thread called `Our sinking infrastructure`.;)

The old name for the land either side of the Shannon is corcach which means marsh. Maybe there was a hint in that.

Amtmann

SARASON wrote: »

Hmmm at the limerick sign... Is this bad karma from limericks bog of doom...:D. I read a post by Chris also about the bridge near the tunnel is sinking as well. Furet I think its time to start a thread called `Our sinking infrastructure`.;)

The thing about the C-M scheme is that it actually looks badly built, and always has done. The undulating layout of the road is one thing (and something that is absent on all other M8 sections bar a straight on the approach to junction 3 on the newly opened M7/M8 scheme), but there was a poor finish to the road too - in terms of bumpiness particularly at bridges, the jagged edge of the wearing course, poor landscaping, and even the lack of concrete barrier reflectors for over a year-and-a-half after the road had opened. Several people here commented on the poor build quality of the final 6km of the scheme in particular and it came as no great surprise when two small sections subsided markedly over a year ago.

Amtmann

My complaining seems to have partly paid off: all the thistles and dock have been butchered by a team of landscapers all along the southbound carriageway of the M8 between Cashel and Cahir. The entire slope of the embankment has been done. I was astonished. I had been emailing (cough) Mattie McGrath about it. He said he would ensure it was done within three weeks, and actually, it has been. :eek:

Also, I have noticed a more concerted effort this year on the part of some authority or other to maintain the M8 by constant mowing of the verges. Even the wide median section between junctions 10 and 11 was done last week for the first time ever. I suspect South Tipp County Council has been embarrassed into action by the diligence shown by their North Tipp counterparts in their meticulous maintenance of the Cashel-Cullahill scheme since that opened.

Amtmann

Sponge Bob

Nice Ghost Estate meme

JupiterKid

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Nice Ghost Estate meme

My thoughts exactly!:pac: Would have been more apt along the N4 or N5, but I suppose they feature the real thing...

Amtmann

This is the artist's website: http://www.cokonrads.de/
Whatever the merits of the work, placing it where it is sited was weird. No one will ever see it (unless they're me).

Aidan1

Is it strange that I saw it too?

I think the location is interesting actually. It kind of looks like it could have been there before the motorway. There's probably some highly evolved artictic reasoning for that, but I'd only venture so far as to say it's 'cool'.

Hogzy

Anybody else think its a total waste of money to put artwork on the motorways?

Our man in Havana

Yes it is a waste considering they could have spent the money on needed safety features instead.

Jayuu

No. Lets not forget that commissioned artwork actually provides income for people, both the artist involved and potentially the supplier of the materials. Its not like they just took the money and burnt it.

As for safety features, its not like somebody said "oh lets cut the safety budget and not install safety features so that we can build some artwork". The two matters are completely unrelated.

Could you elaborate as to what sort of "safety features" you feel are lacking.

Our man in Havana

J19 M7 at the M8 split. A safety barrier would have not gone a miss there.

Sponge Bob

Whats wrong with having a Ghost Estate on a motorway seeing as everywhere else has one

Amtmann

Delineation works on the Watergrasshill and Glanmire Bypasses being done this week. Solid white lines being repainted close to the median. Interestingly, the white lines are being painted directly over the cats' eyes as though they aren't there.

Amtmann

A fatality on the old N8/N77 between Durrow and Abbeyelix today: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0901/rta.html

This should surely give prospective toll dodgers something to think about.

cantalach

Furet wrote: »

A fatality on the old N8/N77 between Durrow and Abbeyelix today: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0901/rta.html

This should surely give prospective toll dodgers something to think about.

Huh? How do you know that the guy didn't just happen to live along that stretch of road, or that he wasn't just visiting somebody who lived there?

Amtmann

cantalach wrote: »

Huh? How do you know that the guy didn't just happen to live along that stretch of road, or that he wasn't just visiting somebody who lived there?

What do you mean 'huh'? I didn't state ANYWHERE that the poor man in question was a toll dodger. He could well have been local. My point, which you missed in your rush to confront me, is that the road is still dangerous. Anyone who normally toll dodges the M7/M8 should bear that in mind.

cantalach

Furet wrote: »

What do you mean 'huh'? I didn't state ANYWHERE that the poor man in question was a toll dodger. He could well have been local. My point, which you missed in your rush to confront me, [...]

Woah there...what on Earth makes you think I'm wanting to confront you!? It's called debate. I used 'huh?' to casually reflect that I didn't follow your logic. I often do that. Agreed, you didn't say 'ANYWHERE' that the guy was a toll dodger. Nor did you say however that you believe this crash reflects the relative danger or the older roads. We're not mind readers!

It is quite unreasonable to have a go off me for not reading between the lines (i.e. failing to realise that you are commenting on the safety of the road) while simultaneously having a go off me for reading between the lines (i.e. incorrectly thinking that you were accusing him of being a toll dodger). If you choose to make your points so tersely that we are forced to read between the lines, then you have to accept that we will get it wrong sometimes.

Furet wrote: »

[...] is that the road is still dangerous. Anyone who normally toll dodges the M7/M8 should bear that in mind.

Now that we are all abundantly clear on the point you were trying to make, lets deal with it...

1. Few would argue that the motorways aren't a lot safer than the old roads they replaced. I don't see why you needed to co-opt somebody's death to reinforce something blindingly obvious that almost nobody would dispute anyway. It is both gratuitous and crass.

2. In any case, this incident doesn't necessarily point to dangerous roads at all. Unless you know something that I don't, we have absolutely no knowledge as to its cause. It may very well have had nothing whatsoever to do with the road being dangerous. The victim could have fallen asleep, had a blow-out, swerved to avoid a family of deer, etc., etc.

Amtmann

cantalach wrote: »

Woah there...what on Earth makes you think I'm wanting to confront you!?

You've had a go at me in the past, quite unreasonably. That's why. When someone doesn't post here often, and then, when on the rare occasion they do show up and seem confrontational, that suggests something to me.

It's called debate. I used 'huh?' to casually reflect that I didn't follow your logic. I often do that.

What signals a debate?
'Huh?'?
A debate is a formal argument between two or more people, not normally prefaced by an informal 'huh', which is dismissive and prissy in tone. And anyway, why do you feel the need to launch into a debate, when a simple discussion would suffice? Not everything has to be an argument.

Agreed, you didn't say 'ANYWHERE' that the guy was a toll dodger. Nor did you say however that you believe this crash reflects the relative danger or the older roads. We're not mind readers!

Assuming good faith is an unwritten rule of the internet. To assume I believed the deceased was a toll dodger (which is what your post was clearly suggesting, what with its loaded questions) was assuming the worst of me. Your tone could have been more cordial, and less confrontational, and we'd have avoided this pedantic spat.

It is quite unreasonable to have a go off me for not reading between the lines (i.e. failing to realise that you are commenting on the safety of the road) while simultaneously having a go off me for reading between the lines (i.e. incorrectly thinking that you were accusing him of being a toll dodger).

On the contrary, it's quite clear that that is exactly what you thought I meant.

If you choose to make your points so tersely that we are forced to read between the lines, then you have to accept that we will get it wrong sometimes.

Naturally. I'll take that under advisement. Now, if you wish to continue this particular exchange with me over PM that's fine. We're derailing the thread.

1. Few would argue that the motorways aren't a lot safer than the old roads they replaced. I don't see why you needed to co-opt somebody's death to reinforce something blindingly obvious that almost nobody would dispute anyway. It is both gratuitous and crass.

Then all road safety campaigns everywhere are crass and gratuitous, aren't they? People use the examples of other people's deaths on the roads all the time to reinforce safety messages. This phenomenon is ubiquitous. But then you are possibly co-opting my supposed co-opting of someone's death to get a chance to call me crass. Assuming your good faith, though, I'll think the better of you in this instance.

2. In any case, this incident doesn't necessarily point to dangerous roads at all. Unless you know something that I don't, we have absolutely no knowledge as to its cause. It may very well have had nothing whatsoever to do with the road being dangerous. The victim could have fallen asleep, had a blow-out, swerved to avoid a family of deer, etc., etc.

That's a good point and one I'd be happy to accept.

road_high

There has been a lot of controversy locally in Johnstown Co. Kilkenny since the tolled section of M8 opened a few months back; traffic volumes have increased substantially through the town as traffic avoiding the toll or indeed just going to Durrow/Abbeyleix and many to the Glanbia factory in Ballyragget.
All these used to come off at Cullahill on the temp roundabout, but since the opening this is no longer in operation. Some local politicians are/were jumping on the bandwagon saying HGV's should be banned etc from Johnstown which I find frankly ridiculous as the old N8 remains a good road.
Much of the traffic is Glanbia as I mentioned and it would make no sense for those to stay on the motorway til Ballacolla and step back down to Durrow.

L1011

The Johnstown Bypass section is still untolled, though. Although the signs on the ground say it is, it actually isn't!

Carawaystick

I may have posted this before here but in Spain a superb traffic calming system is used:

On entering each hamlet, village or one horse town, a sensor detects a car. In the middle of the village a traffic light then turns red. after the amount of time a car travelling below the limit would take to get to the light, the light changes from red. So speeders get Slowed down, while law abiding drivers are not held up.

L1011

Carawaystick wrote: »

I may have posted this before here but in Spain a superb traffic calming system is used:

On entering each hamlet, village or one horse town, a sensor detects a car. In the middle of the village a traffic light then turns red. after the amount of time a car travelling below the limit would take to get to the light, the light changes from red. So speeders get Slowed down, while law abiding drivers are not held up.

Only works on insanely light traffic or else everyone gets held up.

Danno

Furet wrote: »

A fatality on the old N8/N77 between Durrow and Abbeyelix today: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0901/rta.html

This should surely give prospective toll dodgers something to think about.

The fatality was a local chap from Durrow.

Colm R

Was driving up last night from Cork after the match had finished. Lots of kids on the overpasses through Tipp. Great amusement actually.

Most of the 'Up Tipp' and 'Up the Cats' signs were placed well off the motorway or on the bridges, and to be honest I have no real problem with this. Its only a bit of fun and not advertising.

However, there was one that concerned me. It was one of those electronic signs on a trailer parked on the hard shoulder just north of Thurles (N75 I think) junction on the northbound carriagway.

It was flashing alternating messages of 'Up Tipp' and 'Michael Lowry TD'.

Is this legal?

Is this safe? The wind was strong yesterday. Anyone pass it today, is it still there?

Our man in Havana

Is this legal?

Absolutely not. But who is going to stop him? He is God in North Tipp.

He is well known for his abuse of these type of signs.

Chris_5339762

There was one of these in the M8 northbounds hard shoulder and another on the M7 west just before the M7/8 split. Very dangerous.

The worst I saw (probably washed way now) was a paragraph of text painted ONTO BOTH NORTHBOUND LANES. God knows how they wrote them without being killed. People were driving away with white tyres.

I was impressed at the sheer number of flags and lorries parked next to the M8 and hung from bridges. Some huge amount of support.