N3-M50 interchange

Random

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/40424/49842.jpg

Is this the newest or is there a more recent one?

Davy

I think this one shows the layout a bit better:

Random

That roundabout in the middle there ... you're not gonna be able to do full laps of that are you?

And is there any updated information anywhere on expected completion dates or different phases?

IIMII

Random wrote: »

That roundabout in the middle there ... you're not gonna be able to do full laps of that are you?

You will, either to sling-shot back from the M50 southbound to northbound, or to go back around to Blanch village

Random

Then I'm a little confused.

How does the traffic work in this picture?
* Blue - M50 southbound to Blanch Village
* Yellow - Blanch Village to N3 Inbound

Surely this traffic flow doesn't work? is there traffic lights there? Have I missed something?




++ edit .. sorry there's a red line there too.. I don't know why I felt the need to draw the blue one over it as that actually showed one of the routes fine .. hope it doesn't confused! Just ignore the red!

Davy

Random wrote: »

Surely this traffic flow doesn't work? is there traffic lights there? Have I missed something?

remember that a serious amount of the traffic at the roundabout at the moment wont be their any more. The center roundabout will be more so for local traffic for blanch village

Random

Seems a bit mad. Which traffic flow is gonna get the yield / stop sign?

What's going on over at Auburn? Was driving past there today and coming outbound just getting to the Auburn roundabout there's a load of trees gone and a big lump of concrete there. Are they getting rid of loads of trees for some sortof sliproad to Auburn Ave? Is it an elevated slip?

And another (yah .. another!) thing. What's this road I've circled with green? Is the pink the road that leads to it or what?

IIMII

Davy wrote: »

Guessing you were stuck on tuesday when guards closed the road at blanch. It was madness. Hopefully with the new three lanes their will be no need for a full road closure, because with the new design of free flow junctions the easy up and over will be gone!

Yeah, it was a nightmare. Got off and drove around to Blanch via Kilshane cross, and back on to the M50 at Blanch

Davy

Random wrote: »

Seems a bit mad. Which traffic flow is gonna get the yield / stop sign?

I imagine that it would be a yield at the top of the slip off the M50 southbound. That slip is going to be quite long.

Random wrote: »

And another (yah .. another!) thing. What's this road I've circled with green? Is the pink the road that leads to it or what?

Looks like this to me,, see the blue line connecting from blanch village

daymobrew

It'll be interesting to cycle the new N3 - it's scary as is, with no shoulders on the roundabout and its approaches.

The pedestrian bridge near Castleknock Tennis Club is unnecessarily long winded, though I think that they might have shortened a bit by removing an unnecessary double-back.

chewed

Anyone know the completion date for the N3/M50 interchange?

darkman2

The NRA has NOT got Planning Permission on the alternate design being shown here. This is what is being built

triple-M

darkman2 wrote: »

The NRA has NOT got Planning Permission on the alternate design being shown here. This is what is being built

so basically eastbound traffic on the n3 will be freeflow a far as the halfway house??,because in the other images the n3 eastbound intersects with the auburn avenue junction as opposed to the underpass in this pic

ofjames

darkman2 wrote: »

The NRA has NOT got Planning Permission on the alternate design being shown here. This is what is being built

u sure about that?? why would they publish the alternate design if this is the case?

also the slip road towards the half-way house on the original would require the CPO of land (and most probably demolition) of the Travellodge at Auburn roundabout and there is no indication that anything of that order is imminent.

the alternate is a far superior option as it causes much less disruption to to the rail line and existing N3.

bauderline

Should this work be completed by end 2010 ?

Winters

I believe the N3 shall go over the canal and rail line and not under it as that picture has shown.

Heroditas

bauderline wrote: »

Should this work be completed by end 2010 ?

It's supposed to be completed by early 2010 isn't it?

Carawaystick

darkman2 wrote: »

The NRA has NOT got Planning Permission on the alternate design being shown here.

Retention ftw!


Unbelievable there's this level of uncertainty regarding what's going to be built at this stage.

Carawaystick

Carawaystick wrote: »

Retention ftw!


Unbelievable there's this level of uncertainty regarding what's going to be built at this stage.

Well, this is Ireland!!!! :pac:



/ducks............

ciaran75

drove past this morning and they have dug down about 8 feet with two distinct trenches (driving into town on left side of road between m50 and auburn roundabouts) so looks like they might be going with the original design after all.

That alternative plan looked a bit like a rollercoaster ride, a rapid rise followed by a big drop.

The worlds largest hump back bridge... :pac:

Davy

The New N3 (picture taken looking northbound M50)

KevR

That's a wide looking bridge - almost like a tunnel if you're on the M50. How many lanes ill it carry?

Carawaystick

from the pics upthread, there's gonna be at least 3 eastbound and 2 westbound, and could be 4/3

Random

Nice one with the pics, keep them coming.

And if anyone gets a copy of the final design or more info on it please post it up. I emailed them but still waiting on a response

Heroditas

They probably haven't finished the design yet :pac:

[/legger]

Shifty

Does anyone know when will part/all of the N3 be downgraded to an R road permanently.?

Already I see signs from Dunshaughlin towards Navan for the R147, it looks like the N3 from the new roundabout in Dunshaughlin (Navan bound) has already become the R147 as there are road signs which say Navan R147. I don't see no mention of the N3, although the speed limits have been left as is.

Carawaystick

Shifty wrote: »

Does anyone know when will part/all of the N3 be downgraded to an R road permanently.?

I'd imagine the existing N3 will be permanently downgraded the day the M3 opens. This is how the other roads worked.

Davy

N3 Inbound - Inside the barrier is cleared where the new inbound N3 lanes will be.



N3 Junction at blanch village - The median is cleared and concreted



New bridge behind total fitness (Hard to get a good shot)



Inbound between M50 and auburn ave - lot of work going on here, zoomed a bit close



At Dunsink lane - the corner of the auburn roundabout at little chef

Random

Keep them coming boyo !

Geogregor

Wow that's interesting junction design. But it will take ages to build. So many bridges and everything while traffic continues.
Complicated project in one word.

Jip

They're fairly moving on Scotts roundabout now, caused traffic problems yeterday evening, traffic outbound after 8 was backed as far as Auburn Avenue but that's to be expected. Looks like part of the road outbound has now been realigned after Scotts roundabout but it's probably just temporary like it was on the inbound side last week.

chewed

Who's paying for all these junction upgrades? Surely the government would have put a stop to these constructions in the current climate! I know the M3 (and similar motorway projects) are built as a PPP with tolling to part fund them.

KevR

It's all part of the €1 Billion M50 upgrade as far as I know. The government own the M50 so they are paying for it in essence but they are raking in tolls from the M50 everyday so it will really be the tolls that pay for it.

It's a very necessary upgrade but it is disappointing that they didn't exercise a bit more forward thinking when initially building the M50 and the upgrade would cost a lot less now (there would probably be enough spare change to build a good chuck of the Dublin Outer Orbital).

Jip

Why should they stop ? Good infrastructure is vital to the economy, no matter what state it's in.

chewed

KevR wrote: »

It's all part of the €1 Billion M50 upgrade as far as I know. The government own the M50 so they are paying for it in essence but they are raking in tolls from the M50 everyday so it will really be the tolls that pay for it.

It's a very necessary upgrade but it is disappointing that they didn't exercise a bit more forward thinking when initially building the M50 and the upgrade would cost a lot less now (there would probably be enough spare change to build a good chuck of the Dublin Outer Orbital).

I suppose it's the least they could do after the huge profits they get every day from the tolls.

I remember reading an article a few years back on the M50 junctions. Haughey's cabinet were advised to build proper free flowing junctions which would have costed £18m at the time, but opted for roundabouts instead. Even at the time, in London they were adding more lanes onto the M25, yet on the M50 they still only put in 2 lanes!

D'Peoples Voice

chewed wrote: »

I suppose it's the least they could do after the huge profits they get every day from the tolls.

I remember reading an article a few years back on the M50 junctions. Haughey's cabinet were advised to build proper free flowing junctions which would have costed £18m at the time, but opted for roundabouts instead. Even at the time, in London they were adding more lanes onto the M25, yet on the M50 they still only put in 2 lanes!

Contrast and compare the rates of emigration between the two countries in those days you might get your answer!

thats why we had the property boom, there simply wasn't enough serviced development land to build on in the late nineties, so developers made a mint out of building housing estates on land that was serviced knowing too bloody well that there would be a bottleneck in supply.
Remember the popes children, well Dublin city council KNEW in the early eighties we would need hundreds of thousands of more houses IF AND ONLY IF we didn't emigrate in the 1990s. the problem was we didn't emigrate - had Dublin city council of predicted this in the early 1980s in the baby boom, they cold have rezoned better.

Chris_533976

chewed wrote: »

Who's paying for all these junction upgrades? Surely the government would have put a stop to these constructions in the current climate! I know the M3 (and similar motorway projects) are built as a PPP with tolling to part fund them.

The contracts for all the current building have been signed so it has to go ahead, financial crisis or not

L1011

chewed wrote: »

Who's paying for all these junction upgrades? Surely the government would have put a stop to these constructions in the current climate! I know the M3 (and similar motorway projects) are built as a PPP with tolling to part fund them.

The damage to the economy and environment caused by the old junctions far, far outweighs the financial costs of replacing them. The old N3 junction causes mile long tailbacks.

Bluetonic

Might be a nothing story.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/m50-ramp-closure-to-cause-big-delays-for-months-1789708.html

By Kevin Doyle

Thursday June 25 2009

Plans to close a ramp from Blanchardstown to the M50 could create traffic congestion in the area for five months.

Fingal County Council are considering an application from developers to temporarily close the northbound link.

The move would facilitate upgrading works on the M50 but could create a traffic headache for commuters.

The proposal submitted by M50 D&C Ltd, the contractors engaged in the upgrading of the M50, is to temporarily close the northbound on-ramp from the N3.

If the council gives the go-ahead, it will directly affect motorists travelling in the Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart and Castleknock areas.

The M50 upgrade has been under way since 2006 and has a completion date of late 2010.

The partial closure of the N3 interchange is necessary to help create a semi-free-flow route, along with the construction of new road bridges, two new footbridges and pedestrian and cycle crossings.

Backlogs

A spokesperson for the National Roads Authority (NRA) told the Herald that this was likely to require some overhead work near the ramp.

When completed, the roundabout at Auburn Avenue with be a fully signalised junction.

In the meantime, motorists from the affected areas travelling in a northwards direction on the M50 are likely to be diverted to different junctions.

This is expected to lead to some traffic backlogs, especially from September onwards when schools reopen.

The NRA said works on the controversial roadway are progressing at a good rate.

Phase two is due to be completed by December next year and will consist of a third lane in each direction, and a fourth between a number of adjacent interchanges.

Around €1bn will have been invested in the M50 upgrade upon completion.

Jip

If it's the northbound slip I don't think it would affect as many people as they'd expect. I expect that most people from the Mulhuddart area would not go near the N3/M50 junction anyway as they can just cut down onto the N2 which avoids the congestion on the N3. And again anyone coming from Clonee outwards would also got that way to avoid the N3 congestion, they would cut through via part of the N2-N3 link road through Damastown/Damonstown? (can never remember what the place is called) and out by Tyrrelstown onto the N2 again.

brownbinman

is it only at night it will be closed or for the whole 5 months, day and night?

ofjames

it will be day and night.

basically they need to close it to do the following:

1) knock a big hole in the ramp at the point where the new N3 bridge has been built over the M50

2) excavate down through the ramp so to allow the joining up of the section of carriageway currently being built behind the Total Fitness to the new bridge over the M50.

3) construct a bridge over this new dual carriage way to reinstate the ramp from the existing N3 roundabout to the M50 northbound.

they have been in the process of doing this with the southbound off-ramp for several months now (nearly finished the bridge now to reinstate the ramp). however they didnt need to close the whole off-ramp on that side because the terrain beside it was such that they were able to lay a new section of road right alongside to divert traffic on the ramp around the section that is now being bridged.

brownbinman

Nuts to that!!

Im screwed getting to work in mornings now!!

Heroditas

It'll also affect anyone heading out the N3 from the city centre wishing to go north. Does that mean the traffic will be forced up towards the N2 interchange or will all the traffic funnel southbound to the N4 interchange and then scoot back up the M50?
That'll create an awful snarl-up for traffic heading out the N4

Davy

Have to say it would really p*ss me off. Hopefully it will be worth it in the long run, and they better be working 24/7 on it!

ofjames

Heroditas

Does that mean the traffic will be forced up towards the N2 interchange or will all the traffic funnel southbound to the N4 interchange and then scoot back up the M50?

cant see too many people taking the N4 option seeing that you would have to pay 2 tolls for the privilege!!

also given it's current free-flow-ish design i dont think there is an easy turnback to be done there (correct me if i'm wrong people)

just to warn people as well. the southbound on-ramp at blanch is on borrowed time also. they will be tearing that up to link in the new N3 carriageway within a matter of months I would think. perhaps they will wait to do it until they reinstate the northbound ramp however.

this area is going to be an absolute nightmare for the next year or two

Carawaystick

would it be too difficult to build the new on ramps first??? then you can use them and remove the old ones...

Maldini2706

Jip wrote: »

If it's the northbound slip I don't think it would affect as many people as they'd expect. I expect that most people from the Mulhuddart area would not go near the N3/M50 junction anyway as they can just cut down onto the N2 which avoids the congestion on the N3. And again anyone coming from Clonee outwards would also got that way to avoid the N3 congestion, they would cut through via part of the N2-N3 link road through Damastown/Damonstown? (can never remember what the place is called) and out by Tyrrelstown onto the N2 again.

Nah, it will cause HUGE problems. In the morning, if your suggestion happens then all those back roads you talk about will be rammed solid, they're not designed to take the amount of traffic the N3 motorway is.

In the evening you tend to have traffic from the N3 inbound AND outbound accessing the M50 northbound, where will all that outbound traffic go? They've only a couple of options, loop around via Palmerstown/Liffey Valley and through the toll or head up to the N2 via River Road/Dunsink Lane which again isn't designed to take that much traffic.

If they are going to do it then they should do it ASAP while the schools are off and the traffic is lighter because come September it could be a complete clusterf*uck.

Heroditas

ofjames wrote: »

cant see too many people taking the N4 option seeing that you would have to pay 2 tolls for the privilege!!

also given it's current free-flow-ish design i dont think there is an easy turnback to be done there (correct me if i'm wrong people)

just to warn people as well. the southbound on-ramp at blanch is on borrowed time also. they will be tearing that up to link in the new N3 carriageway within a matter of months I would think. perhaps they will wait to do it until they reinstate the northbound ramp however.

this area is going to be an absolute nightmare for the next year or two

Ouch! True, sound slike they'll have to head up towards the N2.

Also, it is possible to head south on the M50, join the N4 and then loop back north but you have to cut across two lanes once you get onto the N4 junction to make it onto the M50 ramp going northbound - and yes, you need to do it at speed in the space of about 300m.