M7 - Nenagh to Limerick

slinky2000

Mc Love wrote: »

A bit late on that one!

They announced that last week too

slinky2000

Nice reading spongebob!

Mc Love

Have the scupltures been there the whole time? I have just noticed them there yesterday

slinky2000

Mc Love wrote: »

Have the scupltures been there the whole time? I have just noticed them there yesterday

the bull and the man? for the last 6/7 years yea

see last bullet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M7_motorway_%28Ireland%29#Roadside_Art_on_M7

Mc Love

Must be dreaming, although a lot of the time lately I have driven at night so might have missed them, but I think they had them removed during construction??

123easy

Not familiar with this scheme but does anybody know why the route was chosen to go through such a deep bog in the first place? Were there not any alternatives?
Its certainly not the first time an NRA funded project has turned into a right mess because the formidable engineering challenges poised by such deep bogs have been underestimated.

Sponge Bob

123easy wrote: »

Its certainly not the first time an NRA funded project has turned into a right mess because the formidable engineering challenges poised by such deep bogs have been underestimated.

Where else did it happen ???? The M6 clips the very north of the bog of allen at Rochfordbridge but I heard they had no major problems there and Kildare was a green ecofarce not what I would dignify as an "engineering challenge".

KenHy

I think it happened on the N5, between Strokestown and Tarmenbarry

123easy

Yes on the N5, Scramoge to Cloonmore. Basically they attempted to build the road on the bog using new innovative technology! It didnt work the road kept sinking so the contractor had to go back and dig the whole bog and new road out and replace with rock . Apparently lost a track machine in the process as well. I think the opening was delayed for nearly 2 years.

Sponge Bob

123easy wrote: »

Ya N5, Scramoge to Cloonmore.

Ah yes, that would be raised bog territory. But they moved to design build contracts thereafter and privatised the risk instead of paying the inevitable overruns like they used to until 10 years ago or less.

123easy

The contractor(s) building this must be taking severe financial pain at the moment. Ten years ago it would have been dayworks galore

L1011

Kildare was entirely down to green fiddling rather than the fen (not a bog...) itself.

Route finalised in 1978. Opened 2003 (while an adjoining section of DC across the Curragh opened ~1984). About 30 lives lost in the intervening period. Do hope the protesters are proud of themselves.

I think Kildare came in mostly on schedule, considering the delayed start.

Sponge Bob

Well if you look at the links I supplied recently (and in late January) I think it is clear the contractor felt they had laid off the risk on piling and geotechnical to experts in those fields and did not chance it themselves.

The raised bog itself is apparently 12m deep ( the deepest ever found was 15m in Offaly I think I mentioned that somewhere ) and it must have been some shock to everybody involved when in some cases the hard bottom was another 24m down below the bog at 36m.

As for Kildare, Wild Bill mentioned that the engineering of the water containment was so good that the rare snails were all drowned in the wet summer of recent years. Poor feckers

123easy

Did they not do any GI? As the saying goes you pay for GI whether you do it or not.

Sponge Bob

123easy wrote: »

Did they not do any GI? As the saying goes you pay for GI whether you do it or not.

You could not GI it as it would only hold machinery once you built platforms.

Piles literally FELL through this bog and were not even DRIVEN.

There do be dead diggers sticking out of it...have you not read this thread yet 123easy? , start around March 2009 or so if not

slinky2000

So this is the deepest bog ever to be found in ireland?

ardmacha

So this is the deepest bog ever to be found in ireland?

No, this is!

fresca

chalky2005 wrote: »

nenagh birdhill opening next thursday. mate who is working on this section says that everything is done. They have been told it opening next thursday the 25th mar

Did anyone hear anymore about this?
Any confirmation?

I still haven't heard back from Mr. O'Neill.... since my email of 11th march...

Iamhere

I also know a lad working on the road at the moment, was talking to him last Friday and he was saying Thursday as well for Nenagh to Birdhill... But you never know with this road!

Deedsie

If it was going to open tomorrow, an announcement would have surely been made by now?

Berty

Deedsie wrote: »

If it was going to open tomorrow, an announcement would have surely been made by now?

They said it would be opened quietly. No media or ministers probably due to the embarassment of it.

ki

We should have a road opening festival, when it all eventually opens, and invite all Ministers for Transport that have held office during design/constrution.

How many is there? 7~8?

fresca

the preverbial politicians picnic...
let's have it in the bog of doom... :rolleyes:

ki wrote: »

We should have a road opening festival, when it all eventually opens, and invite all Ministers for Transport that have held office during design/constrution.

How many is there? 7~8?

limklad

fresca wrote: »

the preverbial politicians picnic...
let's have it in the bog of doom... :rolleyes:

Yea, just replace the sign for "Bog of Doom this way" with "This exit for Ministers of Government Parking lot & Personal Election Fund Raising event". Have a boat with Counterfeit € money sitting on a boat in the middle of the bog. Archaeologists can dig them up "preserved" in millions of years time to ruin their economy.:rolleyes:

Well this road is far over due. Hopefully the rest of the individual motorway sections to Dublin will open soon before next years Internationals, since I won't be going to any Hurling Matches in Dublin this year due to last night vote.:mad:

Deedsie

limklad wrote: »

Well this road is far over due. Hopefully the rest of the individual motorway sections to Dublin will open soon before next years Internationals, since I won't be going to any Hurling Matches in Dublin this year due to last night vote.:mad:

Well as a Tipperary supporter I am hoping to get a fair bit of usage out of this road.

Irish and Proud

fresca wrote: »

the preverbial politicians picnic...
let's have it in the bog of doom... :rolleyes:

...and let the politicians go under with their banking buddies!!! :rolleyes:

Lexar

fresca wrote: »

Did anyone hear anymore about this?
Any confirmation?

I still haven't heard back from Mr. O'Neill.... since my email of 11th march...

Are you sure you sent the email to the proper address? I have sent and received replies in the past few weeks. No date yet for opening but indications are that the Birdhill section may open before Easter.

Deedsie

I emailed AARoadwatch:

The information that we have at the moment is as follows. I will follow up and see if there have been exact dates supplied by now.

The M7 between Nenagh and Birdhill will be opened on a phased basis by the end of March early April and the next section between Birdhill and Limerick will be open in April/May.

It comprises 28 km of high quality dual carriageway built to motorway standard, with a single carriageway link to the main road at Birdhill and the upgrading of 10 km of the Nenagh bypass to dual carriageway standard.

The new road will link the Limerick Southern Ring Road with the existing Nenagh bypass.

Kind Regards

Nicola Hudson,

AA Roadwatch Controller,


You would imagine if it was opening tomorrow, the first people to be informed would be AARoadwatch.

To the lads who have mates working on the site: Any chance ye could send an oul text for an update?

fresca

Lexar wrote: »

Are you sure you sent the email to the proper address? I have sent and received replies in the past few weeks. No date yet for opening but indications are that the Birdhill section may open before Easter.

Project Liaison Officer: John O'Brien
Phone (Office Hours): 061 633440
Email Address: jobrien@n7n2l.ie Contractor: Bothair Hibernian N7 JV

Deedsie

Another email reply from AARoadwatch

I just spoke to the NRA.

It is expected to open just before or after Easter but not tomorrow.

The stretch from Nenagh to Castletown will open about a month later and the Birdhill to Limerick stretch should be by the end of the year.

Regards

Nicola Hudson,

AA Roadwatch