M6 - Ballinasloe to Galway

kaizersoze

Might aswell get the ball rolling on this section.:)

I have a load of pics to upload at some stage of the works around Ballinasloe/Aughrim, particularly the Suck bridge, but probably too many to attach here. I'll upload to an album at some stage though.

To start here are 3 vids taken when they closed the navigation channel and brought in a 500 tonne monster crane to lift the cross beams onto the support columns. They're virtually unedited and raw so sorry bout the size and tedious moments.

Monday night crane setup-15th Sept (47Mb)

Tuesday beam lift-16th Sept (76.4Mb)

Tuesday contd... (45Mb)

Contractor newsletters:
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,10002,en.pdf
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,11134,en.pdf
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,14114,en.pdf
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,14662,en.pdf
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,15351,en.pdf
http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/ContractorsNewsletters/file,15874,en.pdf

?Cee?view

Thanks for this Kaisersoze,

I recall seeing somewhere before that one of those contractors newsletters mentioned an opening time of late 2009 even though the official date was later.

Have you head anything about the opening date?

Geogregor

kaizersoze wrote: »

Might aswell get the ball rolling on this section.:)

I have a load of pics to upload at some stage of the works around Ballinasloe/Aughrim, particularly the Suck bridge, but probably too many to attach here. I'll upload to an album at some stage though.

To start here are 3 vids taken when they closed the navigation channel and brought in a 500 tonne monster crane to lift the cross beams onto the support columns. They're virtually unedited and raw so sorry bout the size and tedious moments.

Monday night crane setup-15th Sept (47Mb)

Tuesday beam lift-16th Sept (76.4Mb)

Tuesday contd... (45Mb)

It seems you have acces to the site. Post some pictures here. I'd love to see more pictures on this forum.

Sponge Bob

By May 2009 the construction traffic will be largely using the new mainline instead of the local country roads to transport their materials .

The contractor has agreed to then spend €10m fixing up all the east Galway roads that they have wrecked in the past year and a half with the heavy plant .

The connacht tribune had an article on it this week. It appears that they have not complied with the condition in their contract that they should have done this on an ongoing basis , some of the roads east of Athenry are almost impassable right now .

dubhthach

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The connacht tribune had an article on it this week. It appears that they have not complied with the condition in their contract that they should have done this on an ongoing basis , some of the roads east of Athenry are almost impassable right now .

Galway County council are receiving on average two claims a week due to damage that the contractors have done to local roads.

KevR

Sponge Bob wrote: »

By May 2009 the construction traffic will be largely using the new mainline instead of the local country roads to transport their materials .

The contractor has agreed to then spend €10m fixing up all the east Galway roads that they have wrecked in the past year and a half with the heavy plant .

The connacht tribune had an article on it this week. It appears that they have not complied with the condition in their contract that they should have done this on an ongoing basis , some of the roads east of Athenry are almost impassable right now .

Very true. Some of the potholes on the roads around Athenry are nearly like shallow graves!

Good to hear that they have pledged money to repair the local roads and that construction traffic will start using the mainline rather than local roads. A lot of the heavy earth movement work is done so there should be a reduction in construction traffic on local roads now anyhow.

A friend of mine who lives outside Athenry said that at one point there were 40 trucks going constantly all day every day up and down the road outside his house :eek:. No wonder the local roads are ****ed!

Sponge Bob

Forgot to mention, the local and regional ( and national ....now) roads to be fixed up properly are in the order of 50 miles length while the scheme itself is about 30 miles long ...x2 for the pedants

Would €200k a mile of a budget really repair these surfaces long term ?? . I assume an average 3m wide and 1600m a mile meaning that 5000sq m of road surface is a mile and averages out at €40 per square metre , essentially to rebuild them .

Seems a tad too low. I thought decent well built surfacing was €60 per square metre even on local roads ...boreens like.

Roscommon has a similar problem with the other M6 scheme east of Ballinasloe .

KevR

Just reading that article from The Tribune now and I'd be surprised if they resurface all 50 miles in question. Will probably resurface most of it but just carry out lesser repair work on sections which aren't severly damaged. Also, it says that the repair work will cost in excess of €10 million so all in all it could be round about €60 per square metre for the sections they resurface.

KevR

Was out around Athenry yesterday (Sunday) and there are some seriously big potholes on the regional/local roads around the area. One pothole on the R348 outbound from Athenry was so big that they had a traffic cone in it to warn people/stop them driving into it. Drive into that pothole and you probably wouldn't come back out - no joke!

Had someone knock on the door recently, puncture caused by hitting something, did what I could to help him out. Next day walked up the road and the "crater" was at least 15cm deep!

A bit OT as there is no construction traffic on this road..

kaizersoze

Current status of the Suck bridge with work on the abutments well advanced.

kaizersoze

All taken on the western bank.

kaizersoze

Right, at last I've uploaded most of my pics to a gallery. Still more to add but I'll try keep it updated.

http://gallery.m6.kaizersoze.net/

Enjoy.:)

It looks like the overbridge near Ballydangen (between Athlone & Ballinasloe) will be in use before the day is out, they are in the process of marking the new road layout.

Still looking good for completion of the Athlone - Ballinasloe section in the summer.

Just the Athlone tie-in to start now.

kaizersoze

Deleted User wrote: »

It looks like the overbridge near Ballydangen (between Athlone & Ballinasloe) will be in use before the day is out, they are in the process of marking the new road layout.

Still looking good for completion of the Athlone - Ballinasloe section in the summer.

Just the Athlone tie-in to start now.

It opened this evening.

veryangryman

The million dollar question.

If i use this road, can i get off it at Ballinasloe West Junction without having to pay the toll

If so, sweet!:D

If not, gash! :mad:

kaizersoze

veryangryman wrote: »

The million dollar question.

If i use this road, can i get off it at Ballinasloe West Junction without having to pay the toll

If so, sweet!:D

If not, gash! :mad:

Yes you can.:)
The toll is at Cappataggle, about 6 miles west of Ballinasloe.

KevR

If you're going the whole way to Galway I doubt it'd worth trying to avoid paying the toll. If you get off at junction West of Ballinasloe there's nowhere to get back on the M6 without going miles out of the way. You'd be taking a much more indirect route by taking the old N6 and dipping to the South for Loughrea; and if you wanted to get back on the M6 at Loughrea you'd have to go up the 7km link road.

Next junction is Athenry and to get here you'd have to turn off in Craughwell and go up the R347 (approx 6kms on a bad road).

Obviously the journey would take longer by trying to avoid the toll; but I think, because of the extra distance involved, you'd lose out on extra fuel consumption by trying to avoid it.

If you're coming from the East and your destination is Loughrea or possibly Craughwell it probably would be worth avoiding it.

Chris_533976

Just came along on the Galway - Heuston train, still lots of work to do on this one. Couldnt get pics tho

Bridge over the railway near Athenry has a long way to go. Embankments are up on both sides but no covering. Sorta at the same general stage as the Suck bridge.

KevR

Out of curiosity, do bridges over railway lines require much/any closure of the railway line during construction?

It's disappointing that they haven't been making much progess on the Athenry railway underbridge and other such structures lately on the Galway-Ballinasloe scheme.

veryangryman

KevR wrote: »

If you're going the whole way to Galway I doubt it'd worth trying to avoid paying the toll. If you get off at junction West of Ballinasloe there's nowhere to get back on the M6 without going miles out of the way. You'd be taking a much more indirect route by taking the old N6 and dipping to the South for Loughrea; and if you wanted to get back on the M6 at Loughrea you'd have to go up the 7km link road.

Or...

I could just get off there and drive the R446 the rest of the way. Happy days - The only town you go through the whole way is Craughwell - minus the Motorway traffic

Amtmann

veryangryman wrote: »

The million dollar question.

If i use this road, can i get off it at Ballinasloe West Junction without having to pay the toll

If so, sweet!:D

If not, gash! :mad:

So, you complain on the other thread about the roads in your area making it hard to get all the way to Dublin in good time, yet when a motorway is built close to you, you moan about having to pay a toll and wish to continue using the old road?

nordydan

As stated previously, it makes little financial sense to avoid these tolls when you factor in fuel/depreciation etc. And of course it depends on how important you value your time.

veryangryman

I dont really think that the old N6 is really that much worse for the car fuel/wear-wise than the Motorway will be. Especially given the fact that you can probably drive at reasonable speeds on it once the traffic is moved off of it. The road is wide 2 lane for the most-part and involves no roundabouts from West Ballinasloe to Oranmore if i remember correctly.

Depends whether you fancy putting the boot down on the Motorway. And if you do fancy that, your fuel consumption is excessive anyway. I really dont see the obsession people have with saving 10 minutes of their time at the expense of an extra €10 minimum. Grand if your on the way to work etc, but for a day or weekend out, i really couldnt be arsed feeding Eurolink/Direct Route's already overflowing coffers.

I realise that its a matter of choice, and good luck to those who use Motorway 100% of time. For me however, i'll only use it when Im running late

Now...next question. Should i even go there with this because i dread the answer... Will there be toll booths, or freeflow. 99% certain its the latter (

veryangryman

Furet wrote: »

So, you complain on the other thread about the roads in your area making it hard to get all the way to Dublin in good time, yet when a motorway is built close to you, you moan about having to pay a toll and wish to continue using the old road?

Yes. I'm glad that we understand each other :pac:

KevR

veryangryman wrote: »

Now...next question. Should i even go there with this because i dread the answer... Will there be toll booths, or freeflow. 99% certain its the latter (

Toll booths as far as I know.

nordydan

nordydan wrote: »

As stated previously, it makes little financial sense to avoid these tolls when you factor in fuel/depreciation etc. And of course it depends on how important you value your time.

When the Moate section opened, I noticed a significant drop in fuel consumption on the Athlone - Dublin commute.

Possibly as much as 3 litres fuel saved on a round trip.

veryangryman

Deleted User wrote: »

When the Moate section opened, I noticed a significant drop in fuel consumption on the Athlone - Dublin commute.

Possibly as much as 3 litres fuel saved on a round trip.

Yes but.. You must factor in the fact that if you went through Moate/Kilbeggan now, you wouldnt be crawling due to the lesser amount of traffic.

When Ballinasloe and Craughwell open up a bit, it will be very possible to get through these places without needing to crawl

Carawaystick

Loughrea is about 12km south of the m6 route, so you'll be going along 2 sides of a triangle to get to Galway. I'd say the speed limit will be reduced to 80 from Balinasloe to the N65 and from Loughrea to Galway, while the M6 will have 120 limit.

As I passed over the new bridge just before 1pm on saturday, there were lorrys and machinery tarmacing about 200m west of the bridge and there was a tarmac layer about the same distance east of the new bridge.

There was also some work going on at Aughrim where the M6 crosses the N6, still no bridge structure visible though.

kaizersoze

Carawaystick wrote: »

There was also some work going on at Aughrim where the M6 crosses the N6, still no bridge structure visible though.

Serious work to do there. It's all bog. They've been digging that out for at least 6 weeks and no end in sight. I'd say t'll be along time before we see any structure appearing there.

Carawaystick

The road has been diverted since last year, that's 11 weeks or so now. at least. I can't remember when it actually diverted.

EAFC_rdfl

it diverted around mid october at aughrim. its moving quick enough the past week, don't think it will be long til the overbridge work begins, as I think the digging seems to be nearly complete. signs up on the east side of balinasloe stating a new road layout will be in place from this friday. must be to do with the roundabout they have been working on

Emerate

Hi does anyone have any estimates of how long it would take to drive from athenry to Ballinasloe once the motorway is completed? thanks:)

KevR

Athenry-Ballinasloe will take roughly 20 minutes when the motorway is done if you're driving at the 120kmh speed limit.

Obviously it will take longer if you're averaging a lesser speed or less time if you drive slightly over the limit.

Chris_533976

Fools.

I've just realised, looking at Google Earth pics, that there is no scope in place for the (possible) M6 junction with the Galway Outer Bypass. Which means that about a km of this scheme will have to be ripped to bits if/when whats been approved of the bypass gets built.

Morons.

KevR

kaizersoze wrote: »

Serious work to do there. It's all bog. They've been digging that out for at least 6 weeks and no end in sight. I'd say t'll be along time before we see any structure appearing there.

Can see things taking a bit of shape there now. It was a complete mess up until recently, it was hard to figure out what was being done there by looking at it but it's shaping up now.

Hopefully they'll be ready to start on the structure in a few weeks.

kaizersoze

KevR wrote: »

Can see things taking a bit of shape there now. It was a complete mess up until recently, it was hard to figure out what was being done there by looking at it but it's shaping up now.

Hopefully they'll be ready to start on the structure in a few weeks.

It's a bit wierd there. They seem to have all done (ie ramps, road levels, etc) except for the structure.

The first overbridge that I'm aware of (open to correction) on the scheme was completed and opened on Thursday at Barnacragh. It's just east of that N6 crossing. The Liscappul road was also closed permanently aswell. Local traffic from that road now join the N6 via a new link road and under the new underbridge at Mackney.
Work has also started on the western interchange structure at Mackney and the new footbridge nearby looks set to start.

Things are moving along nicely now. Base course and asphalt has also been laid from the N6 crossing heading west, almost as far as the toll plaza site at Cappataggle.

kaizersoze

Updated the gallery with some new pics.

Batching plant Cappataggle.

Album

Overbridge on N6 at Aughrim.

Album

Suck bridge progress.

Album
Album

Toll Plaza Cappataggle.

Album

dubhthach

Good to see the progress on the Suck Bridge, wonder if they will be able to finish the "Ballinasloe bypass" section in time for the opening of "Athlone-Ballinasloe" ?

It would definetly make life easier.

GerardKeating

dubhthach wrote: »

Good to see the progress on the Suck Bridge, wonder if they will be able to finish the "Ballinasloe bypass" section in time for the opening of "Athlone-Ballinasloe" ?

It would definetly make life easier.

Nope, the bridge is part of a seperate scheme and will open with the Galway-Ballinasloe section.

kaizersoze

dubhthach wrote: »

Good to see the progress on the Suck Bridge, wonder if they will be able to finish the "Ballinasloe bypass" section in time for the opening of "Athlone-Ballinasloe" ?

It would definetly make life easier.

Gerard is correct, it won't be opening early. Even if the bridge was finished in time the western junction has barely started and the stretch between the 2 structures has a long way to go before it gets any type of road surface.

There's a big push on the bridge because once Athlone - Ballinasloe opens it will be their only access to their bit on the east of the river.

KevR

Excellent pictures kaizersoze!

You should put a couple of them up on the M6 Wikipedia page (a picture of the Suck Bridge and one of your pictures of the Athlone-Ballinasloe scheme would add to the page a lot). I have a couple of pictures (which I should really update...) from the Galway-Ballinalsoe scheme up there.

spacetweek

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Fools.

I've just realised, looking at Google Earth pics, that there is no scope in place for the (possible) M6 junction with the Galway Outer Bypass. Which means that about a km of this scheme will have to be ripped to bits if/when whats been approved of the bypass gets built.

Morons.

Easy with the temper!

In the map that I drew of it, the interchange zone is surrounded by empty land. Looks like the interchange could just be slotted in no probs.

flazio

Are they really going to open all of Ballinasloe to Galway in one go or are they going to go as far as the Loughrea turn off or Athenry first?

Chris_533976

Guesswork - one go. Progress seems to be reasonably constant throughout, from the pics I've seen.

flazio

flazio wrote: »

Are they really going to open all of Ballinasloe to Galway in one go or are they going to go as far as the Loughrea turn off or Athenry first?

There would be little incentive in part opening the motorway if the traffic then has to divert off half way and take a longer journey.
Not to mention the issue of paying a toll for half a road - or not paying depending which end opens first, another reason the Ballinasloe bypass won't open early.

KevR

kaizersoze wrote: »

Overbridge on N6 at Aughrim.

Saw a cement truck with a big long pumping arm there this morning pumping cement into the foundations which are shown in the far side of this picture.

Also, the big huge drainage pipe (which you can't see in this image) is almost fully encased in a huge concrete block.

Probably see things taking a lot more shape here in the next few weeks.

kaizersoze

KevR wrote: »

Saw a cement truck with a big long pumping arm there this morning pumping cement into the foundations which are shown in the far side of this picture.

Also, the big huge drainage pipe (which you can't see in this image) is almost fully encased in a huge concrete block.

Probably see things taking a lot more shape here in the next few weeks.

Thats the start of the western abutment. Formwork and steel were in place when I was there on Sunday.
It looks like things are finally moving there alright.

Afaik, that big drain pipe in the foreground is actually an animal underpass.

KevR

Yikes! Looking at the photo I mistook the drainpipe for the Eastern foundations of the bridge!

But, yeah, that pipe is almost fully encased now. They're a few weeks at it.

kaizersoze

10/05/09. M6 Ballinasloe to Galway. Video at double speed.
Covering ~9kms heading west from accommadation underbridge at Mackney Ballinasloe to Newcastle overbridge near Cappataggle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6vO7O8Vir0

Amtmann

LOL you were stopped in your tracks there at the end!

Another excellent film. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures.

Security seems really lax on that site. Did you encounter any contractors working there, kaizer?