M6 - Ballinasloe to Galway

Chris_533976

M7 – Limerick Shannon tunnel, 10km, due to open in winter 2010

Whoa, what? This is tracking to be completed July 2010, and officially September 2010.

Amtmann

Did they get the landscaping done after all?

Altreab

wellbutty wrote: »

Its fantastic to see how the motorway network is shaping up on OpenStreetMap. Apparently it'll take 2 hours to do Galway-Dublin now, anyone have a typical time for the old N6/N4 pre-motorway...3.5 hours?

Pre motorway the trip could take 4 hours plus and 3.5 hours was doing very well indeed. It Had all the following bottle necks ...loughrea ...ballinasloe ...athlone ...craughwell ....moate....kinnegad...lucan ...leixleap. and more im sure

oddiot

Altreab wrote: »

Pre motorway the trip could take 4 hours plus and 3.5 hours was doing very well indeed. It Had all the following bottle necks ...loughrea ...ballinasloe ...athlone ...craughwell ....moate....kinnegad...lucan ...leixleap. and more im sure

Not to forget the N4's very own "Newland's Cross" that was the Newcastle road junction. Until the N4 M50-Leixlip scheme was completed earlier this year, this one set of lights (now flyover) made it an excruciating experience to go west on a Friday evening.

35x

Did first trip on M6 From Loughrea to Galway today...brilliant road and have to agree on surface - it's really smooth.
Now, what happens from Ballinasloe to Galway re speed limit? It would be sheer lunacy to reduce it to 80 KPH and would greatly penalise all of the residents in that general area who don't have to use the M6 on day-to-day basis. I think other local authorities in various similiar situations have kept the limits as they were i.e. 100 kph. Let us hope that Galway Co Co and its Councillors are capable of getting it right before wasting money putting up new speed limit signs. Need lots of support on this one!!!!!!!

roosterman71

35x wrote: »

Did first trip on M6 From Loughrea to Galway today...brilliant road and have to agree on surface - it's really smooth.
Now, what happens from Ballinasloe to Galway re speed limit? It would be sheer lunacy to reduce it to 80 KPH and would greatly penalise all of the residents in that general area who don't have to use the M6 on day-to-day basis. I think other local authorities in various similiar situations have kept the limits as they were i.e. 100 kph. Let us hope that Galway Co Co and its Councillors are capable of getting it right before wasting money putting up new speed limit signs. Need lots of support on this one!!!!!!!

The old N6 between Athlone and Kinnegad is 80kph since the M6 opened. I'd expect it to be the same from Athlone to Galway along the old road

antoobrien

35x wrote: »

t would be sheer lunacy to reduce it to 80 KPH and would greatly penalise all of the residents in that general area

I don't know about you but it seems to me that the vast majority of users of this road felt that 80 KM/H was the appropriate speed for this road under 'normal'. This appears to be particularly true of the locals (on all N6 stretches).

My opinion is based on repeatedly waiting (and watching many others waiting) behind a car for ages, being prevented from overtaking them because of repeated apparent blocking maneuvers stopping me (and others) getting a clear view of the view of the road and speeding up only to see the car turn into a house or side road several miles later.

veryangryman

Athlone to Ballinasloe, yes should be 100KMPH

Aughrim to Kilreekil? Are you well? That should be lowered further than its current 80KMPH. Anyone here over 25 will remember all the old "black spots" they had on this stretch to honour those killed on it. They had to remove them because ironically, there were so many black spots, that it was distracting drivers on the road

Loughrea to Galway, yeah im happy enough with 100KMPH

kiwipower

NFD100 wrote: »

Absolutely. All the VMS should display this for a month or two. People would get the idea quick enough.

NRA should display these on all the routes.

Also, fog lights in fog only!

TOTALLY AGREE!!! Wish I had some sort off BB gun for shooting out fog lights that are used in the wrong conditions!!!!:eek::D:cool::D:D

kiwipower

Just wondering how bad was it at the M^/Briarhill/Galway Clinic junctions this morning? Usually travel up from Limerick but not today! Was predicting absolute mayhem with this new round about. Just wondering if im right? Also wondering if it makes the old Dublin road through merlin park better or worse????

brainy_neuron

Passed thru the roundabout on Saturday around 2 or 3 (coming from N18) and had no problems. One car in front of me and we waited for one car to pass from the N/M6 and then we passed thru no problems. Traffic leading up to Headford Rd shopping centre roundabout however was baad!!

glineli

kiwipower wrote: »

Just wondering how bad was it at the M^/Briarhill/Galway Clinic junctions this morning? Usually travel up from Limerick but not today! Was predicting absolute mayhem with this new round about. Just wondering if im right? Also wondering if it makes the old Dublin road through merlin park better or worse????

Came through at 9.20 this morning, no traffic at all. Lets hope it stays like that.
Hard to tell at the moment with people on holidays. I think it will be later january before we see a pattern

veryangryman

brainy_neuron wrote: »

Passed thru the roundabout on Saturday around 2 or 3 (coming from N18) and had no problems. One car in front of me and we waited for one car to pass from the N/M6 and then we passed thru no problems. Traffic leading up to Headford Rd shopping centre roundabout however was baad!!

Christmas and all that.. Even then there was only a 15 min delay from Motorway to Headford Rd SC carpark, and that includes parking. Hardly brutal..

Average day should be grand.

spacetweek

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Whoa, what? This is tracking to be completed July 2010, and officially September 2010.

The dates in the IT article are the fantasy ones from the NRA site. They are all estimates from project kick-off and are never adjusted as time goes on.

kiwipower wrote: »

TOTALLY AGREE!!! Wish I had some sort off BB gun for shooting out fog lights that are used in the wrong conditions!!!!:eek::D:cool::D:D

Actually, you are supposed to have fog lights on all the time. It's been proven abroad to be safer. That's why they have signs that ask you to do it.

tech2 wrote: »

The Irish Times have produced a better article on the M6 opening including other scheme projected openings:

That really annoys me - why did they get a priest out to bless it? Is this the middle ages? I don't want to see that nonsense any more.

antoobrien

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Whoa, what? This is tracking to be completed July 2010, and officially September 2010.

spacetweek wrote: »

The dates in the IT article are the fantasy ones from the NRA site. They are all estimates from project kick-off and are never adjusted as time goes on.

They're not fantasy, they're the official due dates (i.e. next year for the M6) and they SHOULD NOT change.

What you should be asking is why don't the NRA publish the estimated opening dates.

Nath

Travelled from Galway to Ballinasloe East today to get some pics of the new M6. There was just enough daylight to take photos eastbound, here are the best of them.

Approaching Doughiska RAB


N6 Doughiska to J19 Carnmore/Glenascaul


Approaching J19 Carnmore/Glenascaul


Approaching J19 Carnmore/Glenascaul


J19 Carnmore/Glenascaul


Wide median eastbound between J19 and Athenry


Approaching J17 Athenry/Craughwell


J17 Athenry/Craughwell


Approaching J16 Portumna/Loughrea


Toll plaza sign


Approaching toll plaza


Toll plaza


Approaching J14 Ballinasloe East

Amtmann

Thanks very much, Nath. The wall and the sign don't go too well together in the first picture! Is the entire length of G-B tolled, or does the toll just run between certain junctions?

mackerski

Furet wrote: »

Thanks very much, Nath. The wall and the sign don't go too well together in the first picture! Is the entire length of G-B tolled, or does the toll just run between certain junctions?

There's just one toll station and that's on the mainline between j15 (Ballinasloe West) and J16 (Loughrea). Any journey not using this section will be free.

Chris_533976

Only toll plaza is between the two junctions, no sliproad stuff here.

And yeah, did they seriously put that sign BEHIND the wall?

veryangryman

Furet wrote: »

Thanks very much, Nath. The wall and the sign don't go too well together in the first picture! Is the entire length of G-B tolled, or does the toll just run between certain junctions?

West Ballinasloe-Loughrea tolled.

So you can get on at Galway and off at Loughrea for free

Similarly, can bypass Ballinasloe (East or West) free

What the toll (smartly) does is catch the long-distance traffic. Those on the short commute are not punished. So the toll is actually an "inter-urban toll", not a country village to country village toll.

If i was going to Aughrim, Kilreekil or even Loughrea town, i would most probably get off at Ballinasloe West. Not worth the toll if getting off earlier than Galway/Athenry

I hope the guys on the M7/M8 PPP scheme are taking notes. Not that ill ever have to use it most likely

Sponge Bob

Between J15 and J16 only but that is a looooong way around unlike the old N4 past the Enfield toll.

35x

veryangryman wrote: »

Athlone to Ballinasloe, yes should be 100KMPH

Aughrim to Kilreekil? Are you well? That should be lowered further than its current 80KMPH. Anyone here over 25 will remember all the old "black spots" they had on this stretch to honour those killed on it. They had to remove them because ironically, there were so many black spots, that it was distracting drivers on the road

Loughrea to Galway, yeah im happy enough with 100KMPH

I should have included Aughrim to Kilreekil stretch to remain at 80kph...I recall the "crosses" campaign, which although distracting, certainly made the point and has made that stretch very much less an accident area in conjunction with the speed restriction

rrrkelly

sorry if this has been asked before but im travelling to galway next week and i live in dublin and would like to use this m6 motorway, what is the best way to access athlone from dublin? thanks

emfifty

rrrkelly wrote: »

sorry if this has been asked before but im travelling to galway next week and i live in dublin and would like to use this m6 motorway, what is the best way to access athlone from dublin? thanks

take your pick of 5 exits once you hit the athlone (n6) bypass:)

Amtmann

rrrkelly wrote: »

sorry if this has been asked before but im travelling to galway next week and i live in dublin and would like to use this m6 motorway, what is the best way to access athlone from dublin? thanks

The junctions are here, rrrkelly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M6_motorway_%28Ireland%29#Junctions

rrrkelly

rrrkelly wrote: »

sorry if this has been asked before but im travelling to galway next week and i live in dublin and would like to use this m6 motorway, what is the best way to access athlone from dublin? thanks

The M(N)6 passes just to the north of the town and there are six exits that go to the town along the "N" section, which exit? depends on where in town you want to go.

Stark

rrrkelly wrote: »

sorry if this has been asked before but im travelling to galway next week and i live in dublin and would like to use this m6 motorway, what is the best way to access athlone from dublin? thanks

Best way is to follow a map. You can buy one in most petrol stations or use an online resource like www.openstreetmap.org

roosterman71

veryangryman wrote: »

I hope the guys on the M7/M8 PPP scheme are taking notes. Not that ill ever have to use it most likely

The M8 will have a toll at Portlaoise and Fermoy.
The M7 has the same toll at Portlaoise. Not sure if there's one then near Limerick.

The Portlaoise toll doesn't have them on the slip roads. To avoid, hop off at Portlaoise and go to Cullahill (M8) or Borris In Ossory (M7) and get back on.
The Fermoy toll has the slip roads tolled. Bandits

Stark

The M7 will have a toll on the Limerick tunnel, but none on the approach to Limerick itself (other than the Portlaoise toll).

You won't be able to get on/off the M8 at Cullahill once the Portlaoise-Cullahill section is finished. You could probably get on at Junction 3 if there's no tolls on the sliproads. You have to take the R433/R434 from Abbeyleix/Durrow to get to it.

kiwipower

[OT]

kiwipower wrote: »

The lights you are talking about are special daylight lights (and this by the way acourding to RSA is due to come into Ireland.) I also agree that it is much safer to have lights on during daylight hours. I follow the practice of Western Australia and drive with my dipped headlights on at all times.

Good, do you have any links to that news? I also drive with dipped lights on all the time, just have to replace the bulbs more frequently [/OT]

btw not used the new road yet, may be some time before I need to go to Galway.