M17/M18 - Gort to Tuam [open to traffic]

westtip

antoobrien wrote: »

Will people use it - if it's tolled no.

I don't see how it will improve matters without the bypass being built. All it will do is move the problems from Claregalway to Doughiska (and to a lesser extent carnmore cross, as people get off at Glenascaul to avoid the trouble in Doughiska).

But it will remove through traffic from the mess that is Claregalway - the non Galway bound traffic will go nowhere near Claregalway or Doughiska - mind I agree with the sentiments on the need for the bypass.

antoobrien

westtip wrote: »

But it will remove through traffic from the mess that is Claregalway - the non Galway bound traffic will go nowhere near Claregalway or Doughiska

A lot of people I know come out of galway at peak times using the tuam rd to avoid briarhill & doughiska since the motorway opened. I can't see people trying to use the existing overcrowded road to get to the motorway, I think they'll go out to claregalway and turn right. Or worse turn any number of side roads into cregmore style rat runs.

ki

antoobrien wrote: »

A lot of people I know come out of galway at peak times using the tuam rd to avoid briarhill & doughiska since the motorway opened. I can't see people trying to use the existing overcrowded road to get to the motorway, I think they'll go out to claregalway and turn right. Or worse turn any number of side roads into cregmore style rat runs.

I fully agree with what your saying.

Galway City needs more than 1 access point to the Motorway Network of Ireland

Dublin has 15(guess figure)
Cork 6/8 along the South Ring Road
Limerick 6
Galway 1, this has to become a bottle neck for inward and out going traffic.:eek:

City Planners and the NRA have to be able to see this.

murphaph

ki wrote: »

City Planners and the NRA have to be able to see this.

They have seen it, hence the plans for a Galway City bypass which will provide more dispersed access to the M6. It's held up at the moment (legal stuff).

ki

murphaph wrote: »

They have seen it, hence the plans for a Galway City bypass which will provide more dispersed access to the M6. It's held up at the moment (legal stuff).

Sorry your right, and they must press ahead with what they can.

The city bypass is 10 years away

Could they do something in the mean time?

KevR

ki wrote: »

Sorry your right, and they must press ahead with what they can.

The city bypass is 10 years away

Could they do something in the mean time?

They could have built a trumpet/freeflow junction at Doughiska instead of terminating the M6 at an at-grade roundabout but they didn't. If they had built a trumpet then they could maybe have looked at grade seperating the Briarhill roundabout (going towards or away from the M6 roundabout, you could often spend 15-25 mins queuing for the Briarhill roundabout at peak times). Then they could look at improving other junctions further West.

antoobrien

KevR wrote: »

They could have built a trumpet/freeflow junction at Doughiska instead of terminating the M6 at an at-grade roundabout but they didn't. If they had built a trumpet then they could maybe have looked at grade seperating the Briarhill roundabout (going towards or away from the M6 roundabout, you could often spend 15-25 mins queuing for the Briarhill roundabout at peak times). Then they could look at improving other junctions further West.

The briarhill roundabout was a disater at peak times long before the motorway opened up, so I have to disagree that the freeflow junction would have made a difference. To really make a differnce here you'd have to close off the monivea rd from accessing town and force them either up ballybrit to tuam rd or out to glenascaul and back in the dual carriageway (that part id not rated m/way)

Chris_5339762

I originally thought a trumpet would be great, but since there are roundabouts at both ends of the trumpet (effectively) it would make no real difference.

Contrary to popular belief it is possible (although too expensive) to upgrade all the roundabouts on the current N6 in Galway. It wont happen but it is doable, even Terryland.

locha

A bit off the point but I was chatting to an engineer from Balfour Beatty today and while they are not Irish they made me laugh by referring to the job as "the Hiace Highway"... Apparently this is a non toll motor way but the company are getting paid for the level of usage... has the taxpayer got screwed again?

L1011

locha wrote: »

A bit off the point but I was chatting to an engineer from Balfour Beatty today and while they are not Irish they made me laugh by referring to the job as "the Hiace Highway"... Apparently this is a non toll motor way but the company are getting paid for the level of usage... has the taxpayer got screwed again?

The entire point of this is that its a shadow toll arrangement, thats exactly what the NRA were intending. They're paying little (or nothing) upfront and paying for it over a period of time.

There may or may not be a minimum traffic guarantee, its unlikely the NRA will admit that for some time if there is for commercial reasons.

serfboard

MYOB wrote: »

There may or may not be a minimum traffic guarantee, its unlikely the NRA will admit that for some time if there is for commercial reasons.

One would imagine that there would have to be - since whoever is constructing it will be borrowing money to build it, their banks will need some guarantees before lending in these times.

Also, the M3 shows that there is a precedent for this - and that route was tolled!

I don't like shadow tolls meself - pushing capital expenditure onto current expenditure for the next 30 years and nearly always paying way more, but we're skint and it has to be a PPP. A tolled PPP would result in Claregalway still being jammers - whatever you think about whether the M17 will solve that.

gally74

BAM confirmed, galway advertiser,

cant wait to see this one start

Cosmo K

I wonder, will there be a partial opening of sections of the scheme? Gort-Oranmore for example.

jwcurtin

When completed roughly how long will it take to go from Galway to the Tunnel? Estimates welcome!:D Can't wait as it used to take well over 3 hours to get to Abbeyfeale before there was any dual-carriageway on the Galway-Limerick route (this was like 10 years ago). Currently 2hrs 15mins from the west of the city (using the tunnel)

rainbowdash

jwcurtin wrote: »

When completed roughly how long will it take to go from Galway to the Tunnel? Estimates welcome!:D Can't wait as it used to take well over 3 hours to get to Abbeyfeale before there was any dual-carriageway on the Galway-Limerick route (this was like 10 years ago). Currently 2hrs 15mins from the west of the city (using the tunnel)

Galway - Limerick is 65 miles so I woud say you could be from Oranmore through the tunnel and out the Adare road coming into Adare in under an hour. Would Abbeyfeale be 30 minutes off peak from the Limerick side of Adare?

jwcurtin

rainbowdash wrote: »

Galway - Limerick is 65 miles so I woud say you could be from Oranmore through the tunnel and out the Adare road coming into Adare in under an hour. Would Abbeyfeale be 30 minutes off peak from the Limerick side of Adare?

Takes 40 minutes from the roundabout, with traffic in Adare.

AOwannabe

Roadbridge employees put on protective notice due to failure to land Gort to Tuam contract

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Limerick-employees-at-Roadbridge-.6542902.jp

THE Limerick-based construction company Roadbridge Civil Engineers and Building Contractors has placed its local staff on four weeks' protective notice, raising fears of widespread job losses and redundancies at the company.

It is understood that staff were informed of the decision to place them on protective notice last week, after the company - one of Ireland's leading civil engineering contractors - failed to secure a tender for a contract in Gort, Co Galway.

Staff at the company chaired by Ballysheedy man Pat Mulcair, which directly employs in the region of 750 people worldwide and is thought to employ up to 100 people locally, were offered the opportunity to apply for jobs on Roadbridge contracts in Poland, Glasgow and Germany.

No-one was available for comment at Roadbridge this Tuesday morning, with www.limerickleader.ie informed that "management are out of the country and will not return until Thursday".

Roadbridge - which began life as Pat Mulcair Civil Engineering in 1967 - have their headquarters in Limerick and currently operate from offices in Dublin, Galway, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Poland, Libya and UK, according to their website.

Mr Mulcair has consistently featured on the Sunday Times Rich List in recent years, but dropped back to 119th on the countdown in April of this year, with his fortune dropping €2 million to €73 million.

The Limerick based company were among the contractors who made up the consortium that worked on the €660 million Limerick Tunnel project, and it is with that project's completion in July and the lack of further available national projects that has led to staff being placed on notice.

The company say on their website that they have "enjoyed significant organic growth over the past number of years" and more than doubled their turnover in the past five years to a consolidated turnover of €490 million in 2007.

In recent years Roadbridge worked on the Foynes Oil Terminal, a €30 million project, and won a tender in February of this year, along with John Sisk and Son, for the contract on one of the main links between the M4 and Pembrokeshire in the UK.

summer11

AOwannabe wrote: »

Roadbridge employees put on protective notice due to failure to land Gort to Tuam contract

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Limerick-employees-at-Roadbridge-.6542902.jp

Sorry to read this... Roadbridge seemed to be one of the better Contractors in terms of speed and quality finish over the past few years.

I hope that they are rewarded further along the Atlantic Corridor.

crusheenman

Its a shame a dutch / english company got this job, irish companies need to be doing these jobs.. from my experience (driving around the country, none building experience) wills / roadbridge / sisk always seem to finish on time and with minimum fuss.. I have no idea where the all the employees working on the gort to crusheen are going to go.

Tech3

Latest article on the scheme:

Gort to Tuam Motorway to Provide Catalyst to Economy in the West







The Border, Midland and Western (BMW) Regional Assembly has welcomed the announcement by the National Roads Authority (NRA) that work will commence on the M17/M18 Gort to Tuam motorway in early 2011. This was announced following the completion of the tender process to identify a preferred bidder to build the next stage of the Atlantic Road Corridor which will bypass Claregalway, Ardrahan, Kilcolgan and Clarinbridge in Co. Galway, linking with the soon to be completed Crusheen to Gort bypass.



Mr. Gerry Finn, Director of the BMW Regional Assembly speaking from their offices in Ballaghaderren, Co. Roscommon stated, “The commitment to develop the Atlantic Road Corridor as set out in Transport 21 is one of the most critically important investments for the development of the West of Ireland and the whole of the BMW Region. The announcement of this project is welcomed by all those in the Region who support the Atlantic Corridor and we would urge the Government to ensure that all phases of this Corridor remain on schedule. Its development will provide a counterbalance along the West coast to the economic dominance of the East coast which now includes the enhanced Belfast/Dublin economic corridor and will ultimately strengthen the connections between the designated Gateways of Limerick, Galway, Sligo and Letterkenny”.



Mr. Finn added, “the pattern of investment under the National Roads Programme over the past decade has concentrated on the creation of a radial motorway network out of Dublin. Whilst recognising the importance of relieving congestion in the existing roads networks in the Greater Dublin Area, this prioritisation has as a consequence strengthened the dominance of Dublin and contributed to increased urban sprawl. It has been recognised that the BMW Region’s under-developed road network has been one of the major barriers restricting the development of the regional economy and has been a barrier to inward investment. These current deficits create obstacles for enterprise development and the overall accessibility and quality of life for people in the Region. Quality access to and within the BMW Region via radial corridors, linking corridors and international access points attract and promotes investment to and within the Region and will ultimately be a major factor enabling it’s future development. Balanced regional development and a more sustainable convergence in socio-economic terms between the regions as outlined in the National Spatial Strategy 2002–2020 remain possible provided that strategic investments are made to address transport and other infrastructure deficits. This announcement demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment to these important objectives”.



Mr. Finn concluded by highlighting the targeted investment under the BMW Regional Operational Programme 2007–2013, which is part-funded support by the European Regional Development Fund, “building upon the work of the 2000–2006 Programme, we have provided funding to the recently completed Athlone to Ballinsloe section of the M6, the Tullamore bypass and as part of our investment in the Gateways and Hubs Programme in the Region, funding is being provided to develop urban road schemes such as the upgrade of the Seamus Quirke Road in Galway and the construction of an Eastern Access Route in Cavan Town”.

Click here for link

spacetweek

"BMW Regional Assembly" - jesus, does the West have a devolved government now??

witnessmenow

crusheenman wrote: »

Its a shame a dutch / english company got this job, irish companies need to be doing these jobs.. from my experience (driving around the country, none building experience) wills / roadbridge / sisk always seem to finish on time and with minimum fuss.. I have no idea where the all the employees working on the gort to crusheen are going to go.

In fairness to Bam civil they aren't dutch like the M6 crowd were spanish. I was in one of their site offices recently and it was all Irish people there. I agree that it would have been nice to allow a total Irish bid to win it though. I always had a little chuckle to myself when the gov complained about us going north to do our grocery shopping when they give major construction contracts to foreign companies.

Is there long left in the Gort to Crusheen job?

charlemont

spacetweek wrote: »

"BMW Regional Assembly" - jesus, does the West have a devolved government now??

the south east also has 1, its capital is clonmel. that really shows the joke it is, jobs for the boys, these authorities do fcuk all, they are i think made up of the european parliament boundaries ,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Authorities_in_Ireland

i cant see many people driving as far as rathmorrisey to then go north to tuam..

123easy

crusheenman wrote: »

Its a shame a dutch / english company got this job, irish companies need to be doing these jobs.. from my experience (driving around the country, none building experience) wills / roadbridge / sisk always seem to finish on time and with minimum fuss.. I have no idea where the all the employees working on the gort to crusheen are going to go.

BAM is the new name for ASCON of old. They are very much an Irish company with Irish employees, engineers and project managers

crusheenman

123easy wrote: »

BAM is the new name for ASCON of old. They are very much an Irish company with Irish employees, engineers and project managers

Yes, but will all the money stay in the county..? id sill prefer a Indigenous irish company on the job. Reports from some plant hire guys locally is not good regarding BAM, and alot are nervous to do business with them.. these guys worked with Wills on N18.

N18 seems well on the way to be finished and will be opened in the next month or so, weather depending of course. I cant see any delays coming up..

anyone else hate te way these roads are shown at weird orientations

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=68187899&postcount=441

its the same with a lot of the scheme websites

123easy

crusheenman wrote: »

Yes, but will all the money stay in the county..? id sill prefer a Indigenous irish company on the job. Reports from some plant hire guys locally is not good regarding BAM, and alot are nervous to do business with them.. these guys worked with Wills on N18.

N18 seems well on the way to be finished and will be opened in the next month or so, weather depending of course. I cant see any delays coming up..

Most of the construction money I would imagine would stay in the country, Its not like 3 or 4 years ago when Irish subcontrctors were expensive. The concessaire I would imagine would repatriate their profits but they all work for foreign concessionaires anyway

Carawaystick

123easy wrote: »

BAM is the new name for ASCON of old. They are very much an Irish company with Irish employees, engineers and project managers

Ascon built the Bray and Arklow bypasses(M11) well ahead of schedule, back when schedules weren't padded out like now

spacetweek

witnessmenow wrote: »

I always had a little chuckle to myself when the gov complained about us going north to do our grocery shopping when they give major construction contracts to foreign companies.

The tendering process is EU-wide and the gov isn't allowed to treat Irish tenderees preferentially.

sdanseo

spacetweek wrote: »

The tendering process is EU-wide and the gov isn't allowed to treat Irish tenderees preferentially.

Which is one area where the EU should feck off and butt out. We're not using their money to build it any more unless I'm mistaken?