M50 this morning (14/1/2010)

Redsoxfan

I think that's as bad a delay as I have experienced (without snow)-granted I've only been using the road for commuting for around 13 months.

Should M50 Concession Ltd have been out earlier gritting around Sandyford/Balinteer?

Cookie_Monster

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Should M50 Concession Ltd have been out earlier gritting around Sandyford/Balinteer?

Simple answer: Yes and the council should have been out on the N11 too, was lethal

burger1979

Was driving from lucan exit to sandyfrod exit this morning on the M50 and driving past the red cow interchange the black ice was in a good few places. the car hit a few patches and you could feel the loss of control and my trousers getting wet!!! but anyway they should have gritted the road over night. it was dangerous. if some one had lost control in the overtaking lane at 100km's smashed into the central median then ran back across the traffic lanes after initial impact there would have been a lot of cars damaged and probably lives lost. are they saving the salt for the chipper or something?

redved

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Simple answer: Yes and the council should have been out on the N11 too, was lethal

Been commuting this way for the last 6 years and today was as bad as i've seen.

Redsoxfan

burger1979 wrote: »

it was dangerous. if some one had lost control in the overtaking lane at 100km's smashed into the central median then ran back across the traffic lanes after initial impact there would have been a lot of cars damaged and probably lives lost. are they saving the salt for the chipper or something?

I didn't notice any ice at the Red Cow (would have been there at around 7.45 or so), but traffic was heavy at that stage.

There were accidents at Sandyford/Ballinteer (according to the radio-I got off at Tallaght and stopped for breakfast) and the reports were saying that the Gardai had cleared the accident, but were not opening the right hand land southbound until it had been gritted. I assume that the lane was closed for quite some time as by 9 I still hadn't passed the Tallaght exit.

AlekSmart

I travelled along this stretch at 05.50 and experienced the conditions which were not extreme BUT which were dangerous.

There IS a speed restriction of 60KPH here and this morning proved just WHY its still there as the usual suspects blazed their self-important trail towards oblivion....scary stuff !

The warning signs were there for any driver excercising a wee bit of observation...damp surface,patches of glistening ice and most often overlooked that period of silence when your wheels begin to run on a low friction surface...

I slowed right down,only to be flashed,hooted and otherwise intimidated to speed up (Which I refused to do)

I`m assuming the accident was the two Vans,a silver rental,and a traditional White Transit Connect which were crossways on the carriageway opposite the new Nursing Home.

Whilst I saw the vehicles in the distance and slowed even further down,I was closely pursued by a collection of Professional Drivers in 40`Artics all apparently hell-bent on making the news....now THAT was scary......

Also worth a note is the fact that at least one driver was out on the carriageway on a mobile phone !!

I made it through and off at the Dundrum slip which itself was deceptive as the ice did`nt actually reappear until actually ON the roundabout...brown trouser stuff indeed.

Of somewhat more importance is that fact that this particular location on the "New" M50 is just about as dubious a spot as you will find.
The camber,water run-off and curvature of the road are quite obviously contributing to a road which sees regular ponding,and now a prevalance to icing up....Acceptable for a brand new project....? (Forgot for a moment where we live,so the answer is probably Yes)

wayne2107

Pretty bad alright. It took me just over two hours from my depo in the airport to my first stop in Central Pk Lepordstown. I left the airport at 08:45 this morning. The southside seems to be worse hit. Parts of Stepaside are still a no go! Our dispatch told us to take NO chances, so Stepaside/Kilternan/Ticknock was a big no no!

BrianD

I notice that the NRA weather information gives "treated" information for some routes. I assume that this means gritted. It saying that the M50 is "treated" so it will be interesting to see if it freezes overnight and what the conditions are like in the morning - though it does seem unlikely that temperatures will get that low overnight.

It seems that some councils/operators have forgotten the events of the past two weeks already.

NotInventedHere

Council is not responsible for the M50, It is maintained by a company called M50 Concession I think.

Redsoxfan

AlekSmart wrote: »

Of somewhat more importance is that fact that this particular location on the "New" M50 is just about as dubious a spot as you will find.
The camber,water run-off and curvature of the road are quite obviously contributing to a road which sees regular ponding,and now a prevalance to icing up....Acceptable for a brand new project....? (Forgot for a moment where we live,so the answer is probably Yes)

The same issue was raised when we experienced severe rain before 'The Cold Snap 09/10'. I wondered whether the fact that the road 'isn't finished' means that it is unfair to judge it at this stage. However, anyone who regularly uses the road would see that it is finished (some soundproofing isn't going to make any difference to water run-off....) and so this section is going to be a hazard in both heavy rain and freezing temperatures as it is currently configured. Maybe the paperwork and audits won't be signed off until this section is changed .