N40 - Cork South Ring Bandon & Sarsfield Flyovers

Hogzy

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

Sorry. Should have said eastwards.

Appears to be no slip road when travelling eastwards directly onto the Sarsfields Roundabout. Have to go through Bandon first.

Yes but if you are going eastwards (coming from the west) then you will be going through the Bandon R'about anyway unless you are already on the Ballincollig bypass.

Lets say you are coming from Bandon/inishannon. You go through the Bandon R'About and take the side road parallell to the flyover, you must then pass through the Sarsfield roundabout and merge onto the N25 and continue to the tunnel (or where ever)

THe bandon R'about is the western most roundabout on the N25, then comes Sarsfield R'about, then Kinsale R'about then the tunnel.

spacetweek

jagblad wrote: »

• Grade separation at Sarsfield Road Roundabout and Bandon Road Roundabout.
• Construction of a realigned dual carriageway along the new route.
• Construction of new parallel link roads between Sarsfield Road and Bandon Road.

Not to seem ungrateful but does this wording seem less ambitious than what the pictures above indicate?

What do you mean exactly?

jagblad

What do you mean exactly?

I was really just wondering were flyovers implicit in what they've said? Not up on construction terminology.

Just been doing a bit of googling and "grade separation" means there will be.

Chris_5339762

Yes, flyovers at both roundabouts, an upgrade of the DC inbetween them and effectively a collector/distributor system between the two roundabouts. They are too close together apparently to fit two separate junctions in but the plan looks reasonably good.

spacetweek

jagblad wrote: »

I was really just wondering were flyovers implicit in what they've said? Not up on construction terminology.

Just been doing a bit of googling and "grade separation" means there will be.

Well it's true that the layman might not know what "grade separation" means. For us, though, it's a preferable term to "flyover", which is makey-uppy.

neddynasty

Saw a digger doing some clearing up work this morning on the west bound side of the dual carriageway between the two roundabouts this morning. They'd removed some of the ditch/hedging and were moving some of the dirt around on the waste land behind the hedging.

Amtmann

Tomorrow is the big day. I'll have to negotiate the roadworks each morning and evening for the next ten weeks at least, possible much longer. I look forward to it

Irish and Proud

Tremelo wrote: »

Tomorrow is the big day. I'll have to negotiate the roadworks each morning and evening for the next ten weeks at least, possible much longer. I look forward to it

Don't think there'll be much to be seen over the next few weeks - I think the initial work will consist mainly of surveying (by the contractors) and set-up works such as installing site offices etc.

neddynasty

Irish and Proud wrote: »

Don't think there'll be much to be seen over the next few weeks - I think the initial work will consist mainly of surveying (by the contractors) and set-up works such as installing site offices etc.

Site office setup started last week. Heard on the radio this morning that lane restrictions start from Monday. I also noticed this morning that SIAC have put their signs up on the roundabouts with the freephone info number on them etc.

Ludo

Hogzy wrote: »

Lets say you are coming from Bandon/inishannon. You go through the Bandon R'About and take the side road parallell to the flyover, you must then pass through the Sarsfield roundabout and merge onto the N25 and continue to the tunnel (or where ever)

I don't think so...if you come from Bandon and go round the Bandon R'About to head East, there appears to be a merge directly onto the South Ring before you hit the Sarsfield Road roundabout so you will not have to negotiate that one.

Irish and Proud

They actually have a tiny bit of news (and I do mean tiny) relating to this scheme on the RTE site today:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0706/cork.html

It's just that I'm surprised the commencement of the scheme even registered with RTE! :eek::rolleyes:

Hogzy

Irish and Proud wrote: »

They actually have a tiny bit of news (and I do mean tiny) relating to this scheme on the RTE site today:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0706/cork.html

It's just that I'm surprised the commencement of the scheme even registered with RTE! :eek::rolleyes:

Im sure it had its political reasons

serfboard

Irish and Proud wrote: »

They actually have a tiny bit of news (and I do mean tiny) relating to this scheme on the RTE site today:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0706/cork.html

I'm going to quote that RTE piece.

RTE wrote:

Motorists face two years of disruption after work began on a project to improve traffic flow on the N25 South Ring Road in Cork.

Work began today on a €60m project to improve traffic flow on the N25 South Ring Road in Cork.

It is one of only a handful of national primary road projects to go ahead this year.

Motorists face up to two years of disruption while work is under way.

Why the f**k does the headline have to be so negative - just to give some people more chance to give out? I've re-written it as follows.

RTE wrote:

Work began today on a €60m project to improve traffic flow on the N25 South Ring Road in Cork.

It is one of only a handful of national primary road projects to go ahead this year.

Although motorists face up to two years of disruption while work is under way, it is expected to significantly improve traffic flow on the South Ring Road when it is completed.

Now. Write it like that, f**kers.

veryangryman

serfboard wrote: »

Why the f**k does the headline have to be so negative - just to give some people more chance to give out?

2 years does seem like a long time to do 2 flyovers (ive mentioned this previously)

Great that road is being improved - its the inefficiency of the job that im sure will rile most commuters.

Hogzy

veryangryman wrote: »

2 years does seem like a long time to do 2 flyovers (ive mentioned this previously)

Great that road is being improved - its the inefficiency of the job that im sure will rile most commuters.

Im sure it could be done a lot quicker if the N25 was closed 24/7 but thats not the case. The road has to remain open so that is what would take it that extra bit longer.

Wasnt the Kinsale flyover ahead of schedule anyway? Nearly all projects nowadays are.

spacetweek

Hogzy wrote: »

Im sure it could be done a lot quicker if the N25 was closed 24/7 but thats not the case. The road has to remain open so that is what would take it that extra bit longer.

Wasnt the Kinsale flyover ahead of schedule anyway? Nearly all projects nowadays are.

I don't think 2 years is unreasonable at all. It's a large complex project, as complex as some if the work that has taken place in the last few years on the M50.

Pete_Cavan

veryangryman wrote: »

Great that road is being improved - its the inefficiency of the job that im sure will rile most commuters.

I can assure you that, with the new Public Works Contracts, the contractor will be as efficient as possible. Inefficiency will only come into it if the contractor has to rely on companies like ESB or Bord Gais to do work.

AugustusMinimus

spacetweek wrote: »

I don't think 2 years is unreasonable at all. It's a large complex project, as complex as some if the work that has taken place in the last few years on the M50.

Turning a roundabout into a freeflow junction is much more complex in a traffic management sense than what will be happen with those two junctions though.

alanucc

Great to see the job going ahead - things were looking dicey for a while there with the problems with the lowest tenderer!

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

I can assure you that, with the new Public Works Contracts, the contractor will be as efficient as possible.

I smiled when I read this. While in theory the fixed price nature of the new contracts should promote efficiency, it doesn't necessarily follow through to reality. That said, I'm sure the 2 year programme is a generous time for completion.

Pete_Cavan

alanucc wrote: »

I smiled when I read this. While in theory the fixed price nature of the new contracts should promote efficiency, it doesn't necessarily follow through to reality. That said, I'm sure the 2 year programme is a generous time for completion.

Im sure there will be huge liquated damages for late completion and I doubt there will be too many delay events allowed under the contract.

Wild Bill

Come on folks - you have to give the cement time to dry -stop whining.

Ludo

veryangryman wrote: »

2 years does seem like a long time to do 2 flyovers (ive mentioned this previously)

Great that road is being improved - its the inefficiency of the job that im sure will rile most commuters.

Another complication to the job is the proximity of CUH. As well as keeping commuter traffic flowing at all times while doing the work, they will also have to keep some sort of emergency lane for ambulances heading to the CUH so they don't get trapped in traffic.
It isn't an easy job to get all this right...organising the logistics of all that is not something I would want to do...people are gonna moan and whinge no matter how well it is handled.

neddynasty

Ludo wrote: »

Another complication to the job is the proximity of CUH. As well as keeping commuter traffic flowing at all times while doing the work, they will also have to keep some sort of emergency lane for ambulances heading to the CUH so they don't get trapped in traffic.

Putting a dedicated emergency lane in during the works will be an upgrade to the road as it currently stands! it's terrible having to watch an ambulance try to battle it's way through the traffic there at 5pm. People do their best to get out of the way but coming west into the Sarsfield roundabout there is only so much room to move into.

number10a

Hogzy wrote: »

Im sure it could be done a lot quicker if the N25 was closed 24/7 but thats not the case. The road has to remain open so that is what would take it that extra bit longer.

Wasnt the Kinsale flyover ahead of schedule anyway? Nearly all projects nowadays are.

I was very surprised at how painless the Kinsale Road flyover works were. There really was very little disruption considering they were working on the busiest junction in the country outside Dublin.

Cannot wait for these roundabouts to be a distant memory!! Whoever decided to put them slap bang in the middle of the city's most important road should have been made live in the ferns in the middle of the Sars Roundabout.

Geogregor

Guys, could someone living locally take pictures how it all looks before the start of the works? It would be nice for comparisons before and after. It would also be useful for forumers like myself as I've never been in Cork.

Chuck Stone

Geogregor wrote: »

Guys, could someone living locally take pictures how it all looks before the start of the works? It would be nice for comparisons before and after. It would also be useful for forumers like myself as I've never been in Cork.

From the Air

http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.876557,-8.505821&spn=0.005193,0.013797&t=h&z=16

Approaching the Sarsfeild Rd Rdbt on the Sarsfeild Rd (Southbound).

http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.877498,-8.505607&spn=0.010253,0.027595&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.8774,-8.505586&panoid=1I8T_k6j4NRQje6ycdqgNw&cbp=12,168.82,,1,0.51

Approaching on the N28 (Westbound).

http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.876226,-8.503804&spn=0.010253,0.027595&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.876268,-8.504138&panoid=jLszLOYuBw1Q1OfSBPuacQ&cbp=12,286.46,,0,4.43

Approaching on Sarsfeild Rd (Northbound).

http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.875431,-8.505435&spn=0.010253,0.027595&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.875584,-8.505463&panoid=6rxZnl4AcozJcLsoXn7-fA&cbp=12,339.93,,0,-5.93

Approaching on the N28 (Eastbound)

http://maps.google.com/?ll=51.876306,-8.505864&spn=0.010253,0.027595&t=h&z=15&layer=c&cbll=51.87639,-8.507055&panoid=Zal6OP1d168e8XO4oTJz0w&cbp=12,81.55,,0,6.48



.

MrDerp

Geogregor wrote: »

Guys, could someone living locally take pictures how it all looks before the start of the works? It would be nice for comparisons before and after. It would also be useful for forumers like myself as I've never been in Cork.

Just came on myself to ask that very thing. I'm from the area but living in Dublin. Would love to see this progress in photos. I'm down in Cork once a month, on average, but always mental busy trying to see family dotted around the city and county.

niloc1951

There being quite a short distance between the SSR and BR roundabouts I wonder was the option of 'bridging' the two with an elevated section instead of the roller coaster up-down-up-down in the current design. Apart from the reduced fuel burn, the existing carriageways would serve as local roads, it also perhaps might be a quicker and/or less expensive build option. Or maybe not, but perhaps an interesting point for discussion, as the NRA have a record of having to revisit their past designs within relatively short periods after completion.

munchkin_utd

the cost of a proper bridge (on pillars rather than causeway) thats 700+ metres long would be much much more than 2 relatively small bridges with earthen up/ down ramps and a flat section in between.
That would make the bridge longer than the Jack Lynch Tunnel!!

Not to mention that you would have to built temporarily a dual carraigeway on either side of the bridge under construction with all the land issues that entails, and then rip it up, reinstate the land and then build a dual carraigeway UNDER the bridge.

The way they do it now they can build the "local" roads to the outside of the mainline properly first to take the traffic then during the mainline build and NOT have to rip it up needlessly afterwards, along with the fact that the mainline is substantially cheaper if not put on stilts!

spacetweek

niloc1951 wrote: »

There being quite a short distance between the SSR and BR roundabouts I wonder was the option of 'bridging' the two with an elevated section instead of the roller coaster up-down-up-down in the current design. Apart from the reduced fuel burn, the existing carriageways would serve as local roads, it also perhaps might be a quicker and/or less expensive build option. Or maybe not, but perhaps an interesting point for discussion, as the NRA have a record of having to revisit their past designs within relatively short periods after completion.

What you describe is more commonly seen in Asia and the Americas, where visual instrusion in urban areas is tolerated a lot more. I dunno if it'd be a good idea in a euro city and "rollercoaster" is exaggerated.