M50 when wet

celticbest

Hi,

I was just wondering if anybody else has noticed how bad the covering of surface water is on a wet day all along the M50 since the upgrade.

I was coming into work this morning and at stages you could hardly see the line markings on the road, there seems to be absolutely no camber in the road to allow drainage.

I can see quite a few accidents occurring because of this in the future especially in the depths of winter when rush hour traffic is travelling in and out in the dark.

kdouglas

Yea, noticed this every time im on it and it's raining. Seems like there is far too much surface water.

Cookie_Monster

I noticed the spray more than anything else last time I was on it while wet. There is a huge amount kicked up, reducing visibility to only about 10m at times.

loyatemu

Its bad on the M11 Bray bypass too - but as soon as you drive from the M11 onto the M50 it improves immediately.

BigMoose

It's also very bad on the N11 Kilcoole junction - only really bad on the newly done bits of road.

Cookie_Monster

Is that just because the surface is sealed better so water sits on top rather than sinking into all the small cracks that would be present on an older surface

Tabnabs

There is definitely an issue with surface water (which gets really interesting during sub zero temperatures!) especially around the Ballinteer exit. The problem would surely be alleviated if there was more positive camber, but maybe there's a reason they didn't do this?

loyatemu

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Is that just because the surface is sealed better so water sits on top rather than sinking into all the small cracks that would be present on an older surface

the road should be cambered so water rolls off to the side (I'm not a civil engineer though, this is just my understanding of it). allowing the water to penetrate the surface probably wouldn't be a great idea.

Cookie_Monster

loyatemu wrote: »

the road should be cambered so water rolls off to the side (I'm not a civil engineer though, this is just my understanding of it). allowing the water to penetrate the surface probably wouldn't be a great idea.

yes I know it should be cambered. i don't mean penetrate the surface as such but you know when they put it down its very smooth but when has been down for some time the tar settles or gets lifted and leaves a much rougher surface.
The water then fill the gaps in the rougher surface rather than seeping below it if you get me.

Absurdum

I think somebody explained this in the M50 Upgrade Phase 2 thread, the material used is less porous but longer lasting. i.e. they went for the cheap option, not the safe one :mad:

Alun

Absurdum wrote: »

I think somebody explained this in the M50 Upgrade Phase 2 thread, the material used is less porous but longer lasting. i.e. they went for the cheap option, not the safe one :mad:

As I understand it, the open structured asphalt that is really great in the rain, is unfortunately not as hard wearing, and rather paradoxically actually has less grip, resulting in longer braking distances, in the dry. Swings and roundabouts really.