M1 and its condition

listermint

I am a major advocate of the M1, as it provides some excellent links on the east coast having used it for the past number of years it shaves loads of time from long journeys.

I have to say though, I travelled it at the weekend and was pretty shocked at the state of the surface. For a national motorway it was pretty much a joke, The surface was frequently undulated ( quite extensively) flat sections are very rare and as for the actual top level surface it was torn up in various locations. quite badly damaged around the Ardee / Drogheda / Dundalk sections.

Where the hell is the toll money going to? Its certainly not on upkeep. This road is fast looking like a dual carriage way of old.


Thoughts?

PauloMN

listermint wrote: »

Where the hell is the toll money going to?

Anglo I'd say.

You do raise a vaid point though. Given the country's finances, I'd say there'll be little to spend by the councils or the NRA on the upkeep of roads over the next few years. I expect things will get quite a bit worse.

trad

I went to Banbridge yesterday,full length of the M1 both directions. Where's the problem? You mustn't have been around before we got the excellent road network we have now.

jock101

PauloMN wrote: »

Anglo I'd say.

You do raise a vaid point though. Given the country's finances, I'd say there'll be little to spend by the councils or the NRA on the upkeep of roads over the next few years. I expect things will get quite a bit worse.

The road surface on the M1 has been in a bad state for years, well before the Economy went down the toilet! Thats what you get when you build motorways for the cheapest tender!

jock101

trad wrote: »

I went to Banbridge yesterday,full length of the M1 both directions. Where's the problem? You mustn't have been around before we got the excellent road network we have now.

Next time look out for the rough patches of road surface! You will feel it thought your steering wheel and hear the tyre noise!

listermint

trad wrote: »

I went to Banbridge yesterday,full length of the M1 both directions. Where's the problem? You mustn't have been around before we got the excellent road network we have now.

You are either oblivious to road surface or are not watching and feeling where you drive. That 'motorway' is in a diabolical condition from where it was even 3 years ago. I was pretty astonished at the patches taken out of it all over the place. It just reaks of shoddy workmanship which we paid top euro for. :mad:

GTE

jock101 wrote: »

Next time look out for the rough patches of road surface! You will feel it thought your steering wheel and hear the tyre noise!

Indeed, there are some shocking parts of it. Shocking only because it is a motorway. The M4 was being dug up within its first year for patch work at junctions :rolleyes:

trad

Like I said, if you were around before the motorway network was built you would appreciate how big an improvement they are over the old roads.

Last time I looked Ardee was on the N2.

jock101

trad wrote: »

Like I said, if you were around before the motorway network was built you would appreciate how big an improvement they are over the old roads.

Last time I looked Ardee was on the N2.

Some people will accept anything!:rolleyes::rolleyes:

PauloMN

jock101 wrote: »

The road surface on the M1 has been in a bad state for years, well before the Economy went down the toilet! Thats what you get when you build motorways for the cheapest tender!

The M3 is a good example of that. Pretty bumpy in stretches for a brand new road (with two tolls only about 40km apart).

jock101

PauloMN wrote: »

The M3 is a good example of that. Pretty bumpy in stretches for a brand new road (with two tolls only about 40km apart).

Drive on it on a wet day! Oh my God!:rolleyes:

GTE

trad wrote: »

Like I said, if you were around before the motorway network was built you would appreciate how big an improvement they are over the old roads.

Last time I looked Ardee was on the N2.

I agree but that still doesnt have any real influence on my opinion that a motorway should be kept to the highest standards. Of course its much better then the old roads it is bypassing but should that allow authorities to say to themselves they can skimp on maintenence just because we should feel lucky?
Thats a horrible attitude to have.

listermint

trad wrote: »

Like I said, if you were around before the motorway network was built you would appreciate how big an improvement they are over the old roads.

Last time I looked Ardee was on the N2.

I was around, thank you very much. And sorry no its not acceptable. Ive driven on the continent and worldwide and for the money we put into this sensational 'motorway' its poor. :rolleyes:

Are you of the opinion that 'ah sure it'll do' because thats what half the projects have turned out like in this hash of a decade. :eek:

Motorways are meant A) to be designed and built properly in the first place
Regular upkeep (thats what the dam tolls are for )

jock101

thats what the dam tolls are for

Ment to be you mean!:)

Tropheus

Parts of the M1 were badly finished from the start. The part after the airport driving North is terrible. The surface seems to be rippled. I remember when I drove on it first, I was full sure I had a puncture.

I also think last winter also had a major impact on the roads. All the salt didn't do the road surfaces any favours and a lot of roads deteriorated significantly around that time.

R.O.R

It's not that bad.

It's a bit bumpy near the Airport northbound. Again at Balbriggan south exit - northbound again, but the rest between the M50 and Julianstown (which I use everyday) is OK. Road is all in one piece with no potholes.

There is a terrible stretch at the Dundalk south on ramp, southbound which needs repairing desperatley. Wonder if anyone has complained about that to Louth co co?

That was THE on ramp to the Motorway for anyone coming from Belfast for year and years, so it's had some usage.

There are worse stretches of Motorway in the UK.

listermint

R.O.R wrote: »

There are worse stretches of Motorway in the UK.

Are these Motorways as new as this?

no one said potholes. But the surface is torn up all over the place leaving it both visibly and physically damaged. northbound specifcally, and the undulations are laughable for a road this scale.

Sure it was my passenger that pointed it out when their head was bobbing.

Gophur

trad wrote: »

Like I said, if you were around before the motorway network was built you would appreciate how big an improvement they are over the old roads.
..........

In fairness, that is completely OT to the OP. What existed previously is irrelevant to the state of the surface currently.. By your logic one would never need to repair/maintain the motorway.

R.O.R

listermint wrote: »

Are these Motorways as new as this?

Nope, they've been there for years and years, but patched up to within an inch of their life.

If you've ever driven a decent length of the UK motorway network then you'll have been caught in one or many huge tailbacks due to motorway maintenance. Eventually the same thing will happen here when the roads get to the same sort of state they eventually get to in the UK.

That's when they get repaired.

And I can't think of one place between the M50 and Julianstown that the road is torn up. Even to Belfast (which I drive regulaly enough) there is only the southbound bit at Dundalk south which sticks out in my mind as being a mess.

Yep, i drive to Belfast last month with some mates for a trip, for most of the M1 once i went over 100Kph in the little micra my arms were vibrated to bits. Felt like i was wearing one of them muscle toner things from JML lol.

Viper_JB

cisk wrote: »

Yep, i drive to Belfast last month with some mates for a trip, for most of the M1 once i went over 100Kph in the little micra my arms were vibrated to bits. Felt like i was wearing one of them muscle toner things from JML lol.

May need to get the tracking/tyres on the car checked mate. It's bumpy but not that bumpy, and I drive a car with pretty informative suspension and have driven a good amount faster then 100kph on this stretch.

trad

Lads,
all I'm pointing out is that the current road network is infinitely better than what was there before it. If you want a bumpy road the R132 (old N1) northbound towards Balbriggan, now that was a bucking bronco ride. My OH is from Dundalk and our trip there was a 2 hour drive on single carriageway roads with every lunatic doing mad overtake, tractors and every town and village along the way. It now takes a little over an hour on much safer roads and I haven't noticed any of the defects that others allude to.

I just wondering at what speeds these defects are noticeable and if the cars are using wide low profile tyres?

The Nutty M

trad wrote: »

I just wondering at what speeds these defects are noticeable and if the cars are using wide low profile tyres?

I'd have to agree with you on the low profile tyre bit.Also I get the impression from some posts that the person feels they shouldn't hear a thing fron their tyre's.Always and ever was I brought up with noise = friction and friction = grip.I'd way rather be able to stop than to not hear the rumble of a tyre.Just my 2c.

listermint

No they are certainly not low profiles, standard 16'' BMW rims. and its not exactly a sport line suspension setup.

I appreciate some feedback through my wheel lads, but in fairness you cannot argue that stretches of that road have patches pulled up from the top layer. This is not indictive of such a modern motorway. If i wanted to 'feel' the road that much sure if drive up the old R132 perfect. How can you argue the fact that it is acceptable?

No ones argueing that the roads are not far better than the N Class / Duals of old. But for motorway standard of 8-6 years existence. Come on!

Motorways are meant to be smooth driving... Surface is meant to be smooth and even..