N52 minor upgrade work

cargo

mickeyboymel wrote: »

My mistake....corrected!

No problem I just thought it was going to be the start of a rant about how in Ireland everything is late and over budget blaa blaa blaa etc

I'd say they may make the end of Oct deadline.

mickeyboymel

Yes and seeing as the moved plant onto site within days of the tender being awarded, I'd imagine they are well on schedule, and presumably well underbudget if the amount of stone which they dug out of the hill at the Mullingar end, and crushed and relaid as the foundation of the entire stretch,is anything to go by.

cargo

mickeyboymel wrote: »

Yes and seeing as the moved plant onto site within days of the tender being awarded, I'd imagine they are well on schedule, and presumably well underbudget if the amount of stone which they dug out of the hill at the Mullingar end, and crushed and relaid as the foundation of the entire stretch,is anything to go by.

It looks like there's a bit of work to do around the crossing point so. It seems there should be a large area of works around there with the ghost island etc but I can only remember it been quite tight at that point in the works.

Do you pass that way regularly? Are all the works around the new junction area done and I just couldn't see them passing?

Sponge Bob

http://www.westmeathcoco.ie/en/media/delvin%20adopted%20village%20plan.pdf

Significant environmental benefit will accrue in the village once the programmed upgrading of the N52 between Mullingar and the Meath county boundary including the bypass of Delvin and Clonmellon is completed. These improvements are programmed to be completed by mid-2004.

tomflynn

It has been noticeable the various bits of N52 that have been progressing over the last few years whether completed, under construction, or presently in planning. I thought I'd pull it all together (listed from North to South):

M1/(N33) to Tullamore
Ardee Bypass (4.5km; land CPO'd, commencing 2013 or 2014?? speculative guess)
Stephenstown to Fringestown Realignment (3km; in planning)
Mullaghey Improvement Works (1km; under construction??)
Kells Bypass (3.8km, Jun 2010)

From Delvin to Tullamore
Rockview to Billistown Re-alignment (2.4km; 2006/07)
Cloghan to Billistown (c. 9.5km in planning, 2012)
Macetown realignment (to Cloghan) (2.2km; Oct 2007)
Rathconnell to Macetown (1.5km; under construction)
Rathconnell realignment (1km; Dec 2009)
Mullingar bypass (4.9km; Aug 2006)
Mullingar Belvedere (4.2km; May 2007)
Clonfad (Dalystown) to Carrick Bridge (5.6km; under construction)
M6-N52 Link to Dalystown (4.5km; Dec 2006)
Tullamore Bypass (14km; Oct 2009)

South of Tullamore
N52 Congar to Ballyluskey (2.2km; under construction)
Nenagh Bypass N52 link road (4km; Dec 2001)

N52 from Tullamore towards NE, as indicated by systematic investment, is deemed important and will provide improved links between the radial motorway network (M1, N3/M3, M4 and M6).
However south of Tullamore, whether: via N52 to Nenagh, via N62 to Roscrea, or via the more strategically important) N80 to Port Laoise and onwards to SE, there is little to nothing happening (or ever planned) despite links to M7/(M8), M9 and N/M11.

L1011

The small-ish scheme north of Mullingar now has the running lanes moved on to the new section. Probably a week or two left max.

cargo

MYOB wrote: »

The small-ish scheme north of Mullingar now has the running lanes moved on to the new section. Probably a week or two left max.

Yeah I passed arround that time as well and the new section was open but still works going on. I imagine it's probably fully open now.


Also the other larger section further on towards Tullamore was really flying and had a lot of tar down.

flazio

Not seen it discussed elsewhere but it looks like they've nearly finished a nice realignment between Borrisokane and Ardcroney near Nenagh.

spacetweek

flazio wrote: »

Not seen it discussed elsewhere but it looks like they've nearly finished a nice realignment between Borrisokane and Ardcroney near Nenagh.

It's in the list up there N52 Congar to Ballyluskey

Aquarius34

Nenagh to Borriskane is now a high standard road.

A bypass of Birr, Borriskane and the upgrade of the Birr to Borriskane section will mean the N52 will be up to standard from Nenagh the whole way to Mullingar.

lucernarian

Aquarius34 wrote: »

Nenagh to Borriskane is now a high standard road.

A bypass of Birr, Borriskane and the upgrade of the Birr to Borriskane section will mean the N52 will be up to standard from Nenagh the whole way to Mullingar.

Just a shame that some of the most strategically important stretches (in particular Delvin to Ardee) will remain in a poor state. It and parts of the N80 could do with a lot of work given how important they are and the amount of existing traffic they also carry.

Sponge Bob

Apart from a few short stretches of secondary near cities (EG N59 Galway and N71 Cork) these are the two most important secondary rroads in Ireland and should be serially and annually upgraded. On safety grounds alone they are a high priority.

I'd have part 8s ready to go and mark them down as the primary beneficiaries of any sweepings of the money pot at each and every year end until they are at an acceptable standard.

Bypassing Ardee and Delvin and Stradbally and Bunclody and Mountmellick should be high on the list of projects to start as offline upgrades too but the N52 north of Mullingar is marginally more important than the N80 in the big scheme of things while the N52 west of Tullamore is behind the N80 in the same scheme of things.

munchkin_utd

actually if you think about it logically, the N52 (north of Tullamore)/ N80 (north of Portlaoise ) combination is defacto fulfilling the function of the planned DOOR (Dublin Outer Orbital Route) providing that strategic link between the Major Inter Urban Motorways heading(+coming from) the North, West and South and relieving the M50.
It really should be upgraded to National Primary Route status, possibly as a continuation of the existing N33 at Ardee.
The N33 already links the M1 and N2, so why not "extend" it to Portlaoise to also link together the M3/M4/M6/M7(/M8)

If you did this then it'd be very clear that this core section is the strategically important part and the rest (N52 south of Tullamore/ N80 south of Portlaoise) is a true national secondary road.

spacetweek

Interesting thread - I really wasn't aware of the extent on the minor schemes taking place on some secondaries in Ireland. The proposed N52 improvements above, when complete, would cover at least half the route. If we keep chipping away at it two to three k's at a time, we'll have it all improved by the end of the decade.

Aquarius34

I'm not to familiar with the road from Birr to Borriskane, I hear it is not a great road. I've looked on google maps there are some bad bends near Borriskane that really need sorting out. North Tipperary council and the NRA have seem to have forgotten this section of road because most the N52 is up to a high standard on other parts now between Birr and south of Delvin. Offally county council did a good job on improving the N52 through it's county over the years. I'd like attention brought to this segment now. H.G.V traffic has risen sharply on the N52 in recent years and from a strategic point of view it makes sense to have a high standard N52 in place to connect the south west with the North East asap.

A Birr Bypass is also a big part of the jigsaw puzzle that's missing. The N62 has to go through Birr also. It would be good to see an advancement with this.

road_high

Aquarius34 wrote: »

I'm not to familiar with the road from Birr to Borriskane, I hear it is not a great road. I've looked on google maps there are some bad bends near Borriskane that really need sorting out. North Tipperary council and the NRA have seem to have forgotten this section of road because most the N52 is up to a high standard on other parts now between Birr and south of Delvin. Offally county council did a good job on improving the N52 through it's county over the years. I'd like attention brought to this segment now. H.G.V traffic has risen sharply on the N52 in recent years and from a strategic point of view it makes sense to have a high standard N52 in place to connect the south west with the North East asap.

A Birr Bypass is also a big part of the jigsaw puzzle that's missing. The N62 has to go through Birr also. It would be good to see an advancement with this.

It would indeed I agree but I can think of at least a dozen towns well ahead of Birr for a bypass. Cannot see it being any sort of priority in the medium term.
Adare, Enniscorthy, New Ross, Tuam, Claregalway, Slane, Macroom, NewCastlewest, Carrick on Suir, Tipp town etc etc all badly in need of a good bypass
I know finances are so tight but I really think the pay off from funding schemes like these would/will be immeasurable. Instead of spending on maintaining (high) welfare/public service wages. Infrastructure vrings prosperity and thus we'd all have more to spend in the bigger picture of things....

Aquarius34

road_high wrote: »

It would indeed I agree but I can think of at least a dozen towns well ahead of Birr for a bypass. Cannot see it being any sort of priority in the medium term.
Adare, Enniscorthy, New Ross, Tuam, Claregalway, Slane, Macroom, NewCastlewest, Carrick on Suir, Tipp town etc etc all badly in need of a good bypass
I know finances are so tight but I really think the pay off from funding schemes like these would/will be immeasurable. Instead of spending on maintaining (high) welfare/public service wages. Infrastructure vrings prosperity and thus we'd all have more to spend in the bigger picture of things....

I agree but the N52 is every bit as important as the roads and places you've mentioned. It needs funding just like any road does. The Borrisakane to Birr segment is the last stretch to be upgraded between Nenagh and Mullingar.

road_high

Aquarius34 wrote: »

I agree but the N52 is every bit as important as the roads and places you've mentioned. It needs funding just like any road does. The Borrisakane to Birr segment is the last stretch to be upgraded between Nenagh and Mullingar.

It's an important road definitely but more so than the N11, N25, N18, N17 N24 OR N21? They are all National primary routes with more traffic and of strategically more importance. N52 is a N secondary route. If we were awash with cash then definitely I'd say Birr get a bypass but the govt have to prioritise with what cash they have I'm afraid.

cargo

Aquarius34 wrote: »

I agree but the N52 is every bit as important as the roads and places you've mentioned. It needs funding just like any road does. The Borrisakane to Birr segment is the last stretch to be upgraded between Nenagh and Mullingar.

The section between Mullingar and Ardee is dreadful in many places and carries a large amount of HGV traffic. Impossible to pass for very large sections of it. (even just a car). A lot of Northern traffic uses it as well heading over to Dundalk and up the M1.

Sponge Bob

cargo wrote: »

The section between Mullingar and Ardee is dreadful in many places and carries a large amount of HGV traffic.

That section is just as important as any national primary route. a partial N52 Birr bypass to the N62 would route to Roscrea/M7 the Birr - Borrisokane N52 is diabolic and the N62 is a lot better.

I'd even consider detrunking Birr - Borrisokane altogether if Birr were bypassed to the east. Roscrea is a rather narrow road north-south of course and could do with a bypass too.

Aquarius34

Sponge Bob wrote: »

That section is just as important as any national primary route. a partial N52 Birr bypass to the N62 would route to Roscrea/M7 the Birr - Borrisokane N52 is diabolic and the N62 is a lot better.

I'd even consider detrunking Birr - Borrisokane altogether if Birr were bypassed to the east. Roscrea is a rather narrow road north-south of course and could do with a bypass too.

I don't believe in detrunking the N52. The national secondary roads are good the way it is in it's current format, I wouldn't like to see anymore detrunking of national secondary roads. The N52 from Nenagh to Borriskane is of a high standard except about 2 miles before Borriskane. Nenagh is also bypassed too. The only problem is the bit between Birr to Borriskane. The purpose of national secondary roads is to connect medium sized towns to each other and thus then connect to other national major routes and towns. The N52 on it's entire length serves that purpose. Nenagh -Borriskane -Birr deserves to be served by a national secondary road just as another route classed in the same regard.

There is no basis or argument to detrunk the route. The problem is the Borriskane to Birr section has been neglected. The N62 serves it's purpose and has been upgraded because Offaly county council have spent quite a lot of time improving their road network. The N52 been in North Tipperary county council hinterland shows that they have not been on par with improving their parts.

knotknowbody

I think the M8 should be extended north to Kilbeggan, by doing this N52 and N80 traffic between the M6 and M7 could be multiplexed onto this new section of M8 with a southern bypass of Portlaoise for the N80, there would then effectivly be a super junction of M7, M8, N80 and N52 traffic south west of Portlaoise near Mountrath.

I would then reclassify the N52 north of Tyrellspass to N33 as I believe it merits primary route status, as for south of Kilbeggan I would leave it as N52 to serve as an alternative route to the motorway.

spacetweek

knotknowbody wrote: »

I think the M8 should be extended north to Kilbeggan, by doing this N52 and N80 traffic between the M6 and M7 could be multiplexed onto this new section of M8 with a southern bypass of Portlaoise for the N80, there would then effectivly be a super junction of M7, M8, N80 and N52 traffic south west of Portlaoise near Mountrath.

The Leinster Outer Orbital will provide much of the function you're describing.

Aquarius34

cargo wrote: »

The section between Mullingar and Ardee is dreadful in many places and carries a large amount of HGV traffic. Impossible to pass for very large sections of it. (even just a car). A lot of Northern traffic uses it as well heading over to Dundalk and up the M1.

True I am aware of that. Right now the parts that need most attention is the Mullingar to Devlin and Birr to Borriskane. The Mullingar to Delvin carries both the N52 and N51. This road is dreadful in comparison to the road from Birr to Mullingar.

lucernarian

Aquarius34 wrote: »

True I am aware of that. Right now the parts that need most attention is the Mullingar to Devlin and Birr to Borriskane. The Mullingar to Delvin carries both the N52 and N51. This road is dreadful in comparison to the road from Birr to Mullingar.

I would say Delvin to Kells is worse tbh, and probably Kells to Ardee too.

cargo

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I would say Delvin to Kells is worse tbh, and probably Kells to Ardee too.

Yeah there's been work done on Mullingar to Delvin over the past few years. It's the stretch either side of Kells thats the real ugly child now. Even close to Ardee is not too bad even if not great for passing it's a bit straighter and wider.

Sponge Bob

The important bit is Mullingar to Ardee, Birr - Borrisokane has an alternative N route via Roscrea but there is no alternative Mullingar - north of Delvin and hardly any north of there. The N51 east of Slane goes through a world heritage site anyway.

Imagine the howling if one tried to upgrade that road and in fairness with good reason. So Drogheda - Midlands traffic ( long term ) should be looped onto an upgraded N52 instead of the goat track that is there now. The N51 is even faced with being detrunked east of the M3 in the medium term.

Aquarius34

Sponge Bob wrote: »

The important bit is Mullingar to Ardee, Birr - Borrisokane has an alternative N route via Roscrea but there is no alternative Mullingar - north of Delvin and hardly any north of there. The N51 east of Slane goes through a world heritage site anyway.

Imagine the howling if one tried to upgrade that road and in fairness with good reason. So Drogheda - Midlands traffic ( long term ) should be looped onto an upgraded N52 instead of the goat track that is there now. The N51 is even faced with being detrunked east of the M3 in the medium term.

Sponge Bob, you don't decide thing's by yourself.
Also the N62 is not an alternative route. The route is almost twice as long and Roscrea has narrow medieval streets that can't handle H.G.Vs. You are obviously not familar with the N52 because there is quite a lot of H.G.Vs using the N52. The road from Borriskane to Birr should of been upgraded years ago. Money was never allocated because the council and NRA never bothered their behind to do so.

lucernarian

Aquarius34 wrote: »

Sponge Bob, you don't decide thing's by yourself.
Also the N62 is not an alternative route. The route is almost twice as long and Roscrea has narrow medieval streets that can't handle H.G.Vs. You are obviously not familar with the N52 because there is quite a lot of H.G.Vs using the N52. The road from Borriskane to Birr should of been upgraded years ago. Money was never allocated because the council and NRA never bothered their behind to do so.

The stretch of the N52 in the northeast is probably more important as far as improvements go, purely on the back of the AADT figures and the fact that Roscrea actually has rather wide streets and the N62 itself being generally of a good standard. I'm quite familiar with Roscrea and Kells and I'd be happier driving a truck through Roscrea than I would through Carlanstown, Co. Meath... The lack of an alternative to the N52 route in the northeast makes it of even greater imperative to make the route safe for all road users.

Aquarius34

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

The stretch of the N52 in the northeast is probably more important as far as improvements go, purely on the back of the AADT figures and the fact that Roscrea actually has rather wide streets and the N62 itself being generally of a good standard. I'm quite familiar with Roscrea and Kells and I'd be happier driving a truck through Roscrea than I would through Carlanstown, Co. Meath... The lack of an alternative to the N52 route in the northeast makes it of even greater imperative to make the route safe for all road users.

Roscrea doesn't have wide streets. The main street is wide but the N62 does not use it and H.G.Vs are divereted down south Mall and Rosemary square. Rosmary street is a narrow one lane street. Limerick street can't fit two passing H.G.Vs. South mall is the actual N62 and is two way street but it's not wide enough for two way. There hardly even a footpath on it. The N62 snakes through many junctions through Roscrea. N52 H.G.V don't use this road and if the road was better and quicker the trucks would use it. The N52 is a very high standard from the N52 Nenagh bypass to near Borriskane. That's 20km of good road. The Birr to Borriskane is about 17 km that needs work.

You're not familiar with Roscrea.