Parts of the Limerick tunnel have been closed following a collision.

A2LUE42

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/parts-of-limerick-tunnel-closed-following-accident-478468.html

20/10/2010 - 12:37:13
Parts of the Limerick tunnel have been closed following a collision.

The N18 Galway Road has been shut on the city side of the tunnel.

It is not known how many vehicles are involved.

Gardaí are currently at the scene.

Read more: http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/parts-of-limerick-tunnel-closed-following-accident-478468.html#ixzz12toXSMkP


Hopefully it's a minor accident.

flyingsnail

Little more info here Link

AA Traffic Update
The N18/Galway Rd is closed outbound on the city side of the Limerick Tunnel until approx 1pm
Updated: 20/10/2010 11:48:00
Gardai are at the scene and traffic is very heavy on approach.

limklad

flyingsnail wrote: »

Little more info here Link

Probably collided while try to get to the same Toll Booth to Pay €1:80. :pac:

A2LUE42

I'm surprised there haven't been accidents where the ennis road joins as a lot of drivers there seem to ignore the fact that it is now a slip road.

Raiser

Its a death-trap - Fill it in I say

- Seriously though, I wonder if this occurred because they were too cheap to make it 2cms higher?

MarkR

A2LUE42 wrote: »

I'm surprised there haven't been accidents where the ennis road joins as a lot of drivers there seem to ignore the fact that it is now a slip road.

Do you mean where you can turn off for caherdavin, or where the tunnel and shannon traffic meet?

donutheadhomer

Raiser wrote: »

Its a death-trap - Fill it in I say

- Seriously though, I wonder if this occurred because they were too cheap to make it 2cms higher?

2cm bothers some people

talkingclock

It's not the size that counts...

Berty

I did see those LED signs yesterday warning that it would be down to 1 lane today for tunnel works and at the other side of the tunnel there was a low loader delivering 3 of those scisser lifts.

Somebody must have clattered it.

limklad

Raiser wrote: »

Its a death-trap - Fill it in I say

- Seriously though, I wonder if this occurred because they were too cheap to make it 2cms higher?

The crash was not in the Tunnel as the reports says, so 2 cm higher would not make a difference unless the vehicles where in the air.:D

decskelligs

Could be the way that when you are using the express lane you need to slow down to 60, while the car behind you in the fast lane can keep doing 80. I have nearly been hit twice by having to do this.
Why not put the express lanes off the slow lane not off the passing lane?

Berty

I was cruising along the M9 earlier and there were 4 of us cruising along and the 2nd guy was in a rental car. Like a sheep he follows the first car into the express lane. I thought for a moment he was going to make it through the barrier behind the other guy but the barrier came down and smacked the boot lid. He got through though. :rolleyes:

source

decskelligs wrote: »

Could be the way that when you are using the express lane you need to slow down to 60, while the car behind you in the fast lane can keep doing 80. I have nearly been hit twice by having to do this.
Why not put the express lanes off the slow lane not off the passing lane?

Can't have it off the driving lane, because trucks are not supposed to use the overtaking lane, so they have to move to the left of the toll plaza where there is no ceiling to allow them through. Express lanes and HGV's don't make for good bedfellows.

Berty

foinse wrote: »

Can't have it off the driving lane, because trucks are not supposed to use the overtaking lane, so they have to move to the left of the toll plaza where there is no ceiling to allow them through. Express lanes and HGV's don't make for good bedfellows.

I agree about the trucks vs express lanes however there is a common misconception about trucks and overtaking lanes.

They are not allowed into the 3rd lane of a motorway and we only have a 3rd lane on the M50. The Tunnel link is only a national route anyway so all bets are off.

source

Berty wrote: »

I agree about the trucks vs express lanes however there is a common misconception about trucks and overtaking lanes.

They are not allowed into the 3rd lane of a motorway and we only have a 3rd lane on the M50. The Tunnel link is only a national route anyway so all bets are off.

Actually an HGV overtaking on the outside lane is a penalty point offence.

As per the Rules of the road:

Driving a HGV, Bus or towing a trailer on the outside lane on a motorway except at any location where a speed limit of 80km/h or less applies on the motorway

It's halfway down the page. 1 penalty point and €80 fine, or if it goes to court 3 points and €120 fine.

phog

foinse wrote: »

Can't have it off the driving lane, because trucks are not supposed to use the overtaking lane, so they have to move to the left of the toll plaza where there is no ceiling to allow them through. Express lanes and HGV's don't make for good bedfellows.

But it's now a motorway, at that point it's a national route only.

golden8

The motorway starts at Roxboro, so therefore, the tunnel is not a motorway. Between Roxboro and Shannon its only a dual carriageway.

limklad

phog wrote: »

But it's now a motorway, at that point it's a national route only.

golden8 wrote: »

The motorway starts at Roxboro, so therefore, the tunnel is not a motorway. Between Roxboro and Shannon its only a dual carriageway.

Agreed, According to the sign posts it is a national Road not a motorway.

A2LUE42

MarkR wrote: »

Do you mean where you can turn off for caherdavin, or where the tunnel and shannon traffic meet?

Where the traffic going to Shannon merges with the traffic that has exited the tunnel.

Raiser

golden8 wrote: »

The motorway starts at Roxboro, so therefore, the tunnel is not a motorway. Between Roxboro and Shannon its only a dual carriageway.

Oh that's a relief, I just saw someone in a silver Ford Focus reversing happily along it because they missed the Roxboro exit.

grenache

One thing i cant get my head around is why they made the newest part of the ring road so narrow? I understand why the tunnel has to be only a certain width, but the road itself is much too narrow. Should be motorway like the Castletroy to Roxboro section.

Raiser

grenache wrote: »

One thing i cant get my head around is why they made the newest part of the ring road so narrow? I understand why the tunnel has to be only a certain width, but the road itself is much too narrow. Should be motorway like the Castletroy to Roxboro section.

Penny pinching.



Behind every PPS scheme there's a pack of greedy Misers baying for the promised return on their investments.

- They get the dividends, we get to foot half the building costs and then have to pay to fcuking well use it.

Liam Byrne

Raiser wrote: »

Behind every PPS scheme there's a pack of greedy Misers baying for the promised return on their investments.

- They get the dividends, we get to foot half the building costs and then have to pay to fcuking well use it.

Apparently we also have to pay if we don't use it! :mad:

Yet another FF f**k-up!

Tango Alpha 51

The rta happened just off the up ramp at the cement factory roundabout as you head for the tunnel. Car did a u turn in front of an artic truck. Thankfully both drivers were ok.

Raiser

buzzman wrote: »

The rta happened just off the up ramp at the cement factory roundabout as you head for the tunnel. Car did a u turn in front of an artic truck. Thankfully both drivers were ok.

That was €1.80 well saved - Free ride to the Regional too.

phill106

buzzman wrote: »

Car did a u turn in front of an artic truck.

Did anyone elses eyebrows raise in amazement at this? Stupidity of some people!

Tango Alpha 51

No one was taken to hospital hence no free ride to hospital & not that it's an excuse but the gentleman driving the car was elderly & got confused.

bazz26

grenache wrote: »

One thing i cant get my head around is why they made the newest part of the ring road so narrow? I understand why the tunnel has to be only a certain width, but the road itself is much too narrow. Should be motorway like the Castletroy to Roxboro section.

These are new safety guidelines for building these type of roads. The lanes are actually the same width as the old section but they appear narrower because the central divide has been replaced by concrete divide rather than a wider grassy area with a hedge which could have allowed an out of control vehicle from one carriage way stray across the divide into oncoming traffic on the other carriage way.

To be honest I cannot really see putting miles of a concrete central divide being cheaper than the old hedge method.

Raiser

buzzman wrote: »

No one was taken to hospital hence no free ride to hospital & not that it's an excuse but the gentleman driving the car was elderly & got confused.

Mmmm - I can't wait til I'm an elderly Gentleman.

- Hey! Who threw the massive Party and thrashed the Gaf? Maybe it was the two 20 year olds in Bikinis sitting on my lap but I can't seem to remember.....

grenache

bazz26 wrote: »

These are new safety guidelines for building these type of roads. The lanes are actually the same width as the old section but they appear narrower because the central divide has been replaced by concrete divide rather than a wider grassy area with a hedge

But it is narrower, there is no hard shoulder lane.

Amazotheamazing

grenache wrote: »

But it is narrower, there is no hard shoulder lane.

Not sure where you're referring to but the road immediately entering and exiting the tunnel had to be narrow. On the Limerick side due to the lake which it runs through and on the Clare side due to the environmental impact on the reed beds on the marsh. Believe it or not, harvesting the reed beds is a old cottage industry in Clare worth a bit.

Also, afaik, the reason we know have concrete barriers isn't purely a safety thing (if it even is), it's because the median in the middle of the road is seen as expensively "wasted" land, it adds significantly to the "footprint" of the road and the costs of purchasing enough land for the road. Were the concrete barriers significantly safer than the wire fences on the median, you'd see the wire fences replaced?