ARKLOW BRIDGE

bido

Does Anyone Know is Arklow bridge closed.Someone told me it was
but I can't see how that wud work, thanks in advance

orchidsrpretty

Dont think its closed. There are major roadworks on the bridge from july until September.

ebbsy

What a disaster. Town is paralysed from Ferrybank to the old Ormonde cinema. Whats left of the town will not survive 3 months of this nonsense.

Should be a nighttime job only.

RachaelVO

It's an absolute joke, the entire town has been paralysed. The most bizarrely thought out piece of repair I've ever witnessed.

ebbsy

And the thing is, the traffic ain't moving at all. totally braindead idea.

fred funk }{

ebbsy wrote: »

What a disaster. Town is paralysed from Ferrybank to the old Ormonde cinema. Whats left of the town will not survive 3 months of this nonsense.

Should be a nighttime job only.

WOW!

Cool the jets there ebbsy. Its not that bad. All it takes is a quick spin around on the bypass to get to the other side of town.

ebbsy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

WOW!

Cool the jets there ebbsy. Its not that bad. All it takes is a quick spin around on the bypass to get to the other side of town.

Ye need to tell that to the rest of the town !

gcgirl

Down in arklow Thursday it was bedlam spent 45 mins from the church to Bridgewater and same back up, won't be going back for a while

Aenaes

You won't be back because of traffic in the Main Street? I'm guessing you weren't driving through towns in Ireland before all the by-passes were built so..

That being said, the wait between changes for the traffic to be allowed move does seem rather long. Also, priority should probably be given to traffic from the Main Street to stop clogging up the town since Ferrybank traffic could easily use the South by-pass exit to gain access to pretty much anywhere else in town.

gcgirl

No because if proper traffic management had taking place you wouldn't have had the chaos, its only logical to have taking the south exit if your going anywhere south of the bridge but your screwed if your going to Bridgewater

Lyssa

Bridgewater mentioned something about traffic management improvements on their facebook page, so I think it's a little bit better now... I have been just avoiding it, using bypass when I need to, and walking to bridgewater... Parking somewhere and walking is much easier on the sanity than sitting in traffic and fuming

ex_infantry

i,m a rep from waterford and have serviced the arklow area for the past seven years and the stupidity i see up there due to the bridge works is actually hilarious!! i'm in the town early in the morning and i see people actually come from main street side wait at traffic lights for five to ten mins to get over to the ferrybank side to access bypass from there to head northbound, are they braindead or what, it is actually quicker to get onto by pass and head northbound than to wait in traffic complaining on here and on facebook while wrecking every rep on the road trying to service the convenience shops in arklow both sides of the bridge!!! from what i see the works are mainly to do with the structure under the road and a resurface of the entire bridge,this work could be done without having to close the bridge down to one lane and as someone else stated at night, i heard that last week the traffic was backed up to templerainey, i bet the same fools who wait in the morning are doin the same in the evening on returning from work and bitching and moaning about it, use exit 21 ye fools, i also heard people wishing to use aldi are actually driving to gorey and shopping there instead

Velocity_Girl

fred funk }{ wrote: »

WOW!

Cool the jets there ebbsy. Its not that bad. All it takes is a quick spin around on the bypass to get to the other side of town.

Except for learner drivers of course ;-)

RachaelVO

ex_infantry wrote: »

i also heard people wishing to use aldi are actually driving to gorey and shopping there instead

That bits true, I know people who've done it. It's not the waiting to get in, it's trying to get out of the Bridgewater that's a killer, so if you've got frozen food it'll be melted by the time you get home.

Niles

ebbsy wrote: »

What a disaster. Town is paralysed from Ferrybank to the old Ormonde cinema. Whats left of the town will not survive 3 months of this nonsense.

Should be a nighttime job only.

Can it be done at nighttime only though?

My understanding is that the lane they're working on is dug up to the point that it can't be readily made usable again overnight, given how deep it is.

To be honest, as frustrating as it is (I commute daily so know what I'm talking about), I'd rather they repair the bridge and not risk lives to avoid distruption. You only have to look at the collapse of the railway bridge in Malahide a few years ago to show what can happen when scour goes untreated. Better safe than sorry.

ex_infantry

RachaelVO wrote: »

That bits true, I know people who've done it. It's not the waiting to get in, it's trying to get out of the Bridgewater that's a killer, so if you've got frozen food it'll be melted by the time you get home.

the back door man in dunnes told me how he gets outta there the little roundabout he said in bridgewater he takes the left and takes long way round ferrybank

fred funk }{

Velocity_Girl wrote: »

Except for learner drivers of course ;-)

I hope your user name isn't related to your driving

SEThrowaway

Niles wrote: »

Can it be done at nighttime only though?

My understanding is that the lane they're working on is dug up to the point that it can't be readily made usable again overnight, given how deep it is.

Yeah, it can't. The entire surface is off on one side, pavement, ducting and drainage being torn up. Concrete slabs which were underneath the asphalt are being tested as they go, and are going to be surveyed correctly (i.e. mapped) when all the rubble is moved. I assume they'll switch sides and do the same on the other after this. Dunno what they're going to do about paths when they switch sides, perhaps they'll replace them first. Following this (assuming no remedial works are necessary) a waterproof membrane will be thrown down on the concrete slabs, then the paving relaid

Ideally the entire bridge would be closed for these (quite major, last time it was dug up to this degree was in the 80s) works, and they'd be finished much, much sooner, but unfortunately the town cannot do this as there is no alternative internal route, so this is the only option. Note that the original section of the bridge is over 250 years old, so these works are massively important, particularly with the flood damage the bridge has received in the last number of years.

bido

they could have got the army to put a pontoon bridge in opposite aldi but we are talking about Wicklow co.co.:mad:

ex_infantry

bido wrote: »

they could have got the army to put a pontoon bridge in opposite aldi but we are talking about Wicklow co.co.:mad:

seems a lot of business people are raging about whats goin on as people are avoiding having to stop or even avoiding that area of the town altogether, the council may well be in trouble if this keeps up, was up again today had to do my work route in a whole different way so as to not be held up as time is money in my game, i still think though that the people living on the town side who are still using the bridge to gain access to the northbound lane of the bypass are causing the tail backs, they would actually be saving time by using the by pass which i done myself today and actually shved time off my day in doin so

RachaelVO

ex_infantry wrote: »

seems a lot of business people are raging about whats goin on as people are avoiding having to stop or even avoiding that area of the town altogether, the council may well be in trouble if this keeps up, was up again today had to do my work route in a whole different way so as to not be held up as time is money in my game, i still think though that the people living on the town side who are still using the bridge to gain access to the northbound lane of the bypass are causing the tail backs, they would actually be saving time by using the by pass which i done myself today and actually shved time off my day in doin so

Agreed, just left Ireland this morning, after being home, and even at 6.30am we took the south exit to the motorway, wasn't prepared to chance taking the north on, and it seems daft that anyone heading to the motorway would.

Niles

bido wrote: »

they could have got the army to put a pontoon bridge in opposite aldi but we are talking about Wicklow co.co.:mad:

I was actually talking to a civil engineer about the Arklow situation, they thought that the river is probably too wide at that point for such a structure.

I think it still comes under ATC's remit as opposed to Wicklow Co Co (for now!).

PseudoFamous

bridge reopening for bank holiday apparently

ArklowHoop

Bridge is opening from 6pm friday until tuesday morning.

Try working in BW,its getting depressing with the lack of shoppers.

the BW management are going mad over it and trying to get the council to explore an alternative route via seaview avenue to allow access to the centre!

Niles

ArklowHoop wrote: »

Bridge is opening from 6pm friday until tuesday morning.

Try working in BW,its getting depressing with the lack of shoppers.

the BW management are going mad over it and trying to get the council to explore an alternative route via seaview avenue to allow access to the centre!

Apparently the possibility of using the bridge down at the old IFI plant was looked into, but ruled out on the grounds of cost to make it usable. To be honest I reckon if people were going to drive out that far you may as well use the bypass.

Gmol

They should have closed the bridge completely it would have been quicker, and the Bridgwater access would have been straightforward ie come out of there and all of the traffic would go north(except for the usual suspects who would stop on the roundabout staring at the bridge closed barriers), going south just go out on the Bypass,

ex_infantry

Gmol wrote: »

They should have closed the bridge completely it would have been quicker, and the Bridgwater access would have been straightforward ie come out of there and all of the traffic would go north(except for the usual suspects who would stop on the roundabout staring at the bridge closed barriers), going south just go out on the Bypass,

that would be too clever an idea for the idiots in arklow town council

Lyssa

Any of you seen this? Was posted today, thought it was clever, and funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmFPwuiPQlU

Edit: It references the bridge works, but is mainly about the new plan proposed by ATC to make the main street a one way system.

ex_infantry

Mylina wrote: »

Any of you seen this? Was posted today, thought it was clever, and funny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmFPwuiPQlU

Edit: It references the bridge works, but is mainly about the new plan proposed by ATC to make the main street a one way system.

stupid idea if ya ask me, someone is trying to justify a job for themselves turning main street one way

Lyssa

ex_infantry wrote: »

stupid idea if ya ask me, someone is trying to justify a job for themselves turning main street one way

And diverting the traffic through the car park? What a stupid idea.. it's not even a through road, just through the carpark... fecking disaster

PseudoFamous

making the main street one way is a pretty good idea, but there are really no suitable roads to make the system work in the opposite direction. imo they should somehow acquire funding to do this (red for roads to be built, green to be widened [er the one through the parade grounds needs to be built too I guess], and blue for what direction they go).

alternatively they could build a road through the marsh from the roundabout at bridgewater and up to the vale road (needs a bridge but w/e) because fuck the marsh it's just a waste of space.

ebbsy

Mylina wrote: »

And diverting the traffic through the car park? What a stupid idea.. it's not even a through road, just through the carpark... fecking disaster

+1

ex_infantry

Mylina wrote: »

And diverting the traffic through the car park? What a stupid idea.. it's not even a through road, just through the carpark... fecking disaster

i'm thinking maybe one of the town council members may be a business owner who will be the only one to benefit from such a stupid idea, i have often driven my truck up laffans lane to shortcut it over to billy nolans shop and have found it to be an awkward bit of road at times

ex_infantry

are they opening the bridge every weekend or whats the story as it was open this morning when was up that direction, the owner of centra told me there closing the bridge completely over three days soon is this true?? if so twil be bad news

Bullseye1

So far its been open over the past few weekends.

TechnoFreek

It was only fully open for the last few weekends.
One lane and traffic lights from this weekend again I think.

Niles

ex_infantry wrote: »

the owner of centra told me there closing the bridge completely over three days soon is this true?? if so twil be bad news

I heard two days mentioned but it's all hearsay I suppose.

It will be frustrating, but I guess if it has to be done to get the job done properly then they're better off doing it. River's too wide for a temporary structure so I'm not sure how else it could be avoided...

ex_infantry

everyone would be delighted to know that this rediculous work is nearing completion, but then in november you have the one way system trila for three months, i think everyone should club together and make this hard as possibke for ATC to keep permanent

Gunslinger99

Have the peolpe who use the road & town no say in this trial ? All I've heard so far is how crazy the plan is but do we just have to accept it ?

Gmol

The one way is a good idea, the bad idea is running it through the carpark,

fred funk }{

Whats the route for the one way system?

Lyssa

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Whats the route for the one way system?

As you come over the bridge, turn left onto lower main street, right at Laffin's lane, through Castlepark car park, then right, up past the school and down Dunne's Lane.....

ex_infantry

Mylina wrote: »

As you come over the bridge, turn left onto lower main street, right at Laffin's lane, through Castlepark car park, then right, up past the school and down Dunne's Lane.....

watch the traffic chaos at dunnes lane, tis gonna be messy there!!!

ebbsy

Mylina wrote: »

As you come over the bridge, turn left onto lower main street, right at Laffin's lane, through Castlepark car park, then right, up past the school and down Dunne's Lane.....

Jesus wept.

fred funk }{

Bridge is open today so all's well until the one way system starts.

Aenaes

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Bridge is open today so all's well until the one way system starts.

Electronic sign saying it will be closed Monday.

ex_infantry

Aenaes wrote: »

Electronic sign saying it will be closed Monday.

completely closed??

Aenaes

ex_infantry wrote: »

completely closed??

Yup, seems so. Don't know if it's all day or not. I'm guessing they're putting down the last surface of tarmac down and painting the road markings.

Gmol

Aenaes wrote: »

Yup, seems so. Don't know if it's all day or not. I'm guessing they're putting down the last surface of tarmac down and painting the road markings.

Closed 10 till 6 on Monday.

ex_infantry

Gmol wrote: »

Closed 10 till 6 on Monday.

was thinking it could.nt be an all day thing, it would bring arklow to its knee's an piss us sales reps off big time up at area

Aenaes

Gmol wrote: »

Closed 10 till 6 on Monday.

Yeah, was just about to post this. I didn't see it the closed times yesterday.