M21 - Limerick to Rathkeale/Foynes [advance works to commence shortly]

marno21

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/new-limerick-motorway-to-bypass-adare-traffic-bottleneck-369132.html

Irish Examiner reporting road will open in 2024. Hopefully that's wrong and it'll be fast-tracked. Not sure I can take looking at Adare for another 8 years

The N21 Adare-Abbeyfeale (now N21 Rathkeale-Abbeyfeale) should be expidited too, Newcastlewest will be the new Adare by 2024 if the motorway is open by then

Cookiemunster

8 years seem a bit long alright. From now you have detailed design, EIS and planning, CPO, tender and finally build. I can't see how it couldn't be under construction by 2019.

spacetweek

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Because using the TEN-T network funded by Europe to bypass Adare primarily and give a decent enough link to Foynes is one of the cleverest things the government/NRA have done in recent times.

Every other EU country does things like this, I don't see why we shouldn't milk it a bit.

Leonard Hofstadter

I'm delighted with the route choice, a (rare) stroke of genius by the Government and a Government quango.

Once this is done, there will be a proper road between Foynes/Askeaton and Limerick, with direct connections up to Tuam/Galway (by the time this is done) and Dublin/East Coast/Dundalk and the North.

Best of all, they're getting the EU to pay for an Adare bypass, something that is so long overdue, can't wait to never be stuck in Adare once more.

This road won't just improve journey times and access from the Mid-West/West/East to Tralee, Abbeyfeale and Castleisland, it also gives Foynes and Askeaton direct access to the motorway network (as noted) and also makes Tarbert and Ballybunion easier to get to as there will be a high quality road from Limerick to Foynes.

There will now be no stops between Newcastle and Limerick (well Croagh won't be bypass but one never gets held up there at present), but as others have noted, it will shift the bottleneck that is Adare down to Newcastle and will make that town a lot more congested. Nonetheless, it will be fantastic for so much of Kerry, not to mention giving the long suffering residents of Adare some relief.

For residents of Kildimo/Mungret there won't be anything like the volume of HGV traffic going through these villages and some of the car traffic will be going on the motorway, so this will still benefit these areas as there will be far less traffic on the roads (especially HGVs), so it will make Limerick more accessible.

How anyone could think the chosen route is bad is beyond a mystery to me.

marno21

captainspeed wrote: »

I'm delighted with the route choice, a (rare) stroke of genius by the Government and a Government quango.

Once this is done, there will be a proper road between Foynes/Askeaton and Limerick, with direct connections up to Tuam/Galway (by the time this is done) and Dublin/East Coast/Dundalk and the North.

Best of all, they're getting the EU to pay for an Adare bypass, something that is so long overdue, can't wait to never be stuck in Adare once more.

This road won't just improve journey times and access from the Mid-West/West/East to Tralee, Abbeyfeale and Castleisland, it also gives Foynes and Askeaton direct access to the motorway network (as noted) and also makes Tarbert and Ballybunion easier to get to as there will be a high quality road from Limerick to Foynes.

There will now be no stops between Newcastle and Limerick (well Croagh won't be bypass but one never gets held up there at present), but as others have noted, it will shift the bottleneck that is Adare down to Newcastle and will make that town a lot more congested. Nonetheless, it will be fantastic for so much of Kerry, not to mention giving the long suffering residents of Adare some relief.

For residents of Kildimo/Mungret there won't be anything like the volume of HGV traffic going through these villages and some of the car traffic will be going on the motorway, so this will still benefit these areas as there will be far less traffic on the roads (especially HGVs), so it will make Limerick more accessible.

How anyone could think the chosen route is bad is beyond a mystery to me.

Croagh will be bypassed. The confirmed route for this stretches as far as the R518 junction on the present Rathkeale bypass

Deedsie

Not only will this road connect to the motorway network to Limerick, Galway & Dublin. Once the M20 is built, Foynes will be already connected to that road too.

nordydan

ellieh1 wrote: »

New route is going through my place of work.....uncertainty of what will happen next is scary!!

Most commuters would love to have a motorway right through their office. Get over yourself...

Conba

marno21 wrote: »

Irish Examiner reporting road will open in 2024.

Imagine, we'll most likely have a reasonable number of fully autonomous cars on the road by then.

Leonard Hofstadter

marno21 wrote: »

Croagh will be bypassed. The confirmed route for this stretches as far as the R518 junction on the present Rathkeale bypass

Thanks, wasn't aware of that. So, a straight run between Newcastle and Limerick in the not too distant future, then. I hope they make it a motorway as far as Rathkeale, the N21 is a very busy road as it stands and once this road is up and running, will be funnelling additional traffic as anyone travelling from Askeaton all the way back towards Listowel/Ballybunion will be using this road instead of the N69 for Limerick/Dublin.

Another good point was raised about access to Cork, it makes the M20 all the more urgent. At the moment the best way to go to Cork from Foynes is over to Newcastlewest, then Feohanagh, Dromcollagher, Lisgriffin (though not if you have a HGV as it's a very narrow road in parts), and then the N20 from Mallow. When this new road is open and the M20 is eventually built it will be considerably longer than the route I've just outlined (about 20 km), so it will be interesting to see how much of a time saver it will be. The more of it that is 120 km/h the more likely this road will be more popular, though trucks of course are limited to 80 so they may decide that the old road is worth it because it's 20 km shorter. For cars the new road will probably be quicker, though.

D Trent

captainspeed wrote: »

Thanks, wasn't aware of that. So, a straight run between Newcastle and Limerick in the not too distant future, then. I hope they make it a motorway as far as Rathkeale, the N21 is a very busy road as it stands and once this road is up and running, will be funnelling additional traffic as anyone travelling from Askeaton all the way back towards Listowel/Ballybunion will be using this road instead of the N69 for Limerick/Dublin.

Another good point was raised about access to Cork, it makes the M20 all the more urgent. At the moment the best way to go to Cork from Foynes is over to Newcastlewest, then Feohanagh, Dromcollagher, Lisgriffin (though not if you have a HGV as it's a very narrow road in parts), and then the N20 from Mallow. When this new road is open and the M20 is eventually built it will be considerably longer than the route I've just outlined (about 20 km), so it will be interesting to see how much of a time saver it will be. The more of it that is 120 km/h the more likely this road will be more popular, though trucks of course are limited to 80 so they may decide that the old road is worth it because it's 20 km shorter. For cars the new road will probably be quicker, though.

90 km/h on motorway for Artics and Rigids

Leonard Hofstadter

D Trent wrote: »

90 km/h on motorway for Artics and Rigids

I thought they were limited to 90 under EU rules, but under Irish law the limit was 80? Or was the motorway/dual carriageway limit changed the same time they changed the speed limits for buses from 80 to 100 on motorways and DCs?

L1011

captainspeed wrote: »

I thought they were limited to 90 under EU rules, but under Irish law the limit was 80? Or was the motorway/dual carriageway limit changed the same time they changed the speed limits for buses from 80 to 100 on motorways and DCs?

Yes, it was brought to 90 (and the rule on vehicles in the outer lane was changed to 90 at the same time)

marno21

The overbridge for the L1427 (old N21, which, if the Adare bypass element is a motorway will presumably be the alternative route for the section from the end of the M20 DC to the Woodlands R/A) looks to be too narrow to fit a full DC under it. Anyone else notice this?

Vanquished

marno21 wrote: »

The overbridge for the L1427 (old N21, which, if the Adare bypass element is a motorway will presumably be the alternative route for the section from the end of the M20 DC to the Woodlands R/A) looks to be too narrow to fit a full DC under it. Anyone else notice this?

No it'll fit alright. They will just drop the hard shoulders as they did with similar bridges on the Nenagh bypass when it was reconfigured as a motorway.

rliston

marno21 wrote: »

The overbridge for the L1427 (old N21, which, if the Adare bypass element is a motorway will presumably be the alternative route for the section from the end of the M20 DC to the Woodlands R/A) looks to be too narrow to fit a full DC under it. Anyone else notice this?

I was watching that a few days ago while sitting in traffic. Even without any hard shoulders it would appear to be too narrow. The hard shoulder seems to be that bit narrower under the bridge than on the approach at either side.

Cookiemunster

rliston wrote: »

I was watching that a few days ago while sitting in traffic. Even without any hard shoulders it would appear to be too narrow. The hard shoulder seems to be that bit narrower under the bridge than on the approach at either side.

The road may not use this bridge. It could veer North or South of the bridge from the last M20 junction or they could even demolish and rebuild the bridge.

marno21

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The road may not use this bridge. It could veer North or South of the bridge from the last M20 junction or they could even demolish and rebuild the bridge.

The route corridor revealed last week shows it using the realigned N21 from the present junction from the M20 to the junction with the old N21 (L1427) just before the Woodlands R/A.

Cookiemunster

marno21 wrote: »

The route corridor revealed last week shows it using the realigned N21 from the present junction from the M20 to the junction with the old N21 (L1427) just before the Woodlands R/A.

The route corridor isn't written in stone. The website say this. The preferred route corridor is indicative and 300m wide, within which the road alignment is likely to be developed. Junction locations and types will be developed during the route development process.

It's possible that when detailed design occurs that they'll move outside the corridor.

Irish_rat

This is a very exciting scheme, it's very close to home and would reduce travel times drastically.

Adare along with Claregalway are the worst bottlenecks in the country right now. Mind you the M50 is like a car park most days of the week.

This will reduce journey times by half an hour at peak times easily.

Will this be Motorway or HQDC?

marno21

Cookiemunster wrote: »

The route corridor isn't written in stone. The website say this. The preferred route corridor is indicative and 300m wide, within which the road alignment is likely to be developed. Junction locations and types will be developed during the route development process.

It's possible that when detailed design occurs that they'll move outside the corridor.

In order to keep costs down it would make sense that they would reuse this offline stretch of N21, especially seeing as they are also using the Rathkeale bypass which has 2 bridges where the N21 goes over the L12xx (Pallaskenry) and R518 where the grade seperated junction is.

spacetweek

Irish_rat wrote: »

Will this be Motorway or HQDC?

Not decided yet.

Limerick74

Closing date for comments on Preferred Route Corridor extended to 29th January.

marno21

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=96925&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

Tender has gone out today for a Topological Aerial Survey of the route to take place. Would seem to indicate route has been selected

Limerick74

marno21 wrote: »

https://irl.eu-supply.com/app/rfq/publicpurchase_frameset.asp?PID=96925&B=ETENDERS_SIMPLE&PS=1&PP=ctm/Supplier/publictenders

Tender has gone out today for a Topological Aerial Survey of the route to take place. Would seem to indicate route has been selected

Preferred Route Corridor was announced last December, see www.foyneslimerick.ie for maps.

Mango Joe

Can anyone provide a likely date for this to open?

ie. just wondering are we talking Q3 2018 etc?

- Prob won't be on it much but looking forward to lighter traffic flow and less trucks etc on the N69 which struggles with its current load.....

pajoguy

It has to go to detailed survey, design, Environmental Impact Assessment, Planning, Tender, Contract Award amongst other things so I would imagine all going to plan a commencement in maybe Q1-2 of 2018 with a 2 year build programme. Something along those lines but I am open to correction.

Edit: Cpo somewhere in there too which could delay it a few months.

Mango Joe

Ah I'll be chauffeur driven by then anyhow......

Limerick74

CPO late 2017, Construction start 2019 with 3 to 4 years to build (30+kms) so not open until 2023 or so.

Chris_5339762

3 -4 years build is way OTT. 2 years will have this done. That said, various usual intractable delays may make 2023 not unlikely.

marno21

The southern half of the Rathkeale bypass is being re-surfaced at the moment. Surprising enough considering it'll be used in this upgrade.