N5 - Westport to Turlough [opening June 15th]

DumbBrunette

I went for a drive again today and a lot of progress has been made on the road in the last 4 weeks, especially around Westport. Some highlights:

The Sheeaun road overbridge and approaches have been tarmaced and it looks like the bridge could open in a few weeks if not sooner.

The Islandeady overbridge is open for pedestrians and surfacing is nearly done on the link to the old N5. I could see this bridge opening fully by the end of June.

At Drumneen overbridge (behind the Halfway House) the bridge deck is now in place and there was a big crew with a crane working on the bridge today.

At Attireesh in Westport where piles are being driven to support the road, much of the concrete for the road foundation has been poured. Kerbing and surfacing work has started on the N5/N59 roundabout going towards Westport industrial park.

The final surface has been laid on most of the project now, with gaps at Sheeaun and Drumneen where the bridges aren't finished yet, and around the N60 crossing. The Westport relief road and N59 section are well behind though, with earthworks still being completed.

Some more pics:

On the Islandeady overbridge, which is open for pedestrians but the entrance in the distance from the 'old' N5 is still closed to cars.

The Sheeaun overbridge from the north, this looks like it could open in weeks.

mayo.mick

https://youtu.be/NGMu7GnsjbQ

Update from Friday

DumbBrunette

Bit of a moany article about the new N5, but you'd have to sympathise with the residents here. The rock breaking has been going on far longer than the council told them it would.

https://www.mayonews.ie/news/38432-it-s-psychological-torture

muddle84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119151384#Comment_119151384

But sure the council didn't know the pandemic was going to hit! It must be hard going without a doubt though, but there is still a lot of moaning there. Are they going to take in a family from Ukraine when the rockbreaking stops?

KrisW1001

From the article, the rockbreaking continued all through the pandemic, so that’s hardly an excuse.

muddle84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153141#Comment_119153141

But thats not true! That job was shut down for the first lockdown if i remember correctly.It did keep going through the second lockdown in fairness.

thomas385

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153444#Comment_119153444

From the Westport side, it definitely stopped for the first 3/4 weeks of the first lockdown but was operating again by the end of March 2020

DumbBrunette

Sheeaun road overbridge outside Westport to open this week.

WBEngineer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153444#Comment_119153444

Utter nonsense. The UK contractor was back on site after a 5 week stoppage, mid April. Those two rock breakers and a third excavater were the only workers permitted to continue working thorugh the Covid lockdown across the N5/N59 project. The six other rocker breakers did not return for another four weeks.

muddle84

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119205523#Comment_119205523

So are you saying that I am wrong and COVID didn't slow that section down or that COVID did slow it down? Not sure if you're agreeing with me or not!

KrisW1001

Your post read: "That job was shut down for the first lockdown". That is not the case, because the rock-breaking paused only for 5 weeks, and then resumed for the rest of that lockdown and continued through the second one.

So, while the first Covid lockdown slowed the rock-breaking down by only 5 weeks, the main reason it has been delayed for so long is due to the site containing unexpectedly hard stone, as stated by Mayo County Council in the original article.

DumbBrunette

https://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/129939/n5-westport-turlough-road-project-progressing-well

Update of sorts from the council, basically everything is on track for a Q2 2023 opening.

veryangryman

Final nail in the coffin of any roads being opened in 2022. Can we update thread title for the completion year

DumbBrunette

Nice new pics of progress on the Castlebar bypass section of the project, between the N84 and Derrylea roundabout.

Pics courtesy of Jack Walsh drone photography. More below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_D-lXterE/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Paddico

Looks like only single carriage in that one

KrisW1001

Yes, it’s because there’s nothing that lets you see how wide the bridge is. The second, fourth and fifth pictures in that gallery are the same bridge from different angles, but there are vehicles visible, so you can really see how wide the main road is.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119234983#Comment_119234983

There's a big yellow dump truck and a white van in those pics to give scale. It in no way looks like it's only a single carriageway.

DumbBrunette

Latest from the N59 section of the project - still a lot to do here. Pic by Jack Walsh drone photography.

Baldilocks

Is it just me, or are they completely dragging the arse out of this section??

There seems to be minimal progress on this in the last 12 months

irishgeo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119245948#Comment_119245948

The fact the existing n59 crosses it 5 or 6 times i imagine hasnt helped

DumbBrunette

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247659#Comment_119247659

It was always going to be messy with 6 crossing points in 2km on the N59, plus the Greenway crossing. Despite that, it's been even slower than I expected. The Cregnahorna road is closed until August and the Slaugar road until October, which doesn't bode well for an early finish.

Cosmo Kramer

Are they still planning to open the whole scheme at the same time? Surely it would make more sense to open the main N5 section to the edge of Westport when it's ready and then continue construction on the N59 part which is way behind at this point.

Otherwise there will be an almost finished N5 left closed for months because the N59 has fallen so far off the original schedule.

DumbBrunette

https://twitter.com/kieranryanphoto/status/1541366668613632000?t=VdT_f5R8awkjhEsLabLiDQ&s=19

Speaking of the N59 section 😒🌧️

JupiterKid

Good progress being made - I think it's very possible that the Castlebar bypass section may open first if the Westport end is still behind.

Is there any drone footage of the latest progress on this scheme?

We've seen lots of photos lately but some drone fly-through footage would be great!

DumbBrunette

The N5/N84 junction is nearing completion, with landscaping works complete and lighting columns in place on the slip roads and mainline. Pics courtesy of Jack Walsh drone photography.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf19yzCtAAZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119318990#Comment_119318990

Looks great. The landscaping really adds to it. Didn't realise it would have lighting. Is this the case for all bridges with slip roads?

DumbBrunette

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327133#Comment_119327133

Yes, I think it's standard for all major junctions to have lighting.

JupiterKid

Great photos and they show just how advanced the Eastern end of the scheme is currently.

Given how badly behind the Westport section has fallen, I think that there is a strong possibility that the scheme will now open in two stages, with the Castlebar bypass section possibly open before the end of this year based on the progress made.

DumbBrunette

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119331526#Comment_119331526

Westport to Castlebar is well advanced too, it's only the Westport relief road and N59 section that are really lagging behind.

noserider

Are there noise mitigation measures in place for houses near the new road? And if so where would I find out the locations of such measures?

TIA