N17 - Tuam to Claremorris (2017 scheme)

marno21

According to the Times yesterday, the N17 from Tuam to Claremorris will feature as part of Varadkar's new Capital Plan

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/ireland-plans-80bn-infrastructure-spend-vc92c3s65

All work from the previous scheme which got to route selection will be scrapped, and this scheme will start from a blank slate.

Likely to be Type 2 dual carriageway same as the soon to be opened Tuam bypass.

Pereplyotchik

marno21 wrote: »

According to the Times yesterday, the N17 from Tuam to Claremorris will feature as part of Varadkar's new Capital Plan

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/ireland-plans-80bn-infrastructure-spend-vc92c3s65

All work from the previous scheme which got to route selection will be scrapped, and this scheme will start from a blank slate.

Likely to be Type 2 dual carriageway same as the soon to be opened Tuam bypass.

Kind of a waste of money no? there's other sections of the N17 more worthy of the investment than a Dual carriageway between Tuam and Claremorris.
The N17 is a pretty good national route except for a small stretch around Milltown and the last 30km from Charlestown to Collooney.. overall, in terms of improvements per € it would make more sense to target these areas. Is it now policy that all new national routes be 2+2 duallers rather that wide single carriageways?

BelfastVanMan

Yes; WS2 and 2+1 are now no longer options. 2+2 (Type 2 DC) is now the norm.

Donegal Storm

Anything that makes my journey from Donegal to Galway easier is a plus but would agree it's not badly needed, a bypass of Charlestown and Tubbercurry would be a lot more beneficial. Likewise the N15 between Sligo and Bundoran is in a worse state.

Does this mean the Atlantic Corridor is back on the table?

marno21

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Anything that makes my journey from Donegal to Galway easier is a plus but would agree it's not badly needed, a bypass of Charlestown and Tubbercurry would be a lot more beneficial. Likewise the N15 between Sligo and Bundoran is in a worse state.

Does this mean the Atlantic Corridor is back on the table?

TII were flying a kite about a Tobercurry bypass recently with no mention of a Tuam-Claremorris DC. Tuam-Claremorris is less important given all the realignment between Milltown and Ballindine.

The Atlantic Corridor isn't explicitly back on the table but a lot of the original schemes are badly needed and there aren't priorities elsewhere. Only Patrickswell-Tuam and Sligo-Collooney are properly done. There are wide S2 schemes like Claremorris/Knock/Ballyshannon/Bundoran/Donegal done but might be retrofitted to 2+2 going forward

road_high

I've only driven parts of the N17 around Knock and Claremorris and that's a top quality, albeit single carriageway road.

serfboard

I think this is all bullsh1t - for starters we need €13 billion for water infrastructre to prevent more Louth-type incidences, more boil-water notices and to prevent us from flushing un-treated sewage straight into the sea (as we are in over 40 locations currently).

After that, roads-wise, the M20 is, IMO, no. 1, and there are loads of other schemes ahead of this one, including even on the N17.

There are two possible reasons for mentioning Claremorris:

1. You could argue that the main Galway->Castlebar road should be the N17 and N60, which could mean they could downgrade the awful N84 to a regional road.

2. They're preparing to finance a Greenway on the WRC north of Athenry and the Claremorriseys need to be thrown a bone.

BelfastVanMan

road_high wrote: »

I've only driven parts of the N17 around Knock and Claremorris and that's a top quality, albeit single carriageway road.

Another easy candidate for the 2+2 treatment, much like the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

irishgeo

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Another easy candidate for the 2+2 treatment, much like the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

Does more land need to be bought for say converting a wide single carriage with hard shoulders to a 2 +2.

L1011

irishgeo wrote: »

Does more land need to be bought for say converting a wide single carriage with hard shoulders to a 2 +2.

In most cases, none

If new interchanges or bridges are needed there will be isolated areas needing more

serfboard

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Another easy candidate for the 2+2 treatment, much like the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

Regarding the Claremorris->Knock road, one could argue that it should have been built 2+2 in the first place, though I know that wasn't the standard then.

I'm not sure how easy it will be to upgrade it to 2+2, given that there are some direct accesses to houses on that "new" road.

BelfastVanMan

serfboard wrote: »

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Another easy candidate for the 2+2 treatment, much like the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

Regarding the Claremorris->Knock road, one could argue that it should have been built 2+2 in the first place, though I know that wasn't the standard then.

I'm not sure how easy it will be to upgrade it to 2+2, given that there are some direct accesses to houses on that "new" road.

Good point....typical lack of forward planning in this country.

Donegal Storm

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Good point....typical lack of forward planning in this country.

To be fair that stretch of road is perfectly adequate as is, I don't see any reason why it'd need upgrading in the medium term.

As for the Ballyshannon bypass, the bridge over the Erne would be a problem there, it's 2+1 but from memory I don't think there's any shoulder so it wouldn't be possible to widen

marno21

Donegal Storm wrote: »

To be fair that stretch of road is perfectly adequate as is, I don't see any reason why it'd need upgrading in the medium term.

As for the Ballyshannon bypass, the bridge over the Erne would be a problem there, it's 2+1 but from memory I don't think there's any shoulder so it wouldn't be possible to widen

2+2 didn't exist when Claremorris/Knock was done, it was built to the correct standard for its time. It's a excellent stretch of road to be fair.

The Cathleen Falls bridge seemed wide enough to me when I drove it, it would be a pity if it wasn't.

irishgeo

Donegal Storm wrote: »

To be fair that stretch of road is perfectly adequate as is, I don't see any reason why it'd need upgrading in the medium term.

As for the Ballyshannon bypass, the bridge over the Erne would be a problem there, it's 2+1 but from memory I don't think there's any shoulder so it wouldn't be possible to widen

its 2 + 1 with a hard shoulder on the 1 side.

https://goo.gl/maps/KugX3h3GTgQ2

Pereplyotchik

I drive that route a lot, went to Sligo last weekend in fact and it's a really nice route to drive on a nice day with the exception of the Milltown - Ballindine stretch and the last 20 odd Kms up to Collooney..
I think it's a great road but there is a bad stretch between Milltown and Ballindine. if it was just widened and some of the bends smoothed out and brought up to the standard of the rest of the N17 (like the recent piece at Ballindine) it would be perfectly fine.
I think trying to retrofit a 2+2 will be slow, complicated and quite expensive with access for houses and junctions for minor roads.

My fear is that if 2+2 DC is the only option open to the planners/TII that it will lead to that stretch being left as it is for years until there's a much bigger pot of cash available. The issue of keeping traffic routed through Milltown and Ballindine will also crop up...

I fear inertia here folks...

so am I right in thinking that officially, if TII want to upgrade that small stretch between Milltown & Ballindine that they have to plan for a 2+2 DC? that 2+2 is now the standard for upgrading the road... all well and good but what does that mean at the interface with villages? roundabout? narrowing to 1 lane? Can anyone shed some light?

Irish_rat

Tuam to Ballindine needs a full upgrade, I know they took a few bends out but it needs to be all done.

Tubbercurry to Collooney is dreadful.

The rest of the N17 is very good national primary road.

Claremorris Bypass is the most enjoyable single carriageway road to drive on. The M17 will make a massive difference

discodaveirl

Irish_rat wrote: »

Tuam to Ballindine needs a full upgrade, I know they took a few bends out but it needs to be all done.

Tubbercurry to Collooney is dreadful.

The rest of the N17 is very good national primary road.

Claremorris Bypass is the most enjoyable single carriageway road to drive on. The M17 will make a massive difference

I dont agree with the Tuam to Ballindine upgrade, in an ideal world it would be great but would the money not be better spent on a bypass of Charlestown north to south. Theres a bigger bottle neck there than Milltown and Ballindine together, or else upgrade of the road from Curry to Collooney.

As you state the Claremorris bypass is a great road, would go as far as to say its a much better road than the N5 schemes that have been completed since...

Irish_rat

I think Curry to Colooney should be the first to be done, seems a busier section of road than the N17 around Ballindine and Miltown

Any truth to the rumor that this road will be going ahead ?

marno21

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Any truth to the rumor that this road will be going ahead ?

Unfortunately it won't be. Knock-Collooney is being prioritised on the N17

Pereplyotchik

marno21 wrote: »

Unfortunately it won't be. Knock-Collooney is being prioritised on the N17

Any published info Marno21?

MayoSalmon

marno21 wrote: »

Unfortunately it won't be. Knock-Collooney is being prioritised on the N17

Rightly so

godskitchen

MayoSalmon wrote: »

Rightly so

100%

sonnyblack

Why are people so against upgrading this stretch from Tuam to Claremorris. It's a traffic joke at the moment when you leave the motorway at Tuam coming through Milltown & Ballindine. surely there would be greater connectivity for Mayo and Sligo people to Galway and beyond if this stretch was prioritised. I don't doubt that Knock to Collooney is also in dire need and should also be prioritised but why aren't Mayo crying out for both roads to be done and have motorway/high quality dual carraigway direct to the county

marno21

This isn't a fantastic stretch of road, and if the WRC Phase 2 reopening is confirmed as going ahead in the AIRR you can now add 4 level crossings to the stew

Such a pity a proper job wasn't done on this from Claremorris all the way to the M17

thomas385

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120893629#Comment_120893629

Agree Marno, am I correct in saying that there is an allowance for an overbridge across the railway alignment in the plans for the Ballindine stretch of this road?

flazio

What exactly has happened on the Tuam bypass?

peter4918

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054367#Comment_122054367

what? Fill us in.

flazio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054460#Comment_122054460

Closed for emergency works. All traffic going through the town again. I want to know if a bridge fell down or something?

zell12

Local media

Galway CoCo say the M17 Bypass will be fully out of use until Friday 26 April. Traffic will be diverted through the town day and night during this period and motorists have been advised to give themselves additional time for journeys during the week. One social media user complained that the closure is "causing chaos" and that it took him "45 minutes to get from one side of town to the other".

serfboard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054471#Comment_122054471

Where did you see the word emergency? The closure has been signaled for the last few weeks (signage about it as you approached Tuam), so there was no immediate emergency AFAIK.

Looks more like routine maintenance to me.

flazio

overheard in work. Probably just a Galway Beo reader.