A6 (NI) Randalstown to Castledawson dualling

BelfastVanMan

The final stretch of this road upgrade, from Toome to Hillhead Road, Castledawson, opened to traffic this morning, albeit coned-down to 1 lane, at 6.00am.

This just leaves the 25.5km Derry to Dungiven scheme, which is due for completion in roughly about 18 months time.

BelfastVanMan

A6 near Castledawson, taken last night, a few hours before the road opened.

BelfastVanMan

Same again.

BelfastVanMan

And another.

BelfastVanMan

Another pic.

BelfastVanMan

It has now been confirmed that the opening has been pushed back 1 week, to the 23rd November.

Donegal Storm

Good stuff, looking forward to timing Letterkenny - Belfast when both sections are open, will be a huge boost for the NW finally having some semblance of a modern transport link

Chris_5339762

Good to see. Buy why, why, why did they decide to leave the roundabouts on the Toome bypass? I get it, theres a sharp bend involved which would catch people out just like the Athlone bypass does, but still.

riddlinrussell

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Good to see. Buy why, why, why did they decide to leave the roundabouts on the Toome bypass? I get it, theres a sharp bend involved which would catch people out just like the Athlone bypass does, but still.

Remains a mystery, I guarantee within a few years there will be a "Toome Junctions Remediation" project in the pipeline that will then get delayed for 10 years

Pete_Cavan

I'm guessing that would be classed as 2+2 down here but is it something in between our 2+2 and motorway? Seems to have very wide lanes but then no hard shoulder, the median barrier not concrete but better than the wire system we have been using.

riddlinrussell

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

I'm guessing that would be classed as 2+2 down here but is it something in between our 2+2 and motorway? Seems to have very wide lanes but then no hard shoulder, the median barrier not concrete but better than the wire system we have been using.

I'm not sure if the NI/UK system has any more specific designation than 'Dual Carriageway' which covers everything from the A1/A2 (Both utterly appallingly bad) Up to this (Essentially a motorway with a few roundabouts in the middle).

I would say this will have national speed limit and therefore 70mph for the whole distance (with reduced speeds approaching the roundabouts).

I think the steel crash barrier has been the UK/NI standard for a good long while, they are fairly robust but still relatively easy to replace.

BelfastVanMan

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

I'm guessing that would be classed as 2+2 down here but is it something in between our 2+2 and motorway? Seems to have very wide lanes but then no hard shoulder, the median barrier not concrete but better than the wire system we have been using.

Known as a "Category 6 Dual Carriageway" by DFI Roads (The Northern equivalent of TII)

JupiterKid

Fantastic to see this long planned (and long-delayed) A6 dualling scheme approach full completion.

Of course, the original, aborted, 1960s plans for the NI motorway network would have seen the M22 reach Castledawson in the early 1980s.

This scheme is nearly as good as those original plans. With the Dungiven to Derry scheme making good progress further West, the Belfast to Derry route will be brought up to the standard it should have been 25 years ago. But better late than never

Now, any news on the much promised but long-stalled A5 dualling scheme?

serfboard

riddlinrussell wrote: »

Remains a mystery, I guarantee within a few years there will be a "Toome Junctions Remediation" project

Yeah. Pity that they didn't make the Toome Junctions remediation part of this contract.

On another point, I see that there is a Park n Ride at the Drumderg Roundabout in Toome (Toomebridge Park n' Ride), and there is/will be another at the Derry end of the new Dungiven-Derry road (Drumahoe Park n' Ride).

Great planning. AFAIK, in the south we shamefully built no Park n' Rides as part of our motorway upgrades, dumping motorists into big queues at city outskirts.

BelfastVanMan

serfboard wrote: »

Yeah. Pity that they didn't make the Toome Junctions remediation part of this contract.

On another point, I see that there is a Park n Ride at the Drumderg Roundabout in Toome (Toomebridge Park n' Ride), and there is/will be another at the Derry end of the new Dungiven-Derry road (Drumahoe Park n' Ride).

Great planning. AFAIK, in the south we shamefully built no Park n' Rides as part of our motorway upgrades, dumping motorists into big queues at city outskirts.

Yes, it's a welcome addition to the transport network, up here.

ncounties

Can't wait to drive on it, on my way home to Derry this Christmas. As for JupiterKid's query, they had to go back and do some additional impact assessments thanks to yet another AlternativeA5Alliance [who want no A5 upgrade] so they are being extra cautious now. They envisage Newbuildings to Strabane North starting the middle of 2021 but no doubt AA5A will lodge another court case, and delay it by 6 - 12months but then we should finally get it underway.

serfboard

So, according to Wesley Johnston:

Wesley Johnston wrote:

the stretch from Toome to Castledawson, will open to traffic (with one lane each way) at 6am on Monday 23 November 2020 ... The stretch will have a temporary 40mph speed limit

Anyone know if this happened?

riddlinrussell

serfboard wrote: »

So, according to Wesley Johnston:

Anyone know if this happened?

I believe so according to Wesley's tweets

BelfastVanMan

riddlinrussell wrote: »

I believe so according to Wesley's tweets

I have just driven on it, myself.
Very much open, but coned down to one lane at present with a 40 MPH speed limit (64kph)

ncounties

The reason for the limit and single lane is due to the central barrier still requiring to be finished in places.

BelfastVanMan

ncounties wrote: »

The reason for the limit and single lane is due to the central barrier still requiring to be finished in places.

Yes, and the Deerpark Road junction needs completed, too.

serfboard

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

I have just driven on it, myself.
Very much open, but coned down to one lane at present with a 40 MPH speed limit (64kph)

ncounties wrote: »

The reason for the limit and single lane is due to the central barrier still requiring to be finished in places.

There is a video of a drive on it here
I find it unusual the road being opened without the central safety barrier being completed. Has it happened in the republic, does anyone remember?

KrisW1001

I can't remember something like this ever happening here. Surely on safety grounds, they could have waited to get the job done completely, and then open the road: and by "safety" I really mean the safety of the crews doing the barrier installation.

ncounties

KrisW1001 wrote: »

I can't remember something like this ever happening here. Surely on safety grounds, they could have waited to get the job done completely, and then open the road: and by "safety" I really mean the safety of the crews doing the barrier installation.

Theres a speed limit in place, and one lane closed each way, not forgetting the massive central reservation. There is more risk to a pedestrian on a pavement in Dublin that there is to a work, working on the barrier here.

KrisW1001

Of course, but accidents still happen, and this looks like such an avoidable situation: surely it wouldn't have taken more than a couple of weeks to install the barriers with the road closed. With it live, it'll take longer.

I guess there's a local politician involved in this decision somewhere...

Donegal Storm

I remember a Balfour worker was killed on the M25 in London a few years back while they were pouring the concrete centre median. Might be rare but definitely an avoidable risk

Chris_5339762

Also he is going well over 40mph in that video!!!

BelfastVanMan

The cones are in at last, the 40mph speed limit has been removed and the road is now fully open.