This'll be fun (Luas flyover scrapped)

sceptre

From today's Indo (yeah, I know but I'm not going to start paying for the IT)

Plans for €20m Luas flyover scrapped due to lack of cash

PLANS for a €20m flyover bridge across one of the country's busiest roads have been scrapped because the money is not available.

The bridge would have prevented motorists making a "crazy" approach to a Luas park-and-ride facility on Dublin's Naas Road.

Instead, drivers heading inbound to catch a tram near the Red Cow roundabout are to be provided with a filter traffic light sending them across three lanes of opposing traffic.

This seems certain to increase the chronic traffic congestion at one of the country's most notorious bottlenecks.

The disclosure came after the head of the Railway Procurement Agency, in charge of Luas, admitted they had paid millions of euro in compensation to property and landowners affected by the line - and too much in some cases.

The highest amount paid to someone for land procurement was "many millions" for "fractions of an acre", admitted Frank Allen, RPA chief executive.

He also said he thought that some of the amounts paid to private landowners in compensation for property taken from them were too high.

The Irish Independent has learned that top-level meetings have been going on about the construction of a bridge from Monastery Road which would fly-over the Naas Road and carry motorists into the Luas park-and-ride site and stop near the Red Cow roundabout.

This would have avoided the "unbelievably crazy" situation of motorists travelling inbound from Newlands Cross forced to drive as far as the Red Cow roundabout, go around it, before travelling southbound on the far side of the dual carriageway and then into the park-and-ride for Luas.

But the talks involving the National Roads Authority, South Dublin Co Council, the Railway Procurement Agency and the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) have failed to come up with the €20m needed to fund the bridge, it was learned last night.

Instead, the DTO has come up with an alternative cheaper solution - a filter light turning inbound traffic across the path of the already congested southbound traffic and into the Luas site - which is due to be presented to the agencies shortly.

But this has already been severely criticised as the six-lane road is busy at most times of the day and there are fears that this solution will only add to the gridlock.

It is understood that the compromise plan involves having the new traffic lights in place for at least three years to allow motorists get into the park-and-ride, which can cater for 450 vehicles.

Jacinta Gayle, of the Kingswood Heights Residents' Association, said it would be "absolutely ludicrous" to put in a filter light and allow traffic go across the road.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan has ordered monthly reports on the progress of Luas and could insist on a prompt solution to this traffic wrangle.

Frank Allen said yesterday that the ideal solution was a bridge across the Naas Rd, but that this involved costs and there were discussions about how this could be funded.

The RPA has been pushing hard for the flyover bridge but has run into difficulties over who will provide the funding.

The park-and-ride was located at the Red Cow Luas stop because of the chosen route. It is understood that other sites closer to Newlands Cross were not considered as this would have meant re-routing the line and it would also have made it less convenient for other local communities.

Residents of Kingswood Heights in Tallaght are angry over the lack of car parking facilities for the new Luas line.


Treacy Hogan
Environment Correspondent

This, in a word, is nuts. They've gone from a situation where 20 million euros would have paid for a nice wee flyover to the new situation where all the traffic flying in on the N7 will stop while motorists get the joy of crossing over three lanes.

Washout

That does indeed seem absolutely crazy...All for the sake of what to me seems like a small percantage of the total costs...surely the government can get 20m million cover for this plan from somewhere?????

dmeehan

sounds logical alright, stop 3 lanes of traffic on the countys busiest roads to enable 450 motorists to park, which is assuming that all of the 450 spaces are taken by people living west of the park and ride site

anyway i dont see what is so bad about motorists going around the (albeit very congested) roundabout and comming back on the other side of the carriageway