N8/N25/N40 - Dunkettle Interchange [open to traffic]

No major updates this week on the newsletter.

• Works on site over the next two weeks will include fencing to the site boundary, as well as works to protect utilities that cross the site.
• Works also continue on the N40 ITS, and the Little Island upgrade projects, both of which aim to ease traffic congestion during the Dunkettle upgrade. More detail on these works is provided below.
• Congestion at the Dunkettle interchange is much reduced at the moment as we enter the school holiday period. The reduction in traffic volume is actually relatively small but as regular commuters will know, this reduction leads to a very welcome reduction in congestion. The Dunkettle team continue to visit businesses to explore measures with management and workforces that could bring about a similar reduction throughout the year. This would have major benefits both for commuters and for the efficient delivery of the upgrade project.
• We are taking advantage of the reduced traffic to make some adjustments to our Journey Time System through the Interchange. www.dunkettletraffic.ie has been showing some incorrect journey times as a result, and the variable message signs at the roadside approaches to the interchange have been turned off. The system will be back up and running next week.

One bunny on the south side of the interchange tonight and three or four on the north. All eating grass

Lackadaisical

Cork Trucker wrote: »

Yeah it is rough alright, but you know yourself, no sooner will they resurface the road and it will have to be dug up again for some other reason putting it back to square one.

To be fair, it has *never* been in the state it's in at the moment.

I am hoping they're just waiting until they are completely finished with the water works. I noticed they're getting some E Net ducting in and KN is also doing work for Eir (I assume) replacing vault covers.

Cork Trucker

Lackadaisical wrote: »

Whatever about the progress of the interchange, the state the N8 Lower Glanmire Road has been left in after those pipe laying works is just unbelievable. I managed to bang my head off the ceiling of the car driving over some of it.

I realize there are on going works on the city centre parts but what's the plan to resurface that whole stretch? It's an absolutely disgrace, particularly as it's the main route into the city from the M8 and N25.

Yeah it is rough alright, but you know yourself, no sooner will they resurface the road and it will have to be dug up again for some other reason putting it back to square one.

Lackadaisical

Whatever about the progress of the interchange, the state the N8 Lower Glanmire Road has been left in after those pipe laying works is just unbelievable. I managed to bang my head off the ceiling of the car driving over some of it.

I realize there are on going works on the city centre parts but what's the plan to resurface that whole stretch? It's an absolutely disgrace, particularly as it's the main route into the city from the M8 and N25.

snotboogie

Lackadaisical wrote: »

While I'd agree with the sentiment the problem is they'll just get replaced with their mirror image, FF, who have done exactly the same and destroyed the economy on several occasions. I certainly don't remember enlightened housing policy pre 2008. So I don't hold out much hope for major improvements to levels of infrastructural planning competence anytime soon.

I'm seeing a lot of Cork projects being put on the back burner though between this and the events centre. I assume the light rail / tram is absolute pie in the sky too.

Until we get proper empowerment of local government to drive these kinds of things I don't think you'll ever see anything other than urban projects being national political footballs. We've nothing even remotely like the kind of local and regional government structures that exist elsewhere in Europe. It's an incredibly centralised country by any comparison.

And we just voted to keep it that way

Lackadaisical

JupiterKid wrote: »

FG deserve to be completely decimated at the next general election - their incompetence and downright wilful inaction on properly tacking the housing crisis, the massive transport backlog and the mismanagement of the health sector beggar belief...

While I'd agree with the sentiment the problem is they'll just get replaced with their mirror image, FF, who have done exactly the same and destroyed the economy on several occasions. I certainly don't remember enlightened housing policy pre 2008. So I don't hold out much hope for major improvements to levels of infrastructural planning competence anytime soon.

I'm seeing a lot of Cork projects being put on the back burner though between this and the events centre. I assume the light rail / tram is absolute pie in the sky too.

Until we get proper empowerment of local government to drive these kinds of things I don't think you'll ever see anything other than urban projects being national political footballs. We've nothing even remotely like the kind of local and regional government structures that exist elsewhere in Europe. It's an incredibly centralised country by any comparison.

Cork Trucker wrote: »

A cycling route through the tunnel?

I think you're being tongue-in-cheek but just in case...
The Dunkettle interchange upgrade will see freeflow traffic for ALMOST all users. Cyclists will be sent on an uphill detour north of the interchange, where they'll cede priority to motorised traffic approx. 5 times. Designers could provide a simple route south of the interchange instead at minimal cost difference. But they refuse to do so, possibly because they've managed to somehow ship responsibility for this traffic flow onto Cork County Council.

As an aside I believe some original tunnel designs may have seen the central "escape" tunnel bore being bigger and used for pedestrians, but this was cut out of the final design!

Cork Trucker

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

Redesign of the overheight system, but sadly no redesign of the substandard cycling route.

A cycling route through the tunnel?

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

specifically a major redesign of the tunnel overheight system, which now must be on all of the slip roads to the tunnel, presumably.

Redesign of the overheight system, but sadly no redesign of the substandard cycling route.

Live at Three

JupiterKid wrote: »

FG deserve to be completely decimated at the next general election - their incompetence and downright wilful inaction on properly tacking the housing crisis, the massive transport backlog and the mismanagement of the health sector beggar belief...

Not to mention their complete and systematic failure, on both a local and a national level, to tackle the bunny crisis in any meaningful way.

JupiterKid wrote: »

FG deserve to be completely decimated at the next general election - their incompetence and downright wilful inaction on properly tacking the housing crisis, the massive transport backlog and the mismanagement of the health sector beggar belief...

The amount of bureaucracy and other **** that these projects are getting tangled in now is something that badly needs rectifying.

Then again, all that bureaucracy is useful if you have no intention of actually building stuff and need the cash for the latest HSE overrun.

JupiterKid

FG deserve to be completely decimated at the next general election - their incompetence and downright wilful inaction on properly tacking the housing crisis, the massive transport backlog and the mismanagement of the health sector beggar belief...

Cork Trucker

Chris_5339762 wrote: »

Nothing is happening onsite at the moment at all. Regular updates from the newsletter are along the lines of "we are planning things!" at the moment, specifically a major redesign of the tunnel overheight system, which now must be on all of the slip roads to the tunnel, presumably.

In far more important news, there has been a massive explosion in the number of Dunkettle Bunnies. For a while, there were very few, only one or two in the evening, sometimes none. Friday evening at 530pm there were about 10 on the southbound side, of various sizes, and 3 or 4 on the northbound side.

They were all busy ridin' so hence the explosion in the population

Nothing is happening onsite at the moment at all. Regular updates from the newsletter are along the lines of "we are planning things!" at the moment, specifically a major redesign of the tunnel overheight system, which now must be on all of the slip roads to the tunnel, presumably.

In far more important news, there has been a massive explosion in the number of Dunkettle Bunnies. For a while, there were very few, only one or two in the evening, sometimes none. Friday evening at 530pm there were about 10 on the southbound side, of various sizes, and 3 or 4 on the northbound side.

kub

marno21 wrote: »

There are diggers on site - doing preliminary work.

It's just the main scheme hasn't been approved yet - I was wondering alright why there was no sod turning ceremony and PR event.

Is there any update on this at all?

Between this and the Events Centre it will be intersting how FG get on here in the next GE.

Truckermal

https://www.dunkettletraffic.ie/live/?id=3

Handy link to the live feed camera's..

spacetweek wrote: »

Unreal. I thought diggers were on site, the scheme was announced for 2019 start - and Ross is still considering the business case. Madness.

There are diggers on site - doing preliminary work.

It's just the main scheme hasn't been approved yet - I was wondering alright why there was no sod turning ceremony and PR event.

spacetweek

Unreal. I thought diggers were on site, the scheme was announced for 2019 start - and Ross is still considering the business case. Madness.

Prep work is generally a seperate contract in these things, they get the site ready for the main construction work.

The cost/benefit and Business Case is largely a foregone conclusion here, but it just takes so much bloody time.

prunudo

I actually thought contracts had been signed and there was a skeleton crew on site already doing propriety work.

I hadn't realised that this scheme hasn't been fully approved to go to construction yet

From Ross

I would like to advise that my Department has recently received the Business Case for the project and it is currently being reviewed and analysed by my Department's Strategic Research and Analysis Division (SRAD). The Business Case will be reviewed in the context of compliance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Public Spending Code and within my own Department's Common Appraisal Framework.

It really is little wonder roads schemes are moving so slowly. Bureaucracy squared

The original documents that this came from (which are in another thread) are along the lines of "what-ifs" so I don't think this will be delayed on account of the NBP. I hope I'm right.

Aontachtoir

marno21 wrote: »

http://www.echolive.ie/corknews/Fears-broadband-overspend-could-hit-crucial-project-to-upgrade-Dunkettle-Interchange-56da209f-408a-4c02-9629-a0fe70a60167-ds

Scaremongering. Nothing to suggest that will happen.

highwaymaniac

marno21 wrote: »

Cork getting so much investment these days what's another year for this project anyway

http://www.echolive.ie/corknews/Fears-broadband-overspend-could-hit-crucial-project-to-upgrade-Dunkettle-Interchange-56da209f-408a-4c02-9629-a0fe70a60167-ds

Hopefully a big backlash for Paschal and co.

Cork getting so much investment these days what's another year for this project anyway

http://www.echolive.ie/corknews/Fears-broadband-overspend-could-hit-crucial-project-to-upgrade-Dunkettle-Interchange-56da209f-408a-4c02-9629-a0fe70a60167-ds

To both bring this thread back on topic and to keep with the crayon designs...I still don't understand why the pedestrian/cycle design for the new interchange is so poor. A friend pointed out just one better design which I've attached as overlaid on the proposed design.

Proposal being implemented is in red/blue, alternative low-cost proposal in green.

It'd require an underpass or crossing near the new Little Island roundabout at the East, but that's as difficult as it gets.
Crosses 1 road instead of 5 by my count.
Navigates 1 Roundabout instead of 3.
Brings users directly into Eastgate.
Is all on the flat.
Much of it already exists.
No reduction in service quality for existing Ballinglanna users.

You could still implement the red section of their proposal. But that's a desired route for very few people at present.

Markcheese

At the moment the n40 isn't that packed outside of rush hours,so trucks can move, (for the moment) so rather than just building more ring roads (that'll turn into local distributor roads), maybe we should try allow more people travel comfortably by public transport,

steeler j wrote: »

park and ride off the main routes to the city

Yes and we need more fast cross-city routes too. A lot of N40 traffic is trying to go cross-city E-W and N-S.

I still think there's cheap quick wins to be had from "green corridors" even before the park and rides are implemented.

Park&Rides at:
Blarney - Commuter rail
Dunkettle - Commuter rail
Black Ash - Bus
The new Sarsfields Court / Upper Glanmire / Whites Cross link road(s) - Bus with dedicated corridor

And additional light rail at:
Mahon
Ballincollig

steeler j

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

I think most people agree that we need a NRR, both E and W sections.

My only question was around the new spur from Glanmire to the N25: this is the bit I oppose.

But we need to get commuter traffic off the N40. That's the only long-term solution.

there just ideas ,park and ride off the main routes to the city