theguzman wrote: » The temporary speed limit of 60km/h has since been raised to 80km/h, when this is finished (hopefully soon) will the Motorway (M7 mainline) revert to 120km/h?
Darc19 wrote: » There seems to be a lot of bridge building experts here now. Siac / colas should have just handed the project over to the boards specialists at the beginning.
_Kaiser_ wrote: » I do love how some here seem to get almost personally offended when questions are raised around some of the decisions made or the way this project has been run. This elitist and dismissive "where's your qualifications then" attitude doesn't take away from the fact that significant elements of this project could have been far better managed - the communications around finishing dates for example, or the decision to restrict the entire length of works from the start - and then leave 50% of it idle for months on end causing unnecessary traffic issues, or releasing ill-judged PR puff pieces with drone shots and "bigging up" their team's expertise in the midst of all this. Bottom line here is that there are certainly lessons to be learned from how this project was handled.. from inception through the actual works through delivery. Whether those lessons WILL be learned however is a different matter!
Last Stop wrote: » I also fail to see how a company promoting itself completing a multi-million euro job in a bid to win other work can be used as propaganda against it. You’re hardly suggesting that the drone footage (which has been praised on other projects) delayed the construction?
_Kaiser_ wrote: » I'm suggesting that releasing slow mo drone shots with lots of self congratulating text overlays and people standing around in spotless hi-viz looking busy set to some generic music is a bit much when they can't even handle effective communication with their current stakeholders, have let this project drag on far longer than it needed to given the importance of this route (although the Government are as much to blame for that one), and unnecessarily caused massive traffic delays by sectioning off several km of road and then doing nothing for months. And absolutely does anyone who uses that road and who has been impacted by all this have a right to call these things out and be dissatisfied.. The hours and productivity lost over the last few years because of these decisions must be huge, not to mention of course that as taxpayers we're all paying for this. I don't give a toss about the company involved or it's next job. I care about effective delivery of this one. Next time? I'd expect to see round the clock and weekend operations as much as possible (accepting that some tasks can't be done at night) , lane restrictions only when needed, and both an early completion bonus AND penalties for any delays. This "ah shure it'll be grand" approach when it comes to vital infrastructure needs to end.
regedit wrote: » I seem to get the impression that a pompous small group of elitist posters in this forum seem to be suggesting (inferring) that they are self-entitled to positioning themselves as either 'architects' or 'engineers' and if anyone challenges any aspect of the poor project management of this road widening project, they come up asking for credentials, expertise etc. Is it not easier for these to move on if you don't agree with someone's comment or to post their comments in dedicated architecture and construction forums?
Last Stop wrote: » It’s more to do with the fact that people come on here complaining about various aspects of the job without any appreciation of the work involved or an understanding of how these jobs work. It’s infuriating to see people make suggestions such as late fees or night works as if someone hasn’t already thought of it and either ruled it out for a variety of reasons or applied it to the job (as is the case with late fees). This latest debate centered around the suggestion that the bridge is designed to be narrow to deter trucks or that it’s narrow because the brand new bridge is tiny. Previous to that a comment was made that the road is perfectly capable of doing 120kmph with nothing to back it up when the design drawings show below standard lane widths. I’d have no issue with someone coming on here and pointing out a genuine flaw or poor project management but that hasn’t been the case. Moaning about these kind of aspects instead of focusing on the scale of the project that has been delivered leaves a sour taste.
regedit wrote: » Re the speed at present, if you're doing 100 km an hour, trucks are al overtaking you so 120 km/h seems to be the norm.
Cookiemunster wrote: » You do know that your post could be turned around 180 degrees? As in a pompous group of posters who don't have any idea about the management of a road widening project coming on here and shouting down anyone who may know what they're talking about because they don't like being stuck in road works. Just saying like. And as to the second part of your post, well, it's a discussion forum and people are entitled to post their opinions, even if you disagree with them. It would be a pretty boring place if that wasn't the case.
Hotblack Desiato wrote: » Whatever happened to 90km/h limiters on HGVs... and banning them from the outer lane? This is a real danger on the roads but there appears to be next to no enforcement of it. And if they've bypassed the limiter you can bet they've bypassed the tacho as well.
WishUWereHere wrote: » Fair post but why are those who 'don't have an idea' pompous? Yes they might have different views, but does that make them pompous/engineers? If everyone was to be politically correct, we might as well not have boards. As You say in Your 2nd paragraph, this is a discussion forum. Personally, I have stopped participating on this forum ( yes I still read as some people Mr. Kennedy for example, upload updates which are very helpful ), and have also put one person on my ignore list, because ( to me ) they come across as being the rightous one and everyone else is wrong/pompous/engineers/rocketscientists. Why can't we just agree to disagree without resorting to name calling?
regedit wrote: » I like this post. As in every field, there's people who know more than others on a specific topic. I am an expert in ABC and if I am on a non-ABC I don't resort to slating the posters unless there's safety issues involved but I shake my head and move on. I use my own expertise specifically in those ABC forums. People with a sense of entitlement often come here to try letting us know know inept we are! Way easier to just ignore the post rather than start asking for credentials, expertise etc... In this instance, 1-2 posters went after _Kaiser_ whose posts I really enjoy reading as he/she is always logical and pragmatic. My last post on this topic so will move on to actual M widening now
WishUWereHere wrote: » Back to the works, anyone have any idea when the exit SB @ J10 will be complete?
Last Stop wrote: » Wow I don’t know which is more baffling: 1) your level of self-entitlement 2) your lack of knowledge of how major engineering projects work I think I’ll leave it at that rather than dissecting your post and all it’s errors
Graniteville wrote: » Massive amount of work was done in the summer. Remember, a full new drainage system was required. Over 30 teams were working a full 40 hours a week and still are. You could have 20 teams working daytime and 10 working night, just to give people like you a good feeling, but in the real world it does not work. Project is well ahead of time (good weather helped) and will be open in just over 3 months.
Graniteville wrote: » I'll just give a small amount of information. Currently there are in excess of thirty crews working on this project. It is on time. The three lanes will be fully open by Easter weekend next year. The sallins bypass and osberstown junction will open fully by September next year. As for 24/7 works? Totally unfeasible. Fine for simple works such as asphalt laying, but not for anything else. Health and safety would be one issue. Cost (multiple times that of daylight working) is another. Errors due to lack of light is a third. In any case, with almost 15km of works plus two new junctions, plus the sallins bypass, there's space and work for all available teams and project managers in normal hours. One customer says the time delay suits the overall contractor?? How can he/she work that out. Cost is the same whether finished in April or September. If it's not delivered on time, fines are gigantic. It was a competitive tender. Development time is as important as cost. Huge benefits of finishing early including having contractors move to next project and bragging rights that can help win other contracts. Easter week 2019 is the date.
WishUWereHere wrote: » And what qualifications have you to ascertain that you can pick out errors?
Deleted User wrote: » December 2018 November 2018 As a reminder, these were some of the 'expert' posts with 'insider knowledge' that people were bowing down and worshipping and insisting were unquestionable. How do they look in retrospect? Ah yeah, you need to be a civil engineer to be able to look at evidence, facts or approach something rationally and/or logically. The ironic thing is that the people arguing such aren't even bright enough to be aware that it's one of the most common logical fallacies.
Last Stop wrote: » I’ll probably get attacked for saying this and I really don’t need much experience to point out the errors but would a degree in civil engineering and 10+ years of project management experience be sufficient for you? To clarify the errors I was referring to: 1) round the clock working has been ruled out for a variety of reasons 2) 2 lanes were maintained throughout the job. 3) delay penalties are in place.
Deleted User wrote: » Mate, you're the guy I caught spoofing badly a few months back pretending you had expert inside knowledge. You claimed facts and when I asked for any evidence for such claimed facts, you suddenly changed the goalposts and started talking about how it was a 'best guess'. You're everything that's wrong with this thread. Your sole contribution has been telling us what an equilateral triangle is and then pretending that understanding it means you can condescend to everyone and blatantly make up false claims. There are plenty of annoying posters who just come on here to rant and moan and ask for the moon and the stars so that the project is completed quicker. At least they aren't claiming inherent legitimacy - which is disingenuous bordering on dishonest. Personally, I dislike dishonesty more than posters who are just frustrated and can safely be ignored.
WishUWereHere wrote: » I'm not going to get into an argument with You. I have no choice but to believe Your credentials. I am only commenting as one of those eejits sitting every evening on the N/M 7 while the works were ongoing, looking at machinery lying idle after 17h00, and weekends also not fully utilised, especially for last summer when it was one of the best ever. Question: What are the reasons for not working round the clock? Please don't tell me about H&S - there are road works on the M50 & the speed is still 100kph.
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