road_high wrote: » Coming down the M7 Friday night I noticed they still had the exit countdown signs in place for the now defunct and sealed Naas South/Rathangan exit? Seems like a pretty major omission not to lift those as they could be very dangerous in the dark for a motorist only familiar with the old turnoff and not concentrating fully. Surely not a big job to lift and move those- god knows they've been fannying around for long enough.
antietam1 wrote: » Think the turn for Dublin was closed few weeks ago.
pad199207 wrote: » Two hours to Heuston station using the N7 this morning
road_high wrote: » From where?
thebiglad wrote: » Well what would it be like without the additonal lane capacity - at least they have done something...
harr wrote: » If they intend not to open 9a as the contractor stated why such a flurry of work on that junction. Drove by this morning and they seemed to be in the finishing stages ... they are sweeping the roads and removing covers from signs and also I noticed they were starting to remove some of the temporary fencing beside Kerry foods. Why bother put so much emphasis here when they say it isn’t opening till March 2020... if not opening 9a then why not have a bigger drive to sort out the Newbridge-Naas road which is all over the place and in some parts dangerous..
tom1ie wrote: » Yeah- wasted a load of money they could have put into PT!!
BuzzFish wrote: » Absolutely no idea. All the mainline signage is still correct as sallins and clane traffic would use 9a immediately but just access them via millennium park. Should be easy to open it. If I'd not had the email personally I'd not have believed it as they do look like they're putting finishing touches to it.
SoupyNorman wrote: » I’d say there were quite a few commuters avoiding the N7 during roadworks, they’re back on it now adding to volume.I’m extremely pleased with the upgrade. I come from Athy to Red Cow and my commute up is roughly the same (50-55mins) however there are days I can do it in 45 mins which was unheard of pre works.
emfifty wrote: » I'm told from a reliable source that mid December, interchange will be open. Here's hoping.
Emme wrote: » What time do you leave in the morning? 4am? When I drive I take a similar route and it never takes me less than 55 minutes from the tailback which starts just beyond the Naas ball to the Red Cow. It takes 55 minutes to get from Bluebell to Newlands Cross if I leave at 5pm. There must be far less traffic in the Soupy universe or else you travel at times when the traffic is very light.
road_high wrote: » I was looking for a direction on Google maps and they appear to have the Sallins bypass open? Which I assume is a mistake
harr wrote: » Just checked on apple maps and yes it’s bringing you up 9A and out the new bypass...that’s going to catch a few people out...I wouldn’t be surprised to see people using it or trying to use it...
Darc19 wrote: » The M7 has been completed on time. Any official documents say end of 2019 for completion of mainline and spring 2020 for Sallins bypass. The bypass doesn't have the health and safety aspects of a very busy road meters from the works.
Tileman wrote: » Would you ever change the tune. You’ve been spouting the same nonsense all year. Even when the contractors announced they were opening the 3 lanes each way back in April and ended up opening them in July.
jmkennedyie wrote: » Looks like Apple Maps, not Google Maps. Google Maps has no Sallins bypass on regular website or Google Maps Android App. Bypass is visible on Maps.Me Android App because it comes from openstreetmap data, but Maps.Me does not route over it because it is marked under construction. I don't know how to test Apple Maps.
Darc19 wrote: » Here's the press release from 2017 “The awarding of today’s contract with SIAC/Colas JV is a milestone and ensures that the much needed widening works on the M7 can commence and will be completed by Autumn 2019. The contract covers the widening of the M7 to 3 lanes from the Junction 9 (the big ball) to the M7/M9 interchange, the Sallins bypass and the construction of a new interchange at Osberstown near Kerry Group. “Based on the award of this contract, it is anticipated that the overall project will be completed by Spring 2020 with the M7 anticipated to be completed by Autumn 2019. This scheme represents an overall investment of €110m.
MaceFace wrote: » Regarding the argument that rather than working on the M7, the money should have been invested into public transport... It's worth remembering that the widening of the M7 to 3 lanes cost €55m. To put it into perspective, the Luas extension from Belgard to Saggart (isn't that the length of that extended line) was €150m. Taking it at a very basic level, to run the Luas to Naas, it would cost €450m as it is 15km from Saggart to Naas as opposed to 5km from Belgard to Saggart. The Luas is also loss making, and with demand between Naas and Saggart/Tallaght likely low to very low outside of core commuting times, it is highly likely it would be a significant ongoing cost to the taxpayer. Also average journey times from Naas to Connolly would probably be around 65-70 mins, and considering a large proportion of commuters live and work away from these two hubs, door to door commuting times could be significantly more. I do however believe that as a main artery into the city, more investment is needed but it should be part of a much larger strategy. Have a multi-billion investment strategy to develop housing and infrastructure all along the N7 with frequent high speed public transport as a key part. There is a tremendous amount of green space in this area that anyone who travels by car or train will see - green fields from just past Clondalkin to Naas.
riddlinrussell wrote: » I think suggesting that it wouldn't make sense to run the Luas out to Naas is fairly disingenuous, I highly doubt anyone suggesting public transport solutions wants the Luas to run out that far. Public transport solutions for Naas and beyond should be taking the form of: Increased bus service at peak times, bus lanes along the N7 Increased train frequency from Kildare/Newbridge/Sallins P+R facilities for all the above/moving stations to facilitate P+R. Rail improvements up to and including quad tracking to Sallins/Newbridge or whatever engineers deem best to ramp up train frequency. Dart to Hazelhatch resulting in Sallins commuters only ever having two stops to Heuston (Hazelhatch for transfers/Heuston) increasing speed of commute.
Sam Russell wrote: » Why would anyone extend the Luas to Naas when there is already a heavy rail serving it? Dart Expansion as far as Sallins is a more valid proposal. A more extensive P&R at Sallins would help. Whatever about the expansion of the N7, this is a valid PT proposal than any Luas one. Luas is already over capacity on both lines. Trams are more appropriate for city centre than suburbs.
