Roadbridge has erected a big banner and the official project sign off-line at the site entrance on the N61, where the N61 will intersect with the new N5. I pulled in to take photos but they have a security guard parked in a van and he came out to ask what I was doing.
This must be where the opening ceremony is taking place on Monday. It's a dangerous location off a narrow stretch of the N61 so I'm quite surprised by this to be honest. The guards will be required to slow/direct traffic. The project sign location is probably temporary because it's facing away from the road into the site itself.
https://twitter.com/AislingDSenator/status/1450118419429396481?t=Ph9_O5GofkGW1lrwMuAEnQ&s=19
I take it the Minister for Transport wasn't there?
He doesn't attend progressive events.
Wouldn't be a good look for him, he wants to show up at tokenistic rail investment projects like Pelletstown.
Probably couldn't get a bus or a train down.
The green TD who doesn't want leave the city. No wonder he has no clue what goes on in the countryside.
Very odd sod turning ceremony there assuming there is a digger behind them that has ALREADY TURNED A SOD OR TWO
Anyone brave enough to do the mapping on OSM?
😁
I'll have a go - I did the other N5 scheme.
I don't know if you can access it as an OSM layer, but some of the recent satellite photos showed the fenced off route.
Nope, someone else did it before me. I fixed up their edits so it should appear shortly.
Wonderful, thanks! Looking forward to your next update on Irishmotorwayinfo.com
I don't want to derail the thread, but just quickly wondering why you don't have the proposed M/N4 Mullingar-Roosky route in there? It's at route selection with a project site
When is this due to actually begin?
Sure the Taoiseach was out there digging the first hole.
I'd say its pretty much starting now. Site offices etc, then within the next few weeks some works will appear.
It hasn't, that's my point. The sod was turned on Monday and nothing has arrived since. No site offices built yet.
It is mentioned on this page:
http://www.irishmotorwayinfo.com/inex/roads/m4/m4.html
It wasn't on the current scheme list as it was erroneously marked as Feasibility Study. Updated now.
http://www.irishmotorwayinfo.com/inex/roads/current.html
Construction won't be starting til spring...
will this project interfere with traffic flow on the N4 [example? Strokestown to Longford]
It shouldn't do; it's an offline build.
The only locations where it will intersect with the existing N5 are at the tie-ins at either end and between Ballinagare and Frenchpark. There will likely be delays at the latter location when it reaches that point. It will cause some disruption on the N61 at Shankill and the regional roads from Elphin to Strokestown and Ballinagare to Elphin.
That's not what is said there. They will be able to do site setup, prepare haul roads, etc. with "big construction" visible next spring.
The clock for completion started ticking when they received a Letter of Acceptance.
The plan for the winter,is to break out rock and put a haul road down through it,the big muck shift wont start tell that's all done first.
Still nothing started yet on this project. I travel along the route regularly & there hasn't been any activity since the sod-turning. I took the photos below this evening at the main entrance to the site on the N61 between Shankill Cross and Killina.
As of today, the 22nd of November, there's still no activity on this project. I took the photo above this afternoon. It's over a month since the sod was turned by Mícheál Martin, to much fanfare. At this stage, it appears it'll likely be January before Roadbridge starts on this.
I spotted some surveyors this morning at the top end of Strokestown, where the roundabout off the new road ties in with the Elphin rd.
Would guess they are either surveying for topographic maps for final design of that new link road, or could be setting up the set-out points for construction.
Any sign of the diggers yet?
No, they won't be starting til the new year at this stage. They said the main construction wouldn't start until Spring. It could well be that this was a literal statement as nothing has happened since the sod turning.
I took the photos below today where the N5 will intersect with the R361 Williamstown to Boyle Road south of Frenchpark. I travelled the route from the main entrance on the N61 through to Shankill and Mantua along the R369 Elphin to Ballinagare. There were felled trees being gathered in Mantua but that was all I saw.
A total of €51,688,000 has been allocated to this project in 2022 roads allocations from TII. All systems go!
Looks by the job description below this job has got secretly upgraded to Motorway status😁
https://roadbridge.ie/about-us/careers/design-coordinator-engineer/
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://wc.vanillicon.com/v2/cc38044cce9774ce82f7df09af16d76b.svg)
