Lengthy document on the development of the Coolyhane Road Upper overbridge by the contractors. Fascinating level of detail.
Lads yer all gone very quiet.
New overbridge at Kilnagurteen opened on December 3rd. New underbridge alignment at Ballyveerane just east of there is now also complete.
Storm Barra blew down much of the anti-rubbernecking hoarding at the Coolcour junction. Work is progressing at pace behind it and works on the new junction at Coolcour will likely commence in 2022.
New newsletter:
Interestingly, all structure works east of the Cill na Martra road (near Mons Bar) are now complete bar possibly some works on the Sullane bridge. Drainage works are complete from Millstreet Road to the Foherish river also.
Given how much more advanced this section is than west of there (which isn't very advanced at all in parts), you'd have to wonder if there's any thought being given to an early opening, but the mechanics of this (where the western tie in would be) are tricky. An opening to Millstreet Road would be very straightforward but possibly just lead to lots of rat runs.
Opening from Coolcower as far as Millstreet Rd would make a huge difference to traffic in Macroom town centre - anyone heading for Kerry would no longer be driving through the main street of Macroom.
If it could be done without delaying the whole project, I think it would be a welcome relief for people living in Macroom.
Even if that section was opened with cones down the centre, one lane each way, and subject to a 60 km/h limit, it would still be better for through traffic than driving through Macroom.
Nice update here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCrHwcZVT00
Great update. Really starting to take shape now. They’re at it gung ho again at Coolcower since resuming after Christmas and the final alignment is really taking shape there
When this opens will it make Dublin - Killarney via Cork more attractive than via Limerick (time, reliability, comfort)?
About the only thing that td contributes to roads.
The scale and complexity of the engineering on this project is so impressive, far more so than for the inter-urban motorways. It will be a fantastic drive when it's done.
some digging being done at the county bounds..! the farmer at coolyhane unfortunately has had a fair chunk of land taken off him as well as the new road being right alongside his farmyard.... it will take a bit of getting used to for them to see so much traffic close to their home.... i wonder will it be long before we see a dual carriageway all the way to Cork city...?? pity google maps dont update their pictures of the area to give us an aerial view of the new road
I'd agree with you about the scale (and the engineering challenge), but for me the number one complex roads project in the country at the moment is Dunkettle. Holy God it's a headscratcher.
A long time I'd say unfortunately. There's no plan to deal with Macroom to Ballincollig as it currently stands. I'd say the current project will need to be completed in order for the Lissarda stretch to become a higher priority item.
It's not terrible from Lissarda to Ballincollig, but Coolcower to Lissarda is bad enough.
Wrong thread, but yep Dunkettle is like 3D chess or something. The most complex roads project I've witnessed for a good few years.
Definitely only try to avoid hitting the Jack Lynch tunnel early am and late pm if returning Killarney Dublin. I always go via Cork anyway even it means the second toll, Killarney - Limerick is one long drawl with 5 towns and there continuous drag of slow speed limits and traffic jams Abbeyfeale- Templeglantine - NewcastleWest - Croagh and the notorious Adare. The entire stretch should be 2X2 and alot of it could be upgraded easily without a new road build.
Any likelihood of this happening? Or will they only open it when it's fully finished?
I don't believe it was in the original budget/schedule/plan, to partially open.
Nah. It was never planned to open in phases. And looking at the latest drone footage, I don’t even think the Eastern section would be ready that much before the Western one anymore: it might allow traffic to use the new route around Macroom a couple of months early, but doing so could delay the full opening by twice that. Not worth it, I think.
50km/h limit in place at Coolcower until 23/12/22.
Work to commence on the eastern tie in roundabout ?
Traffic will be some mess there when the heavy works commence especially when the peak summer season starts with everything open this summer and the usual Kerry traffic. Friday evenings will be like Game of Thrones.
If coming from Killarney, isn't it already better to go via Mallow and join the M8 at Mitchelstown? It is a bit of a slog but no worse than the Killarney-Limerick.
You'll have to explain the game of thrones reference 😂
This road project will feature on Wednesday's Nationwide @ 7pm on RTE One.
Our very crazy Mr Dronehawk, has just posted a new video of the scheme from east to west. Its 11mins long and goes along the whole scheme. Remember 11 - 13mins is roughly how long it'll take to drive, so its been sped up to real-time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYv6I3SeInM
This is wonderful. Great perspective on the entire 22km.
I can't help but notice when watching this how much more far advanced the scheme is from Coolcower to Bothar Cill na Martra. West of there is months behind the eastern section. At Toon Lain, it becomes much more advanced again and is very advanced from there to the Big Cut just west of the Bohill Bridge where it drops back again from there to Slievereagh.
You'd wonder would a partial opening from Coolcower to the Mons Bar be possible? The underbridge at the Mons Bar is the only major structure on the entire scheme yet to commence.
Terrific video, thank you for linking. This is going to be a beautiful drive when it finally opens.
Such an impressive project when seen end-to-end on that video.
Bloodbath ? With everyone out for themselves ...maybe ..
…or how about: “starts off fine, but then gets bogged down and ends in a confusing mess that nobody’s happy about” if you mean the TV programme, or “starts okay, but gets slower and slower until it grinds to a halt, and everyone’s given up hope that it’ll ever be resolved”, if you’re talking about the books.
The last line could apply to the Galway bypass!
He's posted another video today, Jan 2021 vs Jan 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj1XNunPBnw
50km/h signs finally now up at Coolcower. Looks like work should begin there shortly.
The alignment of the new road looks very advanced along here. The weather since Xmas has been incredible for this kind of work so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are ahead of schedule along this stretch.
Itll be interesting to see how they manage the tie in given the heavy traffic and the narrow nature of the existing road.
