N5 - Westport to Turlough [open to traffic]

25-04-2022 9:47am

Any update on the Road ? Have the contractors walked off site ?

muddle84 · 25-04-2022 2:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118963321#Comment_118963321

I drove from Newport to Westport this morning and there was plenty of work going on. Lots of machines working, I didn't see any machines parked up not working!

godskitchen · 25-04-2022 7:12pm

Yes, machines working, nothing or very little belonging to wills.

26-04-2022 9:46am

Can you tell me why has Will Bros walked off the job and what impact do you think this will have ?

muddle84 · 26-04-2022 12:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118975688#Comment_118975688

I saw one of their dozers working and Kirrane's machines too as well as other hire machines which would all have been hired into Wills as the main contractor. If the main contractor had walked offsite there would be no work happening at all.

DumbBrunette · 26-04-2022 8:21pm

FWIW, the road works speed limit orders for this scheme are being extended to 5 May 2023, which lines up with the Q2 completion date the council has been referring to recently.

A lot of the road could be finished before then, but there is still a lot of work to be done in the Westport area.

godskitchen · 26-04-2022 10:50pm

You could well be right, plenty of talk from businesses in the area about they have pulled off site.

Maybe someone can shed some light on the tendering process and contracts in relation to how fuel price rises are accounted for?

FreedomOfSpeechAndChoice · 27-04-2022 6:29am

FWIW?

What does that mean?

KrisW1001 · 27-04-2022 8:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118982131#Comment_118982131

"For What It’s Worth"

muddle84 · 27-04-2022 10:25am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118981643#Comment_118981643

To the best of my knowledge the cost is locked in with the contract as is completion dates. Extras always appear and thats where the contractor will have increases in the agreed price. As far as i know diesel would be part of the fixed price so I would say that Wills are being hit hard with that as whatever contigency they would have allowed for wouldn't have accounted for the current situation.

If the main contractor walks off the site they are breaking their part of the contract and they won't get paid, and I think leave themselves open to being sued?

godskitchen · 27-04-2022 9:11pm

Yes, may well be taken to court, but not probable I'd say. It's walk off site or go out of business, if the price of diesel is the issue.

No way any company could carry the price increase we have seen over the last couple of months.

FreedomOfSpeechAndChoice · 28-04-2022 7:37am

Thanks.

prunudo · 28-04-2022 7:37am

Could it just be that Wills have taken their own machinery off site and kept the subbies on board. Means they aren't exposed to the diesel price rises and the contractors take the pain. Not right but could be what they're doing.

muddle84 · 28-04-2022 10:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118986767#Comment_118986767

Their machines are still on site and unless they've changed their approach they used always supply diesel to the sub contractors, so the sub contractors wouldn't be affected by diesel increases! Mind you its 10 odd years since I worked for a sub contractor for Wills!!

Westernyelp · 28-04-2022 1:46pm

Are Wills actually off those job or is it just nonsense talk by said poster?

Cookiemunster · 28-04-2022 1:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118988260#Comment_118988260

As I posted elsewhere, if they'd walked off the job 6 weeks ago there would be far wider coverage by now than a single poster on boards.ie. Not a single media outlet has reported it, not even the local ones.

KrisW1001 · 28-04-2022 3:19pm

I suspect that all that’s happened is the contractor has re-scheduled some of their more fuel-hungry tasks that need heavy plant into the future, in the hope that the price of diesel will be lower by then.

DumbBrunette · 29-04-2022 4:35pm

With all this talk of Wills walking off site, I went for a look around the Westport end of the scheme today. There was a lot of activity and workers visible, as many as ever. There were Wills vans around too. The main things I noticed were:

Earthworks were in full swing on the N59 section and on the Westport relief road behind Allergan, with the giant Volvo trucks full of earth passing every 5 minutes along this section;

Pile driving was ongoing all morning on the boggy section of the Westport relief road;

There were loads (too many to count) of McGuire haulage trucks on the roads around Westport, I think they were hauling stone for the scheme;

Tie-in works were underway at the Sheeaun road overbridge with loads of stone being dropped and spread as I watched;

Surfacing of the mainline and installation of drainage is continuing east of Sheeaun, with concrete being poured today for the roadside drainage kerbs on the westbound lanes at Derradda, while the wearing course has just gone down on the eastbound lanes. There was so much construction traffic on the mainline passing under the Derradda bridge it looked like the road was already open 😀;

There was very visible progress in all the locations I visited compared to the last time I was there, only 2/3 weeks ago. Now some pics, not great quality so sorry about that. All from today.

Concrete being poured at Derradda:

Earthworks at Barleyhill:

Piling at Attireesh:

Volvo truck passing over the new greenway underpass on the N59:

And earthworks on the Westport relief road, at the new roundabout at the back of Allergan:

HBC08 · 29-04-2022 4:42pm

The overpass at Breaffy/kilkenny Cross is also opened as of today.

mayo.mick · 02-05-2022 10:57pm

https://youtu.be/6k9h7aZ7pIc

DumbBrunette · 27-05-2022 10:09pm

I went for a drive again today and a lot of progress has been made on the road in the last 4 weeks, especially around Westport. Some highlights:

The Sheeaun road overbridge and approaches have been tarmaced and it looks like the bridge could open in a few weeks if not sooner.

The Islandeady overbridge is open for pedestrians and surfacing is nearly done on the link to the old N5. I could see this bridge opening fully by the end of June.

At Drumneen overbridge (behind the Halfway House) the bridge deck is now in place and there was a big crew with a crane working on the bridge today.

At Attireesh in Westport where piles are being driven to support the road, much of the concrete for the road foundation has been poured. Kerbing and surfacing work has started on the N5/N59 roundabout going towards Westport industrial park.

The final surface has been laid on most of the project now, with gaps at Sheeaun and Drumneen where the bridges aren't finished yet, and around the N60 crossing. The Westport relief road and N59 section are well behind though, with earthworks still being completed.

Some more pics:

On the Islandeady overbridge, which is open for pedestrians but the entrance in the distance from the 'old' N5 is still closed to cars.

The Sheeaun overbridge from the north, this looks like it could open in weeks.

mayo.mick · 29-05-2022 5:32pm

https://youtu.be/NGMu7GnsjbQ

Update from Friday

DumbBrunette · 02-06-2022 10:15pm

Bit of a moany article about the new N5, but you'd have to sympathise with the residents here. The rock breaking has been going on far longer than the council told them it would.

https://www.mayonews.ie/news/38432-it-s-psychological-torture

muddle84 · 03-06-2022 10:05am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119151384#Comment_119151384

But sure the council didn't know the pandemic was going to hit! It must be hard going without a doubt though, but there is still a lot of moaning there. Are they going to take in a family from Ukraine when the rockbreaking stops?

KrisW1001 · 03-06-2022 12:16pm

From the article, the rockbreaking continued all through the pandemic, so that’s hardly an excuse.

muddle84 · 03-06-2022 1:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153141#Comment_119153141

But thats not true! That job was shut down for the first lockdown if i remember correctly.It did keep going through the second lockdown in fairness.

thomas385 · 03-06-2022 3:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153444#Comment_119153444

From the Westport side, it definitely stopped for the first 3/4 weeks of the first lockdown but was operating again by the end of March 2020

DumbBrunette · 08-06-2022 7:33pm

Sheeaun road overbridge outside Westport to open this week.

WBEngineer · 15-06-2022 10:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119153444#Comment_119153444

Utter nonsense. The UK contractor was back on site after a 5 week stoppage, mid April. Those two rock breakers and a third excavater were the only workers permitted to continue working thorugh the Covid lockdown across the N5/N59 project. The six other rocker breakers did not return for another four weeks.

muddle84 · 15-06-2022 12:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119205523#Comment_119205523

So are you saying that I am wrong and COVID didn't slow that section down or that COVID did slow it down? Not sure if you're agreeing with me or not!

KrisW1001 · 15-06-2022 12:25pm

Your post read: "That job was shut down for the first lockdown". That is not the case, because the rock-breaking paused only for 5 weeks, and then resumed for the rest of that lockdown and continued through the second one.

So, while the first Covid lockdown slowed the rock-breaking down by only 5 weeks, the main reason it has been delayed for so long is due to the site containing unexpectedly hard stone, as stated by Mayo County Council in the original article.

DumbBrunette · 15-06-2022 10:28pm

https://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/129939/n5-westport-turlough-road-project-progressing-well

Update of sorts from the council, basically everything is on track for a Q2 2023 opening.

veryangryman · 15-06-2022 11:23pm

Final nail in the coffin of any roads being opened in 2022. Can we update thread title for the completion year

DumbBrunette · 19-06-2022 9:36pm

Nice new pics of progress on the Castlebar bypass section of the project, between the N84 and Derrylea roundabout.

Pics courtesy of Jack Walsh drone photography. More below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce_D-lXterE/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Paddico · 22-06-2022 2:32pm

Looks like only single carriage in that one

KrisW1001 · 22-06-2022 4:07pm

Yes, it’s because there’s nothing that lets you see how wide the bridge is. The second, fourth and fifth pictures in that gallery are the same bridge from different angles, but there are vehicles visible, so you can really see how wide the main road is.

Cookiemunster · 22-06-2022 4:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119234983#Comment_119234983

There's a big yellow dump truck and a white van in those pics to give scale. It in no way looks like it's only a single carriageway.

DumbBrunette · 24-06-2022 6:35pm

Latest from the N59 section of the project - still a lot to do here. Pic by Jack Walsh drone photography.

Baldilocks · 24-06-2022 9:52pm

Is it just me, or are they completely dragging the arse out of this section??

There seems to be minimal progress on this in the last 12 months

irishgeo · 25-06-2022 12:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119245948#Comment_119245948

The fact the existing n59 crosses it 5 or 6 times i imagine hasnt helped

DumbBrunette · 25-06-2022 10:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119247659#Comment_119247659

It was always going to be messy with 6 crossing points in 2km on the N59, plus the Greenway crossing. Despite that, it's been even slower than I expected. The Cregnahorna road is closed until August and the Slaugar road until October, which doesn't bode well for an early finish.

Cosmo Kramer · 27-06-2022 9:27am

Are they still planning to open the whole scheme at the same time? Surely it would make more sense to open the main N5 section to the edge of Westport when it's ready and then continue construction on the N59 part which is way behind at this point.

Otherwise there will be an almost finished N5 left closed for months because the N59 has fallen so far off the original schedule.

DumbBrunette · 27-06-2022 9:14pm

https://twitter.com/kieranryanphoto/status/1541366668613632000?t=VdT_f5R8awkjhEsLabLiDQ&s=19

Speaking of the N59 section 😒🌧️

JupiterKid · 29-06-2022 1:50pm

Good progress being made - I think it's very possible that the Castlebar bypass section may open first if the Westport end is still behind.

Is there any drone footage of the latest progress on this scheme?

We've seen lots of photos lately but some drone fly-through footage would be great!

DumbBrunette · 10-07-2022 8:53pm

The N5/N84 junction is nearing completion, with landscaping works complete and lighting columns in place on the slip roads and mainline. Pics courtesy of Jack Walsh drone photography.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf19yzCtAAZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Westernview · 12-07-2022 3:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119318990#Comment_119318990

Looks great. The landscaping really adds to it. Didn't realise it would have lighting. Is this the case for all bridges with slip roads?

DumbBrunette · 13-07-2022 7:52am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327133#Comment_119327133

Yes, I think it's standard for all major junctions to have lighting.

JupiterKid · 13-07-2022 2:16pm

Great photos and they show just how advanced the Eastern end of the scheme is currently.

Given how badly behind the Westport section has fallen, I think that there is a strong possibility that the scheme will now open in two stages, with the Castlebar bypass section possibly open before the end of this year based on the progress made.

DumbBrunette · 13-07-2022 11:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119331526#Comment_119331526

Westport to Castlebar is well advanced too, it's only the Westport relief road and N59 section that are really lagging behind.

noserider · 15-07-2022 12:04am

Are there noise mitigation measures in place for houses near the new road? And if so where would I find out the locations of such measures?

TIA

N5 - Westport to Turlough [open to traffic]

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