N8/N25/N40 - Dunkettle Interchange [under construction]

Worrying to think that even when the works are fully completed the whole city will still be gridlocked if we see the same thing we saw yesterday with an overnight vehicle blocking one bore and a breakdown in the other.

The free flow tunnel to city still has not been touched, they will be doing well to get that opened before the end of Feb as mentioned in the newsletter.

I think that one really won't make much difference until the roundabout is removed. At pretty much all times that lane is jammed by cars waiting at the lights, so nice as it would be, I think it won't help that much.

My next wild prediction is that they'll do two things together next

• Open the Tivoli - N40S loop but terminate it at the roundabout next to the M8 for now. That will allow the current Tivoli - Roundabout slip to be closed and another set of traffic lights removed.
• Redirect N25W to N40S traffic down under the new bridges to the south of the current slip and plug it into the current setup where the Little Island road joins at the slip traffic lights. Then they can demolish the current slip and build the new Little Island south roundabout to N25W bridge.

Braving the racetrack once again the racetrack at Dunkettle Interchange, where the works are poorly designed, badly managed, and you take your life as being at risk by following the posted the speed limit, I've once again come away shaking from more aggressive displays of driving.

The speed limit here for some reason is 60kph, and the management of the roadworks have decided to also this week close off one lane almost all the way to Little Island heading Eastbound, with the lane to go to Little Island now performing the function of a regular road traffic lane, that you have to somehow get out of and merge into the 80-100kph traffic going past, if you want to do something other than head towards Glounthaune.

My attempt to do so tonight was met with flashing lights and horns from drivers going too fast who thought that my doing 60kph was too slow, as I needed to move into the lane next to me to get where I needed to go, instead of going where I didn't want to.

Has there been any discussion with the management of these works as to the considerable risk their bad management of these works poses? I've complained and have in response been gaslighted with claims that they 'monitor the traffic speed' with the aim of adjusting if necessary. Most would call that lying, as there is no evidence that the entire design of the works and speed limits is anything other than an exercise of box ticking and 'sure what can you do'.

They do of course have the sporadic exercise of a clearly marked van parked with a speed camera. That everyone dutifully slows down for, in those brief moments on those isolated days of the month that it is there. Outside of which the average speed limit must be at least 80kph, with many doing well in excess of that.

If I cause, or suffer an accident, from driving at the speed limit, due to another driving behaving with the reckless abandon that Irish drivers do when they aren't subject to the immediate scrutiny of a camera (because there is nothing else, apparently available in the toolkit other than lazy policing), will the Gards and the management of these roadworks pretend they didn't know the problem existed?

You'd have to be blind to miss it, but I expect somehow 'no one could have known' would be the response?

Please, can something be done about the speeding, which is more than just the odd driver every now and then. It's just about everyone going well over the speed limit if they can, any time of the day. I shouldn't have to choose between protecting myself from risk by similarly speeding, or risking my own safety by complying with the speed limits while almost no one else does with impunity.

AnnoyedOfMidleton says, If I cause, or suffer an accident, from driving at the speed limit, due to another driving behaving with the reckless abandon that Irish drivers do when they aren't subject to the immediate scrutiny of a camera (because there is nothing else, apparently available in the toolkit other than lazy policing), will the Gards and the management of these roadworks pretend they didn't know the problem existed?

Over twenty years ago I saw a temporary average speed camera set up installed at roadworks in the UK, everybody was strictly obeying the posted speed limit. So yes, there is the perfect solution for managing speed at roadworks. Why law enforcement doesn't provide that facility here I just don't know. If it's a cost thing then why not build it into the project budget?

3 movements need to be facilitated so that all traffic lights are moved from the tunnel exit.

1. Tunnel to city slip road (Not too far off).
2. The loop for City to tunnel traffic will need to open.
3. M8 South to City. This is the tricky one. This will require the Dumbbell to City slip to open. For that to open, the N25 west to Roundabout slip needs to move to its new alignment.

I think N25 west to M8 north traffic will be forced to continue to the Dunkettle Interchange and forced to double back for potentially 6 months or more.

I've found traffic in the last few weeks is getting worse coming out of Little Island. Last Thursday took the piss with it really cos of the incidents (took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to get out of Eastgate) but I've found a fair few days have been bad. Hopefully something gets sorted there soon

I likely strolled psst your car that day, I think the 1 lane to tunnel for last week didn't help and then the truck made it even worse. I'd hope when it's all open that there should only be minor traffic in Eastgatez coukd be ambitious though

Can average speed cameras work there given the regular layout changes mean mean times also changing?

even non averaging ones would be fine. They need to be there there all the time tho.

I think they will be, or will mostly be. Perhaps with the roundabout still in situ, I'm not sure.

In theory they have to have it all done within the next 12 months anyway, cos that is when they are contracted to finish!

Shoutout to Dronehawk who has served us so well. That video is a masterpiece, both artistically and in terms of communicating how successfully the target of free flow is being achieved. And bonus points for catching a fully lit night train as it rode the junction.

It really shows just how much has been achieved at the interchange, relatively painlessly. Have to say I remain in awe of the project planners who scheduled so many interconnected pieces to accomplish this with 80k traffic movements per day throughout.

Agree. Capturing the train in the shot was great.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. If you remember Cork traffic in the 90's, the tunnel couldn't wait any longer, they couldn't risk more delays with more infrastructure needed at the junction.

Hindsight might be a wonderful thing but foresight is even better.

If there was a bit more foresight we wouldn't have so much of what was done 'yesterday' needing to be ripped up and redone 'tomorrow'.

As the saying goes, 'buy cheap buy twice'. In the case of so many infrastructure projects, it's 'build cheap build twice'.

There's not many infrastructure projects that survive forever, they all have to change with demographics.