Dublin - BusConnects

Kermit.de.frog · 11-02-2026 05:56PM

Is it true they have decided not to use the passenger guard railings at road crossings anymore (something I'd welcome as they look dreadful and do nothing for saftey) ?I think I read Dublin City Council had decided not to install them anymore.

spacetweek · 11-02-2026 08:09PM

The poles are driven by safety culture and risk aversion. Someone writes regs which specify to put up signs and traffic light sets which cover the council’s ass if there’s an accident. You can’t sue them as they can say there was a sign saying not to go that way.

Hotblack Desiato · 17-02-2026 02:48PM

Every sign doesn't need its own pole. That's if a sign on a pole is even needed in the first place (road markings are signs too)

DrivingSouth · 17-02-2026 08:58PM

I think they've done studies that show the more signs, the less get seen. It's just visual noise. I think I read that around the time they put the red lights in the ground to stop traffic driving in front of the luas. The initially put up signs saying caution lights, or caution luas ahead but they had no effect.

Sam Russell · 02-03-2026 08:02PM

There is road works going on outside the Blackrock Clinic - digging a deep crater along the side of the road where they used to have a car park. Would this be related to Busconnects?

LXFlyer · 02-03-2026 09:00PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124279326#Comment_124279326

Given that that CBC is the subject of a judicial review, no it would not be.

Sam Russell · 03-03-2026 08:52AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124279458#Comment_124279458

Well the roadworks appear to be digging the very area covered by the bus lane, and the car park spaces involved by the JR.

Is it possible that the JR is resolved?

Paulzx · 03-03-2026 09:15AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124280266#Comment_124280266

Nah. Its just compulsory for different agencies to repeatedly dig up the same section of road. It will get dug up again next month by someone else😀

Sam Russell · 03-03-2026 09:17AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124280293#Comment_124280293

That could explain it. However it is very extensive and includes the car park that is the subject of the JR.

LXFlyer · 03-03-2026 10:57AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124280297#Comment_124280297

There are multiple JRs for that CBC.

There hasn’t been a contract awarded for that CBC. If there was, it would be reported here.

Only 2 contracts have been awarded so far.

So no, again it is not the CBC works.

spacetweek · 05-03-2026 10:21PM

I’m really afraid to ask, but now that we are 4 months into contract award for CBC Liffey Valley is there actually any construction going on or are the contractors still mucking about?

CatInABox · 06-03-2026 10:28AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124288952#Comment_124288952

So far, other than the works compounds, nothing.

https://liffeyvalleyscheme.ie/local-construction/

Thunder87 · 06-03-2026 10:43AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124288952#Comment_124288952

Contracts were awarded last summer, not 4 months ago, and it was widely publicised that construction would be starting last September

spacetweek · 06-03-2026 07:58PM

Okay brilliant, so we’re not four months into construction, we’re six months, and they are still on site compounds. The government need to lay down the law with these contractors and force them to stick to the end date which is Q2 2028 according to the action plan PDF they put out this week. If the contractors miss this date, they should be fined.

Action 16 here: https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/7da21a41/Sustainable_Mobility_Policy_Action_Plan_2026-2030.pdf

LXFlyer · 06-03-2026 08:18PM

Construction work was actually due to start in December, it was site evaluation work happening from September.

https://liffeyvalleyscheme.ie/path-for-construction-outlined-for-liffey-valley-to-city-centre-scheme/

Clearly there is some issue with the contractor.

Thunder87 · 06-03-2026 09:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124291565#Comment_124291565

When the contract was awarded they said September

https://busconnects.ie/nta-awards-contract-to-gmc-for-the-delivery-of-the-first-busconnects-core-bus-corridor-scheme/

Construction on this scheme is scheduled to begin in September 2025.

LXFlyer · 06-03-2026 09:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124291775#Comment_124291775

If you look at the link that I posted, it has the detailed construction plan outlining when everything was supposed to happen, and the actual construction works were not supposed to start until December.

I very much doubt that actual construction work would ever start that fast after the contract award as there is significant planning and design work to be done first - I do suspect that they were being a bit economical with the truth in that press release and were referring to the site evaluation works that have to happen before actual construction work commences.

The NTA tend to big everything up beforehand and then when something goes wrong, radio silence ensues.

spacetweek · 06-03-2026 09:43PM

I remember it well, more faffing about wanting to avoid construction near Christmas which is just an excuse to stretch out the work over a longer period.

Since this is the first scheme, this doesn’t bode well.

Kermit.de.frog · 06-03-2026 10:11PM

And the same contractor got the Ballymun Finglas contract?

cgcsb · 06-03-2026 11:19PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124292019#Comment_124292019

Different contractor

LXFlyer · 07-03-2026 05:44AM

GMC have the Liffey Valley contract.

GRAHAM have the Ballymun/Finglas contract.

spacetweek · 07-03-2026 10:12AM

The Ballymun/Finglas contract has already been awarded? That doesn’t sound right either because the mobility plan PDF I linked to above says construction isn’t due to start until Q3 of this year. Why the really long delay between contract award and construction start? Bus lanes are easy to build.

cgcsb · 07-03-2026 10:28AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124293062#Comment_124293062

Well liffey valley cbc is costing a quarter of a billion for some reason despite being mostly lines and signs. The ballymun/finglas includes more complex structures, a new bride over the railway and canal, bridge widening over a live railway, a new road bridge/culvert at the north circular road.

bk · 07-03-2026 01:03PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124293094#Comment_124293094

I’m not saying it justifies the cost, but I suspect they will be fully rebuilding and relaying the roads, similar to what they did for the Clontarf to City Scheme, so a lot more then just lines and signs.

Thunder87 · 07-03-2026 03:11PM

Would anyone know if there's been much coordination with utilities owners as an opportunity to replace water mains etc along all these corridors? I think on the Clontarf one they renewed a lot of the underground services which was why it took so long, and mostly avoided the usual situation of the main contractor laying down a nice finish only for it to be dug up again a few months later

spacetweek · 07-03-2026 05:56PM

That’s as it should be, Irish water have been banging on about the poor state of our watermains for years so the very least we should be doing here is replacing all of them underneath bus connects corridors. I’d be okay with schemes taking a long time in the same way Clontarf did if it meant the job was done properly and didn’t need to be dug up again for a utility.

Jayuu · 09-03-2026 06:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124294184#Comment_124294184

Yes it would make sense to do stuff like this at the same time, but given the constant misleading headlines and moaning around the cost and time of the Clontarf scheme (e.g. "62 million euro for a bike line" and so on) I suspect that anything that might add to the time it takes to do this will be avoided for fear of the same set of complaints.

Thelonious Monk · 10-03-2026 12:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124293681#Comment_124293681

The clontarf to city route is still being dug up all the time and replaced with patched of tarmac, I got sick of reporting all these patches to the council as it shouldn't be my job to get it followed up to be replaced properly