M6 - Kilbeggan to Athlone

serfboard wrote: »

Why they couldn't have built a link directly from the new road to the N62 is beyond me. I detect a whiff of compromise (or is it bean-counting?) in the air.

I can't even see the need for linking the N6 to the N62, particularly if you're coming from the east. If you want to go to Birr and beyond then you'd take the N52 and the proposed Tullamore bypass (under construction). Ferbane is too small to warrant this.
It could also be a tourist thing. I imagine they'll have a sign at junction 7 for Clonmacnoise and the Galway/Offaly Shannon region. There maybe also be plans to upgrade the R444. The N62 is definitely earmarked by Offaly Co Co to be upgraded with bypasses of Ferbane, Cloghan and Birr, so this would fit well into this.

In any case, what's done is done and I doubt anyone cares as long as they can bypass Moate!

Agggghhhhhh ....... what a pain. How the hell do they originally commit April and then a couple of months later say August / September. A 4 month delay introduced in 2 months. Something stinks here. Almost every section of major inter-urban routes opened over the last few years have been opened anything from 4 to 12 months ahead of schedule and on budget.
Hmmm ....... with pretty much all the contracts for all the major inter-urban routes having been signed and uncertainty about the likelihood of future projects cos of tightening government finance and the Greens being in power, what would you do if you were the road developer in this case ??? take longer to build it and go over budget by a few pound ?!?!?

Its only since about the end of November that they announced April as the opening date. Surely there was nothing they were planning to do in December or January that could delay it.
All major structures are more or less complete (apart from 1 or 2 near Athlone) and only relatively 'short' sections between Athlone and Moate don't have at least a base layer of tarmac

Am heading our for a spin on the bike tomorrow morning. Will head for Kilbeggan and spur off the main road at each road that will have a flyover over the M6 to try and get a full picture.

Bridge west of Moate (at Farnagh) was open this morning.

Two way traffic. No road markings down yet but cones are at the road edges and in the middle of the road.

Deleted User wrote: »

Back on the temp loop tonight when I drove home,

The ends of the loop are rather dangerouse as theyhave very narrow lanes with sharp bends. Looks like they run out of time tonight.

Looks like I jumped the gun there. :rolleyes: Seems like the new bridge was only temporarily opened Friday morning. Heres hoping it's finished this week coming...

Right, for those heading east on a Sunday night, the easiest way to avoid Moate is as per below. Never mind looking for the backroads when you see a 2-4 mile tailback on the main road

Take the 'Cavan' / 'Blyry Industrial Estate' exit when heading east on the Athlone dual carriageway (3rd exit after the Shannon). At the top of the slip road, take a left. After about 50 metres take the first right for 'Mount Temple' and 'Baylin'. Keep going straigt for 6 miles bringing you to a 'fork' yield junction on the edge of Mount Temple. Take a right at this junction and then straight on through Mount Temple and all the way to Moate (~3 miles). As you are coming into Moate, take a left immediately after you cross over a railway line. Follow on for about 500m bringing you to a junction right in the middle of Moate. Left to merge into the flow of traffic for Dublin.
This 'detour' off the Athlone by-pass is only about half a mile longer to Moate than going via the main road

There is but i wouldn't have a hope of being able to give you the level of detail i did in the last post. If the tailback is very long then take a left turn halfway along the long 2 mile straight just before Moate (the turn is just before the old hotel on the right hand side). Follow this until you come out on to the Moate Clara road turning right for Moate. You will come to a new roundabout linked to the motorway being built from which you turn left and i'm afriad i'll have to leave you there. Follow your nose and you will either find yourself rejoining the main road just west of the new flyover bridge 1 mile west of Moate or else you will find yourself rejoining the main road half to Athlone.

blueeyedboy wrote: »

http://www.nra.ie/RoadSchemeActivity/WestmeathCountyCouncil/N6KinnegadAthloneKMA/Map,11577,en.pdf

According to the website which may not be up to date, this scheme is not due for completion until the end of Q3 2008.

So dont get too excited folks.

Yeah, it's looking more like a summer completion date. I'll stick my neck out and guess they'll try to finish it in time for the builder's holidays, so mid-July.

blueeyedboy wrote: »

No mention about any fly over bridge in Moate

But then again it is a while since I have been on the N6, me Dub ya see, lol

The bridge under discussion is part of the current N6 and is necessary because the new road goes north under this road near junction 7 on the map you gave above.

This morning they began demolishing the temporary road beside the new bridge so there'll soon be a new view to the south soon.

Just noticed that when you ask Google maps for a Dublin-Galway itinerary, it now takes you on the, as yet unfinished, N6 Moate bypass!
Check it out here.

Good to see a few different gangs working on the road today - Sunday. Was surprised to see it.

veryangryman wrote: »

Just from one of the earlier poster's guesstimates.

Farcial that it would take so long to get this done. Why they bothered with a bypass of Kilbeggan is beyond me. The problem is M-O-A-T-E. Sort that out first, then well worry about the smaller bottlenecks (if you could call Kilbeggan or Horseleap such)

I think its retarded that the NRA do all of these roads from Dublin outward. E.g they organised the M4 all the way up to Kinnegad. Then the N6 to Tyrellspass. Then Kilbeggan. Now to Athlone.

I miss the old days when they thought practically about the relative size of each town, and not on how close it was to Dublin. The Athlone bypass is a magnificent example of such.

I know that i wont care once its done, but for now, my username is very apt

The object of the current National Road Plan is to provide motorway links between the major urban centres using a rollout system. Take the N6 - the NRA are not interested in Moate - they look at the N6 as a whole and break it into sections so that contractors can get the motorway built ASAP. The N6 from Kinnegead to Athlone was proposed as one 58km (approx.) scheme for the EIS/CPO stage. I guess it was then seen as too big for a single contractor to take on, so the scheme was split exactly in two as it would be the most practical solution for build-ability purposes. I don't think Moate came into the equation at all - such thinking was used in the 1990's with motorways like the M1 and M7 Naas to Portlaoise - let's see how long they took to build...

M1...

First Scheme: Airport Road - 5km - Opened 1986
Final Scheme: Dundalk Western By-pass - 11km app - Opened 2006

M7...

First Scheme: Naas By-pass - 8km - Opened 1983
Final Scheme: Heath to Mayfield - 17km app - Opened 2004

These motorways were built on a modular basis to serve the short-term objective of by-passing towns and bottlenecks, while fitting into the long-term motorway master-plan. The motorway sections were made extendable at the tie-in points. There are many very good examples of this along the entire M1. However, at more than 20 years a piece, it was ridiculous the length of time in completing the routes, as well as wastage in rebuilding at the tie-ins (even with the pre-planning aspect). This is why we have the rollout system today.

Regards!