A1 - Newry Bypass Dual Carriageway (NOW OPEN)

Typewriter · 15-05-2009 10:41pm

Some recent photos on this site...

http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/5835

Mayo Exile · 10-09-2009 12:13am

Wesley Johnston's site updated on 8 September. New pictures there. The flyover at the Cloghogue roundabout seems well advanced.

Link: http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1beechhillcloghogue.html

amacachi · 10-09-2009 12:21am

Was down that way a few weeks ago and they've made great progress. Really starting to take shape now.

Victor · 16-09-2009 2:41am

Moved to Infrastructure.

Mayo Exile · 08-10-2009 11:37pm

Updated piece (1 October) on Wesley Johnston's site wondering whether the southern end of the bypass may open first to tie in with the official opening of the new Newry railway station. Originally the scheme was to open as a single project I believe.

Link: http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1beechhillcloghogue.html

EDIT: Also a piece from the Newry Recorder.

Last week Roads Minister Conor Murphy told Newry and Mourne Council that Cloughoge junction, at the far end of the bypass project could open before Christmas.

Link: http://www.newryreporter.com/news/viewdetails.asp?ID=805

serfboard · 09-10-2009 4:12pm

Newry Reporter wrote:

Last week Roads Minister Conor Murphy told Newry and Mourne Council that Cloughoge junction, at the far end of the bypass project could open before Christmas.

Great news for all the Southerners doing their Christmas shopping!

nordydan · 09-10-2009 8:28pm

serfboard wrote: »

Great news for all the Southerners doing their Christmas shopping!

Very possible this.
Drove up today, a lot of the tarmac is down at this junction, with the northbound carriageway north of this junction complete for a few km.
Also the northbound carriageway of the link between the northernmost junction (Sheepbridge) of this scheme and the existing A1 at Beech Hill has been complete, with both carriageways also complete for a few hundred metres north of the Sheepbridge junction. Taking shape :cool:

D'Peoples Voice · 19-10-2009 12:30pm

in time for christmas shopping at Banbridge?

Section of Newry by-pass opens
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Section-of-Newry-bypass-opens.5700421.jp

Published Date: 03 October 2009
THE completion of the A1 Newry by-pass has moved a step closer as traffic was allowed on to a third of the road for the first time.
Contractor Laganferrovial said completion of the road remains on track, and said it could even open in full ahead of schedule next year.

The company said as of Tuesday, significant progress had been made along the new Newry by-pass and upgrades of the Banbridge and Hillsborough junctions - three months ahead of schedule.

A spokesperson for Laganferrovial added that, while traffic management arrangements will remain in place, traffic will operate in contra-flow along approximately one third of the new road.

It is now hoped motorists will travel along the A1 through these grade separated junctions where right-turns have been removed to reduce the likelihood of accidents and delays.

Bazzy · 19-10-2009 12:38pm

Was just up there the weekend

There certainly flying along with it the old road into newry with the average speed cameras on it is not used when coming in from banbridge.

I'd say a good bulk of it will be open before xmas

cargo · 19-10-2009 4:05pm

Any idea of when the upgrade to the Cloghogue Roaundabout will open? (the first one you meet coming up from the south)

some more updates on Wesley's site as well

http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1beechhillcloghogue.html

prettygurrly · 21-10-2009 8:22pm

Hi all,

doing the drogheda to belfast route 4 times a week and newry roundabouts are not the problem! hillsborough and that bloody westlink are the bits that hold me up. I do notice on the way home in the evening that there is a bit of Q to the first roundabout in newry that you meet from the south but its much the same coming from the north.

if i leave home at 6.45 i'm in belfast by 8.15 but if I leave at 7.15 I dont get parked till 9.15.

leave at 9.30 I'm in by 10.45.

just thought I'd throw a few times in there. average speed 75 to 80 mph, except around all the roundabouts and a few Qs.

Mayo Exile · 11-11-2009 11:29pm

According to this piece in the Newry Democrat the flyover at the Cloghogue roundabout section of the scheme will be temporarily opened for the month of December to ease the expected influx of Xmas shoppers from the south into Newry.

Link: http://www.newrydemocrat.com/tabId/281/itemId/6471/pageId/2/Roundabout-way-to-ease-traffic-jam.aspx

Roundabout way to ease traffic jam
Last Updated Oct 2009
THE new flyover at Cloghogue roundabout will be temporarily opened in December to help ease expected traffic congestion in Newry in the run-up to Christmas.
The Department of Regional Development confirmed that the flyover - which is part of the new motorway - will be open from the start of December up until Christmas.

The news will come as a relief to residents of the Dublin Road area, as well as workers commuting into the city on a daily basis.

It was reported last year that the tailbacks on the Dublin Road stretched as far as five miles due to high volumes of Southern shoppers coming into the city.

Now it is hoped congestion in the city will be eased considerably with the temporary opening of the fly-over.

"Minister Murphy, speaking at a special meeting of the A1 Beechill to Cloghogue scheme liaison committee, confirmed that he has asked Roads Service to consult with the contractor about opening the new Cloghogue flyover junction to accommodate Christmas traffic and he advised that it is anticipated that this new flyover will be made available to traffic in the first week in December," a DRD spokesperson said.

However, DRD added that the flyover junction will be closed again after Christmas to facilitate ongoing works on rock cutting north of Cloghogue.

Welcoming the announcement, Orla Jackson, CEO of Newry Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to hear this news. It will ease congestion issues within the city centre and will ensure that people that are either bypassing the city or driving into the city centre will reach their destination much quicker.

“It will also help residents living in the Dublin Road area who experienced difficulties last year due to the high volumes of traffic using the Dublin Road.”

The news will also come as a relief to residents in Cloghogue and the surrounding area who last year faced hour-long waits to get in and out of Newry.

Chris_533976 · 12-11-2009 7:01pm

Good news, a bit of common sense for a change.

nordydan · 01-12-2009 8:02pm

Some photos have been posted here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=47101583&postcount=111

cargo · 01-12-2009 9:38pm

any actual date for the temporary opening of the Cloghogue flyover yet?

Nuttzz · 01-12-2009 9:51pm

Went past it today it was fully lined both sides from what i could see travelling south to north, with signs in place as well

Amtmann · 02-12-2009 3:19pm

Pics courtesy of GrubyNH on Skyscrapercity:

^^Bridge over Newry River and Tandragee Road A27^^

^^Carnbane Junction^^

^^Bridge over Bessbrook River ^^

Amtmann · 02-12-2009 3:20pm

^^Craigmore Viaduct^^

^^Camlough Road Junction^^

Steviemak · 02-12-2009 7:08pm

Who signed off on this sign - i thought we in the south were bad. Can you spot the mistake?

Its interesting that signage is in place so early as its late 2010 for this to open - it would be brilliant if it opened sooner

spuddy · 02-12-2009 9:42pm

Steviemak wrote: »

Who signed off on this sign - i thought we in the south were bad. Can you spot the mistake?

Somebody's going to be mighty ticked off when they spot that!

Nuttzz · 03-12-2009 11:56pm

I was back up that way today and the flyover is open, big difference but still a lot more to do on it

Mayo Exile · 04-12-2009 1:52am

Piece from the DRD on the (temporary?) opening of this section of the scheme. Also mentions the chance of a summer 2010 opening for the whole scheme instead of later in the year as originally planned.

Transport Minister, Conor Murphy today welcomed the opening of the new flyover junction at Cloghogue, on the A1 Newry Bypass.

The Minister said: “This new road junction will provide more capacity in the road network particularly for Belfast and Dublin bound traffic and will help to facilitate the continued increase in Christmas cross border traffic. Belfast and Dublin bound traffic will no longer have to negotiate the Cloghogue roundabout, and the new flyover junction will also be of considerable benefit to local traffic entering and leaving Newry.

“Roads Service, the project company - Amey Lagan Roads and its contractor Lagan Ferrovial have worked hard in recent weeks in order to make this flyover junction and linking slip roads available on the run up to Christmas. Given the continued high levels of cross-border traffic, this latest development will be warmly welcomed by both the travelling public and local business community.

“The new stretch of carriageway will continue to be subject to a 40 mph speed limit in the vicinity of the road works. This speed limit is for the safety of both the public and construction personnel and will also assist motorists as they become familiar with the new road layout. ”

The new road layout includes a short section of three-lane carriageway immediately south of the new junction, between Cloghogue and Ellisholding Road. Motorists are asked to exercise particular care and attention as they negotiate this new road layout, observing the speed limit and direction signs that have been provided. There will be one lane in each direction over the bridge for Belfast and Dublin bound traffic.

The A1 Beech Hill to Cloghogue scheme is scheduled to be completed several months ahead of schedule in summer 2010 and is part of the £316million Design, Build, Finance and Operate Package two. This also includes the A4 Dungannon to Ballygawley dual carriageway scheme, the provision of two flyovers and two underpasses on the A1 between Hillsborough and Loughbrickland and single carriageway realignments to the A4 at Annaghilla and A5 at Tullyvar.

Notes to editors:
Contractors may need to temporarily close Cloghogue Junction again, in the New Year to finish off any outstanding works.

Link: http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-drd/news-drd-031209-cloghogue-junction-opening.htm

serfboard · 04-12-2009 2:28pm

Am I reading the above press release correctly? Does this mean that they're getting the 4 schemes (Newry Bypass, Dungannon->Ballygawley, A1 flyovers and underpasses and A4 & A5 realignments) for £316 million in total? Could that be right? Sounds like good value if it is.

L1011 · 04-12-2009 8:17pm

A4 and A5 realignments are cheap, A1 GSJ's aren't that dear either, and theres two ~£140M schemes...

Carawaystick · 05-12-2009 1:59am

MYOB wrote: »

A4 and A5 realignments are cheap, A1 compactGSJ's aren't that dear either, and theres two ~£140M schemes...

fyp

Also the £316 million contract was signed when it sterling was worth a bit more - about 458m euros.

Tech3 · 13-02-2010 1:39pm

Thanks to Noax on skyscrapercity for these photos

, looks nearly finished:

L1011 · 13-02-2010 1:51pm

Drove up/down last weekend, theres other sections which are not as complete as that at all. Few months left I'd suspect

The A1 in general is now an insane hodge-podge of quality - the sections around the new GSJs are almost motorway standard (on the mainline) but 300 metres down the road you can have an unlit median breach.

Plowman · 14-02-2010 9:21pm

This post has been deleted.

Chris_5339762 · 14-02-2010 9:50pm

AFAIK yes, of varying standards. But there will be no single carriageway left. The M1 ends just south of the border as there is no alternate route for a stretch but the road is still high quality dualler to north of Newry. North of that its lower quality dual but still dual.

L1011 · 14-02-2010 10:35pm

Yeah, Chris is right - it'll be entirely DC from Dublin to Belfast. There will still be a few roundabouts around Hillsborough/Sprucefield as you join the M1 - there are plans to put an M1 spur off to bypass these though.

The eventual plan for the low quality bit between Newry and Sprucefield is to chuck in a few more compact grade seperated junctions and sealing up all breaches in the median by installing a median safety barrier. This will make the road a lot safer but it'll still have minor road junctions and all sorts of homes and businesses directly accessing it.

A1 - Newry Bypass Dual Carriageway (NOW OPEN)

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