N25 - Waterford City Bypass

BluntGuy · 20-10-2009 8:58pm

I was lucky enough to get a chance to drive this myself earlier today, and I must say... it's a phenomenal stretch of motorway dual-carriageway.

The bridge is truly impressive, as are many of the structures around Grannagh. Driving over Whelan's Viaduct was something I was looking forward to at lot, and it didn't dissappoint... simply breathtaking.

I take exception to the cluttered and inconsistent signage though. Very messy.

Apart from that... perfect.

Now somebody tell the NRA to get off their arse and M this before Kilkenny/Waterford councillors have a chance to ruin it.

shaymousse · 20-10-2009 9:01pm

Redesignation of the road to Motorway status is a matter for the NRA to get the Minister to designate it as Mway. As happened with the N9/M9 which will be Mway all the way once its completed. Why this road is not Mway is stupid since it joins the M9/N9.

doc_17 · 20-10-2009 9:06pm

At least Martin Cullin is good for something. hope the new works out for you

icdg · 20-10-2009 11:08pm

nordydan wrote: »

Thanks, two things of interest:

-At 4:48 the No Pedestrians/Bikes/Animals sign in green. I have never seen that anywhere else.

-The proper futureproofing with the exit signs

Also are there E30 euroroute signs anywhere else on the N25?

I have seen NO signs in green, but not in Ireland. In the UK where you'll find them on non-motorway special roads like the A55. At least they have legal backing for the restrictions whereas I'm not sure what the legal basis is for the N25 ones.

As for the Waterford bypass. What is the difference between it and a motorway?

- L-Drivers, Motorcycles under 50cc, Invalid carriages (an anorchism in this day and age) are allowed.
- You're allowed to stop (and there are laybys)
- There's no restriction on opening new direct accesses (which the skeptics would say, is probably the most important difference in this case).

Odd that its a single point toll. The only other places you'll find that in Ireland are the two M50 tolls and the East-Link.

As for the signage, why the white patches for junction numbers? If there are junction numbers underneath that have yet to be revealed, why are the patches white and not green? If not, why are they there at all - couldn't junction numbers just be patched on like on the M7? I note as well a lack of mainline gantries (although was that a gantry I spotted on a slip road!!!!)

Roryhy · 21-10-2009 12:26pm

Action in this thread is dying down now. Just wanted to say thanks to all those who went to the trouble of posting pictures, much appreciated. Munurty in particular stands out in my mind, thanks for those great arial shots a few months back. Also to anyone else on the ground, Sully being the only other name i can think of at the moment. Cheers!:D

serfboard · 21-10-2009 2:51pm

Roryhy wrote: »

Munurty in particular stands out in my mind, thanks for those great arial shots a few months back.

+1 to Munurty. A Godsend to roadgeeks to have a pilot "on board"

Typewriter · 21-10-2009 3:00pm

Does the toll accept 5c coins? (I've a jar full of them)

If I recall the Fermoy bypass doesn't but the eastlink in Dublin does.

Bards · 23-10-2009 4:02pm

Have a look at Point 16 of the Toll By-Laws

http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/TollingDocumentation/file,16562,en.pdf

anyone know how you can avail of the 10% discount?

L1011 · 23-10-2009 5:58pm

Bards wrote: »

Have a look at Point 16 of the Toll By-Laws

http://www.nra.ie/PublicPrivatePartnership/TollingDocumentation/file,16562,en.pdf

anyone know how you can avail of the 10% discount?

If its the same as all the other private tolls, by pulling up to the toll offices and buying pre-paid tickets (which need to be handed in at a manned gate).

The M8 lets you pre-load their discount journeys on to their tag but nobody elses, I think.

rubicon999 · 24-10-2009 1:54pm

How is traffic moving in the City since it opened? Any major improvements?

wellbutty · 24-10-2009 2:07pm

Not sure if it's the time of day, lack of people working on Thursdays/Fridays (due to short time) or the impact of the new bypass but Rice Bridge and the Quays seem to be a lot quieter this week.

Mr Goon · 24-10-2009 2:57pm

Planning on using the bridge for the 1st time later. I have the eFlow pass, so was wondering what the story is. I hear there is a designated lane if you have the little device. Is is clearly marked? Some places have it as the inside lane, others as the outside and I can be on top of the thing before I realise sometimes :-)

Bards · 24-10-2009 3:39pm

Mr Goon wrote: »

Planning on using the bridge for the 1st time later. I have the eFlow pass, so was wondering what the story is. I hear there is a designated lane if you have the little device. Is is clearly marked? Some places have it as the inside lane, others as the outside and I can be on top of the thing before I realise sometimes :-)

All lanes are E-Toll

for lanes layout and toll info see http://easytrip.ie/?p=277

Sully · 24-10-2009 4:34pm

Not all lanes seem to be open btw.

Trick of the Tail · 24-10-2009 7:15pm

As they do have NPR (number plate recognition) at the toll station, I'm surprised there isn't at least one free-flow lane there, like the M50's Westlink.

I know there's an express lane, but my Discovery doesn't fit under that, and at the booths you have to slow down to almost stopped before it recognises the tag and raises the barrier.

A couple of times it hasn't recognised the tag at all, but my number plate has still come up on the dispay, and I've had to hand the tag to the operative to manually input.

That's probably teething probs, but like I say, free-flow would be useful.

A.

Trick of the Tail · 24-10-2009 7:16pm

doc_17 wrote: »

At least Martin Cullin is good for something.

Now thats taking it too far!

A.

fricatus · 24-10-2009 9:42pm

Mr Goon wrote: »

Planning on using the bridge for the 1st time later. I have the eFlow pass, so was wondering what the story is. I hear there is a designated lane if you have the little device. Is is clearly marked? Some places have it as the inside lane, others as the outside and I can be on top of the thing before I realise sometimes :-)

You've probably been through it at this stage, but for anyone else who has the tag, it's pretty easy to scoot through the toll... you just stay over on the very right, slow down to around 50 km/h and the thing will just recognise your tag and the barrier will lift. I must say I found it to be really cool!

Trick of the Tail · 27-10-2009 12:10am

There's *something* wrong with the signage, or road markings, or something - as you approach the slip road to the Waterford turn-off when driving west.

I've driven it three times, and all three times I've been surprised when that off-ramp comes up, and all three times I've seen someone else nearly miss it and swerve in at the last moment.

Also, there's *something* wrong with the road markings, or signage, on the bridge interchange as you come from Waterford and are going to the Carrick-on-Suir (and will be the M9) direction.

I've seen several cars take the wrong lane and have to stop suddenly when they realise they're heading for the Suir Bridge.

Also, coming from that direction, there is a dearth of signage for Clonmel/Carrick-on-Suir/Mooncoin. If you're going that way you really don't know which way to go.

It strikes me that not enough thought has gone into the signage on this section of the bypass. So much so that locals have had to make spray-painted signs and lean them up against the official signs, as places like Mooncoin, Carrick and Clonmel have been forgotten.

Bad show.

Andy.

tonc76 · 27-10-2009 6:39pm

alinton wrote: »

There's *something* wrong with the signage, or road markings, or something - as you approach the slip road to the Waterford turn-off when driving west.

I've driven it three times, and all three times I've been surprised when that off-ramp comes up, and all three times I've seen someone else nearly miss it and swerve in at the last moment.

Also, there's *something* wrong with the road markings, or signage, on the bridge interchange as you come from Waterford and are going to the Carrick-on-Suir (and will be the M9) direction.

I've seen several cars take the wrong lane and have to stop suddenly when they realise they're heading for the Suir Bridge.

Also, coming from that direction, there is a dearth of signage for Clonmel/Carrick-on-Suir/Mooncoin. If you're going that way you really don't know which way to go.

It strikes me that not enough thought has gone into the signage on this section of the bypass. So much so that locals have had to make spray-painted signs and lean them up against the official signs, as places like Mooncoin, Carrick and Clonmel have been forgotten.

Bad show.

Andy.

Presuming there are signs for "Limerick N24" how are these people getting lost/making wrong movements at the roundabout?

fricatus · 27-10-2009 8:17pm

tonc76 wrote: »

Presuming there are signs for "Limerick N24" how are these people getting lost/making wrong movements at the roundabout?

In fairness now, people from Carrick and Mooncoin have been driving the same crappy little road since the time of T-roads and L-roads, and many of them wouldn't have a clue what "N24" means.

murphaph · 27-10-2009 8:19pm

fricatus wrote: »

In fairness now, people from Carrick and Mooncoin have been driving the same crappy little road since the time of T-roads and L-roads, and many of them wouldn't have a clue what "N24" means.

They'll soon learn I suppose.

As the roads improve, the signage must move on too and reflect that Mooncoin etc. are not important places in a national context and are therefore not to be signed from too far away.

Silverado · 03-11-2009 1:11pm

Interesting comments in last week's Munster Express regarding the useage of the new bridge:
"Despite a huge number of drivers using the newly opened Waterford city bypass in the early days of last week, it has made little, if any, impact on traffic travelling through the city.
The volume of traffic spiked on the toll plaza in the days directly following the official opening but a number of people are being clever, particularly HGV (Heavy Good Vehicle) drivers, when it comes to avoiding the charges, and are continuing to use the city centre to access other routes.
"Drivers have been using the western link junction to access the Butlerstown Road to get to the city, instead of using the toll plaza," explained Inspector Tony Merrigan, Waterford Traffic Corp.
In light of this it is thought that a weight restriction for vehicles entering the city will be brought in by the New Year.
Although there were a few incidents during the first week of usage - one driver drove the wrong way down a slip road and those heading for Limerick continued to use the old road finding it blocked off - there have been no major accidents or complaints."

mike65 · 03-11-2009 1:54pm

Here's my suggestion - on the road into Ferrybank somewhere by the Mile Post there should be a height restrictior, with a lane for HGVs to pull into, they pay a toll of say 20 euro to get past. Obviously the city toll would be well signed on the N25.

Bards · 03-11-2009 1:59pm

mike65 wrote: »

Here's my suggestion - on the road into Ferrybank somewhere by the Mile Post there should be a height restrictior, with a lane for HGVs to pull into, they pay a toll of say 20 euro to get past. Obviously the city toll would be well signed on the N25.

and what about HGV's delivering to say City Square or Tesco Poleberry etc etc

mike65 · 03-11-2009 2:02pm

They would pay, nah to be nice if they have a delivery manifest for the city centre then they get through free

fricatus · 03-11-2009 2:40pm

Silverado wrote: »

Interesting comments in last week's Munster Express regarding the useage of the new bridge:
"Despite a huge number of drivers using the newly opened Waterford city bypass in the early days of last week, it has made little, if any, impact on traffic travelling through the city."

Bloody tolls! When will the so-called authorities in this country get it through their thick skulls that differential road pricing influences behaviour? They've gone and built a wonderful new bypass and people are still clogging up the old congested routes because they don't want to pay! It's an idiotic situation.

Mike's idea of a €20 charge for HGVs travelling through the city is roughly the right sort of direction we should be going. Why not do the following:

- Beef up public transport, especially for Ferrybank.
- Build park-and-ride in Newrath and Slieverue
- Introduce a congestion charge in the city centre
- Remove the toll from the Suir Bridge.

jimbojazz · 05-11-2009 3:29pm

I had to go out to Kilmeaden village today at luchtime (one end of the by pass) I decided I'd take the old route just to see if traffic volumes had decreased. the first thing I noticed was the amount of traffic coming into town using this route and not the bypass - fair enough they could have been locals. The traffic going in my direction towards kilmeaden was just like it was before the bypass ope - but not as many trucks or artics - though there was a cement truck a bit further up - I assumed that the traffic in front of me and the cars behind me were local as well or most of them were. As I approached Kilmeaden just before the Sweep Bar I was met with a tail back of cars - I decided to count the ones in front and the ones behind me - there were 15 in total over about a quarter of a mile stretch- as we got to the village two cars in front and one behind either stopped or went off towards Dunhill. The reamining 11 cars and myself drove straight thro' the village and off towards either Cork or Carrick - out of curiosity I decided to drive back on the bypass and would leave it at the junction before the toll - apparoximately 8 or 9km in length. In this stretch of road there were about 5 or 6 cars in front of me. In the whole stretch of this from the Roundabout at Kilmeaden to the last junction I counted only 15 cars and three trucks were going in the opposite direction.

As I approached the junction there were 3 cars and an artic in front of me who all took this exit - for the crack I followed the artic as I assumed he was heading for the estate or somewhere nearby - it wasn't a delivery truck as it had a large tank on the back. I decided I'd follow it to see if it was going to the estate but it turned up the Gracedieu bypass which I then presume he was going to head down Bilberry and over the old bridge and avoid the toll and the new bridge. Also on this road was another artic coming in the opposite direction - who obviously took this route also.

Another thing I noticed was that when I was approaching the bypass exit earlier the majority of the cars that were on the opposite side were also coming on by this exit (obviously on the other side) and that there was very little traffic either coming from or going towards the new bridge.

Maybe when the motorway opens the volume will increase on the bypass - but as I see anyone travelling from the Dublin / Kilkenny direction will probably still come through the City as they nearly have to come in the full way at the moment ( and then turn back if they want to use the bypass)

mike65 · 05-11-2009 3:35pm

I presume there will be a traffic survey by the NRA at some point in the next 6 months or so. It'll be interesting to see the results.

serfboard · 05-11-2009 4:02pm

fricatus wrote: »

- Beef up public transport
- Build park-and-ride
- Introduce a congestion charge in the city centre

Welcome to my world. I've been saying these things ad nauseating ...

These will have to be done not just for Waterford but for other towns and cities as well. (In my particular interest, Galway, where the proposed outer bypass will also need the three actions above as well, to solve the traffic problem).

It seems we now have a bypass of Waterford which does not alleviate Waterford's traffic problems. Possibly the toll is the problem. But those other things have to be done also.

Bards · 05-11-2009 4:31pm

it would be interesting to see if they increased the spped limit on the ORR to 80 or 100 KM/h what impact it would have on traffic flows from the Ardkeen area to the Western Link, and onwards over the new bridge.

At the moment due to the ridiculously slow speed limit it take longer to get to the new bridge from the Ardkeen area than it does to go via Rice Bridge.

N25 - Waterford City Bypass

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