The Creaking Infrastructure Photo-thread

Amtmann · 02-12-2009 1:29pm #1

Post pictures here of all manner of dilapidated and/or downright dangerous or useless infrastructure. I'll snap a shot or two when I get a chance...

L1011 · 02-12-2009 8:19pm

Never felt safe driving on this, now that its been closed / reduced to one lane repeated for floods, I never will again:

Chris_533976 · 02-12-2009 9:23pm

Can we add where the creaking infrastructure is too? I'd love to know where that heap is.

L1011 · 02-12-2009 9:24pm

Oops. Thats the N65 "Ferry Bridge" swing bridge at Portumna. Its nigh on 100 years old, and it feels it!

spacetweek · 02-12-2009 10:22pm

What would you want a thread like this for?

Look to the future not the past. God knows it was bad enough.

Amtmann · 02-12-2009 10:25pm

I thought it might be good to have a photo-thread, something like the "Poor Road Signage Pictures" thread over on C&T.

veryangryman · 02-12-2009 10:44pm

MYOB wrote: »

Never felt safe driving on this, now that its been closed / reduced to one lane repeated for floods, I never will again:

Holy sh1t! :eek: I thought that board was the road you were referring to! :eek:

Some rebel you would be tryin that corner!

Irish and Proud · 02-12-2009 11:43pm

spacetweek wrote: »

What would you want a thread like this for?

Look to the future not the past. God knows it was bad enough.

...suppose it helps to highlight bad infrastructure, thereby enhancing pressure to have something done about it.

Regards!

csd · 03-12-2009 12:24am

The main swing span on that bridge was replaced last year.

/csd

JupiterKid · 03-12-2009 3:10am

That photo above is of the N65 Portumna Bridge over the River Shannon just north of Lough Derg, between counties Galway and Tipperary.

The bridge is indeed old - it dates from 1911 - the swinging span that opoends to allow boats through every hour or so was replaced last year but the rest of the structure is in poor condition. The whole bridge will need to be replaced before too long.

In fairness, much of the old, creaking infrastructure in Ireland has been completely rebuilt/replaced in the past 10 years. But a couple of examples I would add would be these:

Quincentennial bridge Galway City - handles far more traffic than it was built to cater for. Needs pressure relieved by the Galway Outer Bypass.

Slane Bridge - How a 17th century bridge which takes single file traffic, skewed at right angles to very step and dangerous inclines, has been allowed to continue to form part of a National Primary Route, the N2, in the 21st century beggars belief. Only in Ireland. This bridge is a death trap and should have been replaced not years, but decades ago.

Connolly to Maynooth Commuter Line - should be electrified with full DART service ASAP. It is grossly under capacity for the demand along that line that has exploded over the past 10-15 years.

Poster King · 03-12-2009 5:19pm

The wooden bridge out to the south end of Bull Island in Dublin is the scariest I've crossed in this country. I know it is not on a major route, but in recent years it has been getting much more use due to the number of Kite Surfers that use this end of the beach. I creaks when you drive over it.

Chris_533976 · 03-12-2009 7:03pm

Slane is a way to avoid the M1 toll, thats the real reason it hasnt been touched

Stroke Politics · 03-12-2009 10:00pm

csd wrote: »

The main swing span on that bridge was replaced last year.

/csd

And here it is being replaced in 4 and a half minutes!
http://www.shannonimages.net/lmkeating.html

I grew up beside this bridge, it's an amazing piece of 1911 engineering, and will be fine for another hundred years at least! The only time that I can recall it ever failing prior to the flood last week was in 1995 when it swelled in the heat and could not turn......

nordydan · 04-12-2009 10:55am

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Slane is a way to avoid the M1 toll, thats the real reason it hasnt been touched

Sad but true, a dreadful indictment on the decision making policy of some...

Dirigent · 08-12-2009 1:05pm

nordydan wrote: »

Sad but true, a dreadful indictment on the decision making policy of some...

Same story with the N7 & N8 south and west of Portlaoise. Soon we'll have the option of taking the existing tarmaced cattle tracks through small villages with their dangerous bends and potholes or the privately tolled motorway.

Irish and Proud · 08-12-2009 9:16pm

Dirigent wrote: »

Same story with the N7 & N8 south and west of Portlaoise. Soon we'll have the option of taking the existing tarmaced cattle tracks through small villages with their dangerous bends and potholes or the privately tolled motorway.

...maybe something for the EU Commission to look into - AFAIK, under EU Law, a reasonable alternative route must be provided if a main route is to be tolled...

Regards!

ardmacha · 09-12-2009 1:15am

An alternative route doesn't have to be gold plated. If it was reasonable to send traffic that way for the last hundred years then it is a reasonable alternative route.

Zoney · 09-12-2009 11:56am

Dirigent wrote: »

Same story with the N7 & N8 south and west of Portlaoise. Soon we'll have the option of taking the existing tarmaced cattle tracks through small villages with their dangerous bends and potholes or the privately tolled motorway.

Well, unlike many bypassed N roads, the existing N7 has been fully resurfaced between Nenagh and Limerick, not just another layer, but digging it up, putting down foundation and properly surfacing, with small realignment, crash barriers and decent signage. It's an unsuitable road for the volume of traffic at present (unsafe for overtaking and mix of lorries/cars) but it will be an admirable R road when the M7 Limerick-Nenagh opens.

Although that section is admittedly not a toll road and the most goat-trackish bit of the existing N7 is Mountrath-Portlaoise (although it is a short section - it won't be too much bother to have motorway to Borris-in-Ossory with no toll, a half hour of goat track, and then toll-free motorway Portlaoise-Naas). At least Mountrath has been resurfaced.

If someone gets a chance - this thread could use photos of goat-track roads like the N20 near Buttevant (or Charleville-Croom), the N69 Limerick-Foynes (it's the amount of lorries you meet that makes this one "special"), N7 Mountrath-Portlaoise, N52 Borrisokane-Birr (section at the start is like a parody of Irish roads). Despite it due to be bypassed shortly, I think we could allow existing N9 photos - it's particularly frightening from what I've seen - probably will rank poorly as even an R road.

Rovi · 09-12-2009 1:46pm

As someone who lives beside the existing N7 between the current end of the M7 and Borris-in-Ossory, I dearly hope that people DON'T choose to skip the toll on the M7-M8 scheme, but the omens aren't good; a LOT of people are talking about avoiding the toll as described above.

Mountrath and Borris-in-Ossory aren't going to get the traffic reduction they were 'promised' when this scheme was being proposed and planned.

NedNew · 13-12-2009 3:49pm

Here is a picture of the now crumbling "Red Bridge" in New Ross, which was part of the line linking Enniscorthy to Waterford, via New Ross. If this line was still open today it would offer a viable and attractive alternative to driving to Waterford and offer a way to avoid traffic gridlock in New Ross.

New Ross Bridge

JupiterKid · 13-12-2009 6:43pm

NedNew wrote: »

Here is a picture of the now crumbling "Red Bridge" in New Ross, which was part of the line linking Enniscorthy to Waterford, via New Ross. If this line was still open today it would offer a viable and attractive alternative to driving to Waterford and offer a way to avoid traffic gridlock in New Ross.

New Ross Bridge

It looks like the Cassandra Crossing!:eek: Thanks, but no thanks!

murphaph · 13-12-2009 7:24pm

Typical N9 stretch. Something really did need doing with it....

The infamous N11 gap needs closing....

wellbutty · 14-12-2009 8:30pm

The road between Midleton and Cork could only be described as "creaking"...looks like some of it is being fixed AT LAST.......

The Creaking Infrastructure Photo-thread

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