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N3 - Belturbet Bypass

  • 26-01-2010 1:13pm
    #1
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭


    I couldnt find a thread for (non M3 project) N3 issues so am starting one!

    Surprisingly, despite the budget tightening measures, theres still good progress being made on the Belturbet By-pass project, to by pass the town and remove the high accident stretch from the Butlersbridge ByPass into Belturbet town.

    There is nothing on the NRA website reporting progress or project plans but I found 2 interesting articles from Mid-December on the Belturbet-ByPass.
    (Does anyone have any maps etc of the planned route seeing as the NRA arent so forthcoming?)
    Movement on Belturbet bypass
    There was some good news for Belturbet in the run-up to Christmas when the town manager revealed that by year's end, they would receive funding totalling €6.5 million for acquisition of land and further design work for the proposed Belturbet bypass.
    Kevin O'Reilly informed the monthly meeting of Belturbet Town Council that they had received two tranches of money €4.8m and €2.7m during the year. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith, has urged his colleague the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey to advance the bypass.
    source :http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/roundup/articles/2009/12/16/3993602-news-briefs/
    Published: Wednesday, 16th December, 2009
    Smith urges NRA to advance Belturbet By-Pass
    Mr Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has had further contact with the Minister for Transport, Mr Noel Dempsey TD and the National Roads Authority regarding the need to progress the proposed N3 Belturbet By-pass.

    Minister Dempsey in his reply to the Cavan/Monaghan TD stated that the National Roads Authority has overall responsibility for the planning and supervision of works for the improvement, construction and maintenance of National roads. He added that the implementation of, and the allocation of funding to, individual road improvement projects is a matter for the NRA in conjunction with the relevant local authority, in this case Cavan County Council.

    Minister Smith was further informed by Minister Dempsey that he had made enquiries of the National Roads Authority regarding the current position on the N3 Belturbet By-pass and they stated that the preparation of contract documents and land purchase is ongoing and will continue in 2010. The NRA also confirmed that archaeological surveys have been completed and that it expects that on-site investigations will be completed by the end of this month.

    Minister Smith has again outlined to the Minister for Transport, Mr Noel Dempsey TD and the National Roads Authority the urgent need to have this essential Project proceed to construction stage at the earliest possible date.
    source: TD's website, via Gooogle Cache
    Published: 11/12/2009


    Aside from Belturbet, on the NRA site there is no mention of a Virginia ByPass but they seem to have (had) bigger plans in mind.
    N3 North of Kells to Cavan
    Description: The proposed scheme involves the realignment of the existing N3 from Edenburt (Cavan.Meath County Boundary) to the Cavan Bypass.
    Mainline Length (km): 38km
    Current Project Phase: Feasibility Study
    This project will never see the light of day you would have to presume.
    The road they are replacing, aside from either side of Virginia, is on the whole pretty OK, especially compared to some other roads competing for funds like say the N22 at Ballyvourney that has much more traffic and a much worse allignment.
    Tagged:


«134567

Comments

  • #2
    smag
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9 ✭smag


    Hi there. Would love to know more myself and actually now I'm very confused. I live in Munterconnaght and found out that a huge swathe of land from her to Mullagh direction is earmarked for a possible by pass for Virginia. I saw the draft plans in the virginia town hall but now I'm reading all about this Edenburt/Cavan bypass which seemingly has superseded the other bypass. I had wrong the roads division in Cavan council but they never mentioned the Edenburt route and said there were no routes identified although I've heard through the grapevine that three potential routes have. Do you or anyone know is the same area covered by this Edenburt/Cavan bypass which by all accounts seems to be just a different Virginia bypass.


  • #3
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    It is indeed the case that the scheme to provide just a bypass for Virginia is now abandoned in favour of a complete rebuild from the Cavan/ Meath border to Cavan Town Bypass.
    This is from the County Council budget 2009 document mentioning the change of scope.
    The proposed Virginia Bypass Scheme is now superseded by the N3 Edenburt to Cavan Bypass Project.
    Cavan County Council is currently in the process of appointing consultants for feasibility, constraints and route selection stages. It is hoped to appoint these consultants early in 2009.
    http://www.cavancoco.ie/cavanweb/publish/domain/cavancoco/file/your-council/finance/budget2009.pdf
    Dated 11th December, 2008

    According to the December 2009 newsletter this is finished, i.e. "A Feasibility Study was carried out on the Edenburt to N3 Cavan Bypass" but nothing more is said. Its amazing that a project that will likely cost 10s of millions of euros is so badly documented and publicised to the public on the web.

    And who is in charge of the project if you want to find out more seeing as there's next to nothing on the web?
    The current schemes under the control of the Meath County Council National Roads Design Office are M3, N2 Slane Bypass, N2 Ashbourne-Ardee Road Scheme, N3 Edenburt-Cavan Bypass Scheme, motorway service stations, N2 Finglas-Ashbourne Road Scheme, N52 at Fringestown and N87 Belturbet-Ballyconnell
    http://www.meathchronicle.ie/news/navan/articles/2009/12/03/3993235-onefifth-of-m3
    3rd December, 2009


  • #4
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    It seems probable that the NRA are planning a 2+2 from the northern end of the M3 to the start of the Cavan bypass.

    Presumably they'll upgrade the Cavan bypass (which is already WS2) to 2+2 and the N3 Belturbet bypass/border section will be 2+2 also.

    I think that the NRA wants most of the National Primaries between Dublin and the provinces to be at least 2+2.

    Of the 11 primary routes to/from Dublin, five are already/will soon be mainly motorway or DC (1, 6, 7, 8, 9).

    The N10 will soon be basically a spur off the M9 and the N/M11 is likely to be upgraded to mainly motorway/DC within the next few years.

    Once the M3 is finished a substantial part of that route will be motorway/DC.

    If the Kells to border section is upgraded to 2+2 then the entire route will be motorway/DC.

    That leaves the rest of the N/M2, the rest of the N/M4 and the N5 for upgrading.

    The NRA has plans to build a HQDC (which will probably be redesignated to motorway) from Mullingar to Longford and will probably upgrade the Longford to Collooney section to at least 2+2 eventually.

    If the Slane bypass goes ahead as DC, it's only a matter of time before the section between the Ashbourne bypass and there gets upgraded to DC.

    After that, there'll probably be un upgrade of the N2 from Ardee to the border as 2+2.

    AFAIK, the current plans for the N5 are to upgrade the Westport to Castlebar section to 2+2. It would be relatively easy to upgrade the rest of the route to 2+2 (including the WS2 Charlestown bypass) eventually.

    Of course the Greens (plus the state of the economy) will stall these plans for years but they'll probably get built under a new government.

    All those improvements, along with the improvements to the Atlantic Corridor routes, mean that Ireland will eventually have one of the best primary road networks in Europe.


  • #5
    nordydan
    Registered Users Posts: 1,104 ✭✭✭nordydan


    marmurr1916 wrote: »
    It seems probable that the NRA are planning a 2+2 from the northern end of the M3 to the start of the Cavan bypass.

    Presumably they'll upgrade the Cavan bypass (which is already WS2) to 2+2 and the N3 Belturbet bypass/border section will be 2+2 also.

    I think that the NRA wants most of the National Primaries between Dublin and the provinces to be at least 2+2.

    Of the 11 primary routes to/from Dublin, five are already/will soon be mainly motorway or DC (1, 6, 7, 8, 9).

    The N10 will soon be basically a spur off the M9 and the N/M11 is likely to be upgraded to mainly motorway/DC within the next few years.

    Once the M3 is finished a substantial part of that route will be motorway/DC.

    If the Kells to border section is upgraded to 2+2 then the entire route will be motorway/DC.

    That leaves the rest of the N/M2, the rest of the N/M4 and the N5 for upgrading.

    The NRA has plans to build a HQDC (which will probably be redesignated to motorway) from Mullingar to Longford and will probably upgrade the Longford to Collooney section to at least 2+2 eventually.

    If the Slane bypass goes ahead as DC, it's only a matter of time before the section between the Ashbourne bypass and there gets upgraded to DC.

    After that, there'll probably be un upgrade of the N2 from Ardee to the border as 2+2.

    AFAIK, the current plans for the N5 are to upgrade the Westport to Castlebar section to 2+2. It would be relatively easy to upgrade the rest of the route to 2+2 (including the WS2 Charlestown bypass) eventually.

    Of course the Greens (plus the state of the economy) will stall these plans for years but they'll probably get built under a new government.

    All those improvements, along with the improvements to the Atlantic Corridor routes, mean that Ireland will eventually have one of the best primary road networks in Europe.

    IMHO all National Primary routes should be built to a 2+2 standard from now on.

    Furthermore for every km of new build road it should be a stipulation that TEN times its length in local roads should be taken out of the national road network, i.e. if the NRA wish to build the 58km M17.M18 scheme they should find 580km to be closed off entirely. This would placate environmentalists, reduce maintenance costs and provide for a more efficient transportation network


  • #6
    ardmacha
    Registered Users Posts: 7,476 ✭✭✭ardmacha


    they should find 580km to be closed off entirely

    I suggest that they start with the bit going past your house.


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  • #7
    nordydan
    Registered Users Posts: 1,104 ✭✭✭nordydan


    ardmacha wrote: »
    I suggest that they start with the bit going past your house.

    The "bit going past my house" has over 100 houses linked into it in the space of about 300m, that would not be a contender. However there is a road about 200m from it that could easily be closed off, as there are no properties on it, just a few fields.


  • #8
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    Maybe we should get together and find local roads that could be downgraded to paths (i.e not suitable for motorised traffic)?

    I'm sure there must be several hundred kms of very lightly used local roads that don't serve anywhere that anybody needs to drive to.

    A good cull of all road types is needed.


  • #9
    nordydan
    Registered Users Posts: 1,104 ✭✭✭nordydan


    Indeed, might be an idea for a new thread, instead of clogging the n3 one. There are about 100,000km of road in ireland. We can afford to lose 1-2% of this easily


  • #10
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    nordydan wrote: »
    Indeed, might be an idea for a new thread, instead of clogging the n3 one. There are about 100,000km of road in ireland. We can afford to lose 1-2% of this easily

    Good idea, thread started.


  • #11
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    In the tender documents for the Feasibility Study of the N3 Meath Border to Cavan town, there's more details on what they are (were) planning.
    The N3 Edenburt to Cavan Bypass Scheme involves the improvement / replacement of the existing N3 National Primary Route and associated infrastructure, extending from a location south of the Cavan/Meath County Boundary in the townland of Derver, County Meath, to an appropriate location on the Cavan Bypass between the Dublin Road Roundabout in the townland of Pollamore Near and the end of the Cavan Bypass in the townland of Kilnaleck, Butlersbridge, County Cavan,The length of the existing N3 from Derver, Co. Meath to the end of the Cavan Town Bypass at Kilnaleck, Butlersbridge, Co. Cavan is approximately 46km.
    http://www.ga.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=JUN103703

    Its interesting to indeed note that the upgrade of the existing Cavan By-pass is (was) also on the table for evaluation as part of the project.

    Near Butlersbridge theres a number of junctions where traffic turning off has to sit in the centre of the road to wait for often 70mph+ oncoming traffic to pass.
    The worst junction is here, where you are heading south and want to turn for the old N3, against the Northbound traffic coming down the hill: http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=coolboyogue,+butlersbridge&sll=54.03036,-7.368565&sspn=0.029945,0.07287&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Coolboyogue,+County+Cavan,+Ireland&ll=54.031822,-7.36865&spn=0.029944,0.07287&z=14

    In hindsight, the "old" N3 from Butlersbridge village to Cavan, which passes St. Pats/ Loretto schools and also is the access road to the Cavan General Hospital, should have been provided with an under/ overpass for local traffic.
    It was definitely a design oversight as the climbing lane markings had to be hastily altered soon after the By-Pass was opened to allow for an island for right turning traffic to the old N3.


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  • #12
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    Staying on topic....
    The Celt has an interview with the Cavan County Manager this week with all the latest on the N3 Belturbet and N3 Virginia upgrades.

    Re. Belturbet ByPass, and the 3 Million allocation for 2010:
    This latest allocation for the Belturbet bypass follows on from a similar allocation in 2009 and will complete ancillary works including land purchase.
    "We don't have permission to go to tender yet but I always regarded 2011 as the hopeful date. We are now exerting every pressure and every means of persuasion to try and get the go-ahead later this year,"
    So that looks ready to roll.
    Bring on the diggers!

    Re Virginia, and the almost meglomaniac project of completely upgrading the N3 road from the Meath Border to the Belturbet Project at the Fermanagh Border as a Dual Carraigeway.
    Plans for a Virginia bypass are on the table for several years now.
    A two plus one road was originally agreed but it was later decided that the Virginia bypass should form part of a dual carriageway linking the M3 with Cavan town.
    The Cavan County Manager stated that this project is being re-assessed with a view to having it completed on a phased basis.
    Translation: back to plan A.
    Get Virginia by-passed, which is the only section of the road which was originally to be re-built and is really the only section which is chronically sub-standard and untouched in the last 30 years. No word of any progress status there so it'll be a while before anything happens on that front it seems.

    http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/roundup/articles/2010/02/03/3994567-836475m-of-roads-projects/


  • #13
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    the Butlersbridge to Belturbet (incl by pass) is now out for tender
    (thanks to the tender thread for flagging this!!)
    http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=APR148037
    The N3 Butlersbridge to Belturbet Road Improvement Scheme comprises the construction of approximately 6.7 kilometres of standard single carriageway and includes a bypass of Belturbet town. The mainline is generally 7.3m wide with 2.5m wide hard shoulders 3m wide verges on each side.


  • #14
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    I was too busy celebrating paddies day to notice the article in the Anglo Celt about the project proceeding to Tender along with their estimates of various milestones etc that are not in the tender documents.
    Belturbet bypass to start in March 2011
    Published: Thursday, 18th March, 2010 12:00pm

    The Cavan county manager Jack Keyes has told The Anglo-Celt that construction on the Belturbet bypass will begin this time next year, if not earlier.
    He made the announcement after Minister Brendan Smith confirmed that the €50m construction project has finally got the green light to proceed to tender stage.
    Mr. Keyes revealed that a detailed contract process involving pre-tendering and the assessment of contractors normally takes about a year to carry out but the local authority is "trying to expedite it".

    <snip> It's expected that the construction of the road will take about three years to compete with an expected opening date in early 2014. Mr. Keyes said that the construction of the 7km bypass is "very significant" from both an infrastructural and safety point of view.

    There have been nine fatalities on the existing Butlersbridge to Belturbet road over the last nine years.

    <snip> Already, €15 million has been spent on the project, which has allowed considerable ancillary work to be undertaken.

    http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/roundup/articles/2010/03/18/3995666-belturbet-bypass-to-start-in-march-2011/

    and heres a wee image of the current state of the N3 north of Butlersbridge
    1268913047.jpg


  • #15
    nordydan
    Registered Users Posts: 1,104 ✭✭✭nordydan


    I hope the bridges on this scheme are futureproofed to allow for upgrade to 2+2. I got sent a map of this scheme in paper copy from Cavan CoCo about 4 years ago (lost it since), but have never seen detailed drawings of it.


  • #16
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    nordydan wrote: »
    I hope the bridges on this scheme are futureproofed to allow for upgrade to 2+2. I got sent a map of this scheme in paper copy from Cavan CoCo about 4 years ago (lost it since), but have never seen detailed drawings of it.
    from the tender blurb
    The mainline is generally 7.3m wide with 2.5m wide hard shoulders 3m wide verges on each side.

    so road surface of 7.3+2.5+2.5=12.3 total width.
    You could have 4*3m lanes with 0.3 in the middle?

    whats the width of the current 2+2 lanes?


  • #17
    Not
    Closed Accounts Posts: 626 ✭✭✭Not


    A solid white line is desperately needed around the bends between Kilbeggan and Dunshaughlin. I'm fed up going around those bends only to frequently find oncoming traffic coming around blind on the wrong side. No way should this stretch of road have a broken centre line on it. The new motorway isn't going to solve this. Contrast this with the trend for apparantly needless solid white lines on big wide straight stretches of road (as per new link between the Dunboyne - Maynooth road and the M3 junction) :rolleyes:


  • #18
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    Belturbet to Butlersbridge is now gone to proper tender (actually since 3 weeks ago)
    http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=AUG167683&catID=1

    It includes 2 pretty hefty bridges:
    River Erne Bridge - this proposed bridge structure consists of a three span extrados bridge of prestressed and reinforced concrete construction. The proposed bridge is approximately 141m long between centreline of bearing at abutments and shall include a clear span (approximate length = 70m) across the River Erne.
    Aghnaguig Bog Bridge - this proposed bridge shall be a three span bridge of minimum length 210m and shall mitigate the impact of the proposed Scheme on the bog woodland priority habitat in the townland of Aghnaguig.

    and is NOT going to be 2+2 but is:
    - Approximately 6.7 kilometres of standard single carriageway national primary road;
    - Approximately 0.23 kilometres of reduced single carriageway regional road;

    whether the final funding is forthcoming is a question and a half, but they have ploughed so much already into the design along with purchase of land that it would be a lunacy to not proceed to completion.


  • #19
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    Belturbet to Butlersbridge is now gone to proper tender (actually since 3 weeks ago)
    http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/search_view.aspx?ID=AUG167683&catID=1

    It includes 2 pretty hefty bridges

    A bridge over a bog instead of a cutting through a bog? I'm struggling to think of where else something like that could usefully have been built. :)
    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    whether the final funding is forthcoming is a question and a half, but they have ploughed so much already into the design along with purchase of land that it would be a lunacy to not proceed to completion.

    I really hope it goes ahead. This is one of the last remaining stretches of very poor single-carriageway on the M/N3 route and it's on my wishlist.


  • #20
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    so road surface of 7.3+2.5+2.5=12.3 total width.
    You could have 4*3m lanes with 0.3 in the middle??

    Obviously the verges won't be surfaced but their existence allows for future upgrading to 2+2.

    I presume the NRA are not building it as 2+2 in the first place because of currently low traffic volumes.

    Also possibly for fear that An Bord Pleanala would refuse a 2+2 scheme as excessive, as they did with the N26 proposal in Co. Mayo.


  • #21
    Pete_Cavan
    Registered Users Posts: 6,699 ✭✭✭Pete_Cavan


    munchkin_utd wrote: »
    whether the final funding is forthcoming is a question and a half, but they have ploughed so much already into the design along with purchase of land that it would be a lunacy to not proceed to completion.

    Looks like it will go ahead because they wouldnt spend the money on assessing suitability questionnaires and selecting a tenderer if they didnt intend following through with the project. According to this weeks Celt, Cavan Co Co seem to be flush with cash from development levies (http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/roundup/articles/2010/09/22/4000200-funding-for-cavan-inner-relief-route/). There are currently four road projects in Cavan at prequal/tender stage, three of which around Belturbet and Ballyconnell.
    marmurr1916 wrote: »
    I presume the NRA are not building it as 2+2 in the first place because of currently low traffic volumes.

    Traffic volumes on this short section of the road definately would not justify 2+2 but the bypass is needed to avoid that bend at Bunn lake.

    As I said before on another thread I dont think this should remain the N3 long term. The M3 should be extended routed roughly somewhere between Cavan and Granard, bypass Carrick-on-Shannon and on to Sligo. The road should be built HQDC with GSJs Neither the N3 or N4 will have the traffic volumes to justify upgrades so it makes sense to combine them and have one road serving the counties of Cavan, Leitrim and Sligo. This is also a more direct route between Dublin and Sligo. Also the existing M3 has the capacity for the extra traffic while the M4 approach into Dublin is fast reaching capcity so my M3 has other advantages.

    The N3 from the roundabout on the Dublin Road outside Cavan town towards Enniskillen should become the N55, which would run from the border, bypass Belturbet (with this new raod), bypass Cavan and follow existing N55 to Athlone. This route should be upgraded, including bypasses of towns like Ballinagh and Granard, and could be an important link between my extended M3, the N/M4 and M6.

    Of course my ideas are thinking long term and wouldnt expect this to be done in the next 10 years but the NRA could being planning this now.


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  • #22
    marmurr1916
    Registered Users Posts: 2,091 ✭✭✭marmurr1916


    The other Cavan has much better road links:

    http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Cartes?layers=0001&strLocid=32NDJiem01MjIxNDAxMDhORGd1TmpjeWNMVE11TXpRMk1qUT0=&showHRT=&showHRT=&showHRT=


  • #23
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    Strange.
    This is a road improvement scheme on a road that is to be bypassed ASAP by the belturbet by-pass.
    Still, any improvement on this section of road where 9 people lost their lives has to be welcomed seeing as who knows if the new road will go ahead.
    Road Closed:

    N3 Belturbet to Butlersbridge Road from Monday, 18 October to Friday, 22 October 2010 a 24 hour closure for the purpose of Road Improvement Works from Annagh to Corporation Lands.

    Alternative Route: Via the R197 Belturbet to Gannon’s Cross Road and N54 Butlersbridge to Clones road.
    http://www.cavancoco.ie/cavanweb/publish/domain/cavancoco/Default.aspx?StructureID_str=255&guid=285


  • #24
    Squeaksoutloud
    Registered Users Posts: 543 ✭✭✭Squeaksoutloud


    Has anyone any update on this project or a plan of the scheme to hand. I cant seem to find much info on the internet. From all accounts it is to proceed this year.


  • #25
    veryangryman
    Registered Users Posts: 5,528 ✭✭✭veryangryman


    Such a joke that this is going ahead instead of ClareGalway/Adare/N24

    Ive driven Athlone-Enniskillen a few times and never noticed a problem with Belturbet. Certainly not one to prioritise

    Indeed anything N3 related North of Navan (even north of Dunshaughlin TBH) should have never been considered. What is this morbid obsession with the N3 about? Im going to kill Dempsey when i see him - there i said it

    Sort out the Inter-City routes before even considering wasting money on these places. No harm on Donegal/Fermanagh people but there just isnt the traffic to justify this


  • #26
    munchkin_utd
    Registered Users Posts: 7,820 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    veryangryman wrote: »
    Such a joke that this is going ahead instead of ClareGalway/Adare/N24

    Ive driven Athlone-Enniskillen a few times and never noticed a problem with Belturbet. Certainly not one to prioritise
    The problem is the number of deaths on the stretch south of Belturbet

    Theres so much cash already spent on the stretch in design, archeology and completed CPOs that the only sensible thing is to get the thing finished to get value for the cash already spend.

    Regarding N24/ Adare/ Claregalway:
    I cant find any references that say that these 3 projects(/proposals) are fully designed, approved, land bought, archeology performed and ready to go TODAY, as Belturbet is.
    Am I missing something?

    All things being equal, Adare etc are more bang for your buck, more congestion relieved, more economic benefit acrued, more commuters happy, but things ARENT equal.
    These other schemes arent ready to build for a good while yet and Belturbet is one of the few schemes that is 100% ready to progress to build phase


  • #27
    Amtmann
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,093 ✭✭✭Amtmann


    The reason it's going ahead is because it is ready to go ahead and because it will be cheapish to build. The others are far more complex schemes and, unfortunately, they have been neither designed nor approved yet. N24 Pallasgreen to Cahir scheme will only have its EIS published in November 2011, that's how far it is from being ready to build.


  • #28
    Pete_Cavan
    Registered Users Posts: 6,699 ✭✭✭Pete_Cavan


    Squeaksoutloud wrote: »
    Has anyone any update on this project or a plan of the scheme to hand. I cant seem to find much info on the internet. From all accounts it is to proceed this year.

    Original date for receipt of tenders was 7th December and, IIRC, this was extended by a week due to the bad weather. The reason you cant find any drawings on the internet is because this is a design and build project. The council are assessing the tenders atm but as it is D&B this process will take longer than usual because each contractor will have submitted different plans and they are not directly comparable.

    If you are interested in the route, from the drawings that I have seen, the route is basically continuing straight on from the end of the straight section passing Butlersbridge and the bend in the road at Annagh lake will be taken out. It will then cut across before Bunn lake over to the roundabout at Staghall church where the Ballyconnell and Derrylin Roads meet
    veryangryman wrote: »
    Such a joke that this is going ahead instead of ClareGalway/Adare/N24

    Ive driven Athlone-Enniskillen a few times and never noticed a problem with Belturbet. Certainly not one to prioritise

    Indeed anything N3 related North of Navan (even north of Dunshaughlin TBH) should have never been considered. What is this morbid obsession with the N3 about? Im going to kill Dempsey when i see him - there i said it

    Sort out the Inter-City routes before even considering wasting money on these places. No harm on Donegal/Fermanagh people but there just isnt the traffic to justify this

    AFAIK Claregalway and Adare are to be bypassed as part of bigger PPP projects, namely M17/18 and M20. The entire N24 route is also planned to be split into a number of large schemes. As munchkin utd alluded to, this stretch of road at Belturbet is a very dangerous stretch which has claimed nine lives, had about 50 head-on collisions and numerous minor accidents in the few years. The road also sees a lot of large, heavy vehicles, mainly from Quinns plant and quarry and the current road is not fit to take these.


  • #29
    Tech3
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,010 ✭✭✭Tech3


    Given this is a national primary road I presume the road will be built 2+2 rather than S2? Also the lack of information and maps is annoying.
    Such a joke that this is going ahead instead of ClareGalway/Adare/N24

    This project is cheap and ready to go to construction which is why it is proceeding this year. I would rather the Tralee bypass to be scrapped than cancel this one.


  • #30
    JupiterKid
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 12,560 Mod ✭✭✭✭JupiterKid


    The Belturbet Bypass is needed, and needed now.

    Although the town itself is not so much a major bottleneck for traffic, the condition of the road to the south of the town is atrocious and it needs to be realigned.

    Hope this scheme starts as soon as possible.


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  • #31
    Pete_Cavan
    Registered Users Posts: 6,699 ✭✭✭Pete_Cavan


    I forgot to mention in my post yesterday that a contractor has been selected for enabling works (hedge removal and erecting fencing) and this should begin in the next week or two. It is set to last six weeks after which time a contractor should be chosen for the main contract.
    tech2 wrote: »
    Given this is a national primary road I presume the road will be built 2+2 rather than S2? Also the lack of information and maps is annoying.

    I dont think it will be 2+2 and there is no need for this. It shouldnt be a national primary route anyway.


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