THE BIGGEST and most contentious single stretch of roadway in Irish history was opened without a hitch yesterday morning. Though frequently on the defensive since the M3 motorway was first proposed 13 years ago, the developers of the €1 billion M3 project had their day in the sun. Security was unprecedented for an event like this. The opening was by invitation only and there were Garda checkpoints at the Athboy interchange where the protesters gloomily gathered at least 2km (1.25 miles) away. It was “Spanish weather” according to Iñigo Meirás, the managing director of Ferrovial, the Spanish construction giant which built the project in a joint venture with Irish company SIAC. An outsized Spanish flag and the tricolour flew side-by-side at the opening ceremony as a strong sun beat down on the guests who gathered on a stretch between the Athboy interchange and Navan for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Those in attendance were local mainstream politicians, representatives from various local chambers of commerce, a number of clergymen and some of the 1,000 construction workers who worked on the project including a substantial delegation from Spain. “This day is for the people of Meath and not for those under the ground,” said former chairman of Meath County Council, Cllr Nick Killian who has been a trenchant supporter of the project from the beginning. The protesters who considered the M3 routing through the Tara-Skyrne valley as a desecration of Ireland’s cultural heritage were conspicuous by their absence. Onlookers gathered on an overpass, but they were so far away it was hard to see if they were protesters or curious bystanders. A Garda helicopter was in operation in the skies overhead monitoring protesters, though none got near disrupting the opening ceremony. It was a happy day for Minister for Transport and local TD Noel Dempsey who said his only regret was not building the motorway years earlier. The M3 was a “much needed and strategically significant” motorway and he was proud to be the minister responsible for opening it. It was a “historic day in a county steeped in history” he said, adding that the best route was chosen. Protesters would beg to differ. He said the people of Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells would now get their towns back from the “choking traffic” which had blighted their quality of life for years. “All of us who commute or have a business along this route have been looking forward to this day for quite some time and it is great that it has finally arrived,” he said. The chairman of Meath County Council, Cllr William Carey acknowledged that there were people upset by the routing of the M3 motorway, but he believed it would be “impossible” to build any road through the Tara area without disturbing remains. The whole project constitutes nearly 100km of new road, the largest single road project ever built in the State. Along with 60km of motorway, there will be 35km of side roads, 15km of link roads and a 4km N52 bypass of Kells. There are tolls at Dunshaughlin and Clonee and one at Grange between Navan and Kells. The cost will be €1.30 for each toll. The road was supposed to open at 4pm yesterday, but by early afternoon 200 cars had queued up to try and be the first to use it.
larryone wrote: » While I am a roads enthusiast, I am 100% behind the protesters on this one. Another route could have been chosen that would have saved time, money, and the damage done. It really takes away from the feeling of seeing another fantastic piece of infrastructure being added.
wellbutty wrote: » Is it single or dual carriageway from Kells to the border?
oddiot wrote: » The final junction with the N51 seems to have been planned with a view to continuing the route between the dumbell roundabouts at some date in the long term.
The route seemed noticably 'curvier' than most other motorways, in that for a lot of the time you can't see more than 500-1000 meters in front of you. This wasn't an issue for sightlines, and in a way it made the route more interesting to drive.
veryangryman wrote: » Anyone else feel like this guy needs a box?http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/toibin-condemns-m3-in-co-meath-2208147.html
"The real kicker is yet to come, when traffic levels will show that the taxpayer will start paying millions of euros every year to the toll company, because traffic fails to meet the traffic guarantee which was secretly written into the M3 contract by the NRA." However Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, who officially unveiled the motorway, which bypasses Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells, said it was one of the biggest road projects to open in Europe this year.
larryone wrote: » Any chance you have a GPS device capable of collecting a trace?? We only have partial surveys on OSM...http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=53.6462&lon=-6.6878&zoom=12&layers=B000FTF
Fiskar wrote: » Define a queue, enforce a rule. Can you find out the rules for this motorway in relation to this as it would be useful to know?
The Minister stated that lessons have been learned and applied from the West-Link experience and strong safeguards have been built in to prevent PPP companies earning super-profits and to ensure a high level of toll plaza performance. "The fact alone that the Kilcock/Kinnegad toll concession was only awarded following a strongly competitive procurement process contributed substantially to a good outcome from a value for money perspective." "The performance criteria ensure that the tolling facilities will provide an efficient method of toll collection and that there will be little if any delay to users", he said. The PPP agreement provides that: each automated toll collection express lane will allow unhindered passage of a vehicle with a valid transponder; for each direction of approach to a toll station, the average queue of vehicles calculated across all lanes will be no greater than 6 vehicles; and the queue of vehicles waiting in any toll lane shall not exceed 12 vehicles at any time. A strict performance regime is provided for in the PPP contract to ensure compliance with these requirements. Defaults in performance by the PPP Company lead to the imposition of a financial penalty together with the award of points under a penalty points system which may trigger increased levels of monitoring at the PPP Company's cost and ultimately contract termination. "These provisions while not requiring the barriers to be lifted, clearly incentivise the operator to maintain a high level of service", said Minister Cullen.
wilsoan wrote: » Yes. Office to home (Dunsany to Mullagh) in 35 minutes instead of 1 hour 15 plus. Had the added pleasure of giving abusive gestures to Tara demonstrators on a bridge. I suppose they will now campaign to close the old N3 which is closer to Tara than the M3 and must cause much more distress to the fairies and the spirits of the druids.
marmurr1916 wrote: » I'm assuming that was a on-off because it's opening day. All other motorways operate under rules that force them to open toll barriers if queues build up.
Fiskar wrote: » Are ya mad or what, see my post previous page, they broke down on all stations, kept the barrier up and forced people to stop and pay. It will be a disaster come Tuesday morning.
marmurr1916 wrote: » The total tolls from Dublin to Kells are €2.60 one-way - not too bad compared to tolls on other m'ways. I presume the toll barriers will have to be lifted if queues build up?
Furet wrote: » Tara Watch press release:While the M3 motorway is opening today, the controversy will continue for years to come:
Furet wrote: » Tara Watch press release:http://www.tarawatch.org/[/LEFT]
