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N5/N26/N58 - Castlebar-Bohola / Swinford-Mount Falcon

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭StephenM_smc


    Got a link to more information?

    Edit: Here's some info on the decision to reject the proposed N26 Foxford By-pass.
    THE NATIONAL Roads Authority (NRA) and Mayo County Council have been sent back to the drawing board by An Bord Pleanála to design a “more modest” alternative to a 19km dual-carriageway bypassing Foxford.

    Refusing permission for the proposed scheme, the appeals board said it would “constitute an unacceptable intrusion into the Moy river valley and its designated habitats, and would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.

    The board described the Moy as “a salmon angling resource of major international significance” that contributed to the economy of Co Mayo, noting that it had been designated as a special area of conservation (SAC) and was also a proposed natural heritage area (NHA).

    The road scheme, which included two major bridges over the Moy and two interchanges to serve Foxford, had been designed as a dual-carriageway even though an earlier upgrade of the N26 between Ballina and Mount Falcon was a wide single-carriageway.

    Referring to existing and future predicted traffic volumes, the board said: “It has not been demonstrated that the proposed road scheme . . . is justified and that a more environmentally and economically sustainable road upgrade scheme is not available.”

    In deciding not to accept the planning inspector’s recommendation to grant approval subject to conditions, the board noted the inspector’s concerns about the impact of the two proposed bridge crossings on sites for over-wintering whooper swans.

    “The board considered that a precautionary approach needed to be taken in this case, having regard to the predicted traffic flows on the route, and that a more modest upgrade may be acceptable which complements the important resource of the river Moy,” it noted.

    This is only the thir

    d time Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a major road scheme.

    The earlier refusals were the 1km Athy inner relief route in Co Kildare, and the Ballybofey-Stranorlar bypass in Co Donegal, which was turned down last October.

    In its decision on the Athy scheme, made in June 2005, the board said the proposed route “would fail both as a street and as a relief road because it would continue to bring traffic, including heavy commercial vehicles, through the town centre”.

    On the Ballybofey-Stranorlar bypass – a 15km dual-carriageway – the board had concerns about road safety and environmental protection, which it felt required a complete redesign of the scheme.

    IrishTimes

    http://dt106ers.com/blog/2010/02/bord-pleanala-seeks-more-modest-road-for-foxford-by-pass/


  • Registered Users Posts: 548 ✭✭✭unit 1


    Mayo advertiser freebie last week I think.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,917 Mod ✭✭✭✭spacetweek


    In fairness, this scheme is overspecced. It connects at its northern end to the SC Ballina-Bohola Phase 1 scheme and the SC N5. Why dual carriageway, then? And look at the settlement sizes. Nothing too big.

    Back to the drawing-board, indeed.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,098 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Reduced DC is the basic standard for any new road schemes, thats why - WS2 has been deleted.

    The N26 doesn't even need to be primary except for Ballina's ego, let alone need DC, but thats what the NRA do now. We may thank them for it in the future... or not.


  • Registered Users Posts: 548 ✭✭✭unit 1


    spacetweek wrote: »
    In fairness, this scheme is overspecced. It connects at its northern end to the SC Ballina-Bohola Phase 1 scheme and the SC N5. Why dual carriageway, then? And look at the settlement sizes. Nothing too big.

    Back to the drawing-board, indeed.
    Intention is to actually have a DC from Westport to where this scheme meets the N5. Sounds far fetched I know but that what living in a bannana republic entails.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 5,811 ✭✭✭Chris_5339762


    Absolutely no way a month of sundays should this be DC. Good grief.


  • Registered Users Posts: 548 ✭✭✭unit 1


    Absolutely no way a month of sundays should this be DC. Good grief.
    Maybe so but that's the plan. My source by the way was a guy working in the roads design office, granted it was about 3-4 years ago.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 118 ✭✭StephenM_smc


    If they do re-spec the N26 for single carriageway I hope they do it to a higher standard than the existing section outside Ballina. There are a lot of local roads feeding onto it and reduces the usable area for overtaking etc. Something the lines of the Charlestown by-pass would have adequate capacity for what the N26 needs without having to connect every road that passes by.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    Its crazy that the whole plan got as far as it did and then got knocked back by ABP, where is the joined up thinking (stupid question really we all know about lack of it), Overspecced or not the kind of dc they are talking about will take the same amount of pavement as a wide single carriagway with HS, and will be a lot safer - the road has to be upgrade so do it properly.

    It's a strange one. I feel like going out and shooting those f'ing swans that have apparently been part of the reason why this has been knocked back.


  • Registered Users Posts: 548 ✭✭✭unit 1


    Swans may have been shipped in by nefarious FFers to stymie project, only to resurrect it in time to save Dara and Bev in 2012.:mad:


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,105 ✭✭✭user1842


    Hi,

    Does anyone know what is happening to phase 2 of the N26. According to the NRA website, An Bord Pleanala has refused the scheme after accepting it a few years back.

    This stretch of road has got to be the worst national primary road in the country. To hell or to Connaught seems to be what is happening here all over again.

    For god sake build the road.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,419 ✭✭✭Cool Mo D


    I think it was refused because it was a dual carriageway, and an bord pleanála felt that it was an excessively big road to build in that spot.

    http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9079:end-of-road-for-ballinas-n26&catid=23:news&Itemid=46


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,105 ✭✭✭user1842


    Thanks for the link.

    So it took an bord pleanála two years to make that call.

    That is totally ridiculous. It was my understanding that it was a 2 + 2 road which is just slightly wider that a 1 + 1 with a hard shoulder.

    Just change the plans to a 1 + 1 then to make them happy, and built the road.

    Its funny, im from Ballina originally and this road has been in the planning for more than 20 years. Its like the government are now purposely arresting the development of North Mayo. Why would I want to go back?


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,811 ✭✭✭Chris_5339762


    Absolutely no way this needs to be DC. Single carriageway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19 Nice Uncle P


    I have an an interview recorded with Peter Sweetman, (in)famous paralegal environmentalist on this very topic recorded last week for Castlebar Community Radio. PM me and I'll email an mp3 of the interview.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,811 ✭✭✭Chris_5339762


    Is he at it AGAIN?


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 14,071 Mod ✭✭✭✭monument


    Absolutely no way this needs to be DC. Single carriageway.

    Indeed, and you'll find that at least some people in the area agree. I don't know what the NRA were at planning a dual carriageway.

    Its funny, im from Ballina originally and this road has been in the planning for more than 20 years. Its like the government are now purposely arresting the development of North Mayo. Why would I want to go back?

    The story goes that the original plan for the road were so strongly objected to by people along the route that the project was stalled, but the money had to be spent in a given time and so it was diverted to Castlebar, were it was spend on the ring road and roundabouts.


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


    I have an an interview recorded with Peter Sweetman, (in)famous paralegal environmentalist on this very topic recorded last week for Castlebar Community Radio. PM me and I'll email an mp3 of the interview.

    Having listened to the interview, thankfully I can report that Mr Sweetman is neither eloquent nor persuasive (everything he opposes seems to be "stupid, right?").


  • Registered Users Posts: 607 ✭✭✭Neworder79


    The current word from Mayo CoCo is that they are reviewing the whole project. Westport - Castlebar is being split into a separate project so it can advance, but a new alignment and access point onto the N5 will need to be identified for the N26, or what ever new route is chosen.

    They are now looking at the project in terms of best linking the South Galway axis onto the N17 as well as East - West Castlebar/Dublin.

    http://www.regdesign.com/PDF_Files/Project-Update-and-Clarification-13-05-10.pdf


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    Absolutely no way this needs to be DC. Single carriageway.


    Precisely, Chris and hindsight is a great thing but if you take the N26 south of Ballina on the new section to just shy of Foxford, the standard 2 lane with hard shoulder is perfectly adequate for this bit of road - and would be for the remainder down to Bohola. The NRA are largely to blame for this one size fits all policy that all new national roads must be DC; in this case it is overkill - what is needed is safe seamless road with good sightlines for overtaking and safe junctions. I want to see this road built as much as anyone in our area - but actually can begin to see why ABP knocked it back. The road could have been built to this standard 20 years ago - but now we have what can only be described as a dogs breakfast situation; rather depressingly for both Ballina and Castlebar, I don't think we will see any solution for another 20 years - anyway such is the incompetence of the various parties involved, central Govt, Local Govt and agencies of the state like the NRA.

    If this project at this level had been just got on with ten years ago - a link bypass to the N59 on the Sligo side of Ballina could have been built as well - but just look how long it has taken us to arrive nowhere, apart from the short stretch out of Ballina to Mount Falcon.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 228 ✭✭wild handlin


    Apoligies folks if this has already been addressed, (if it has could someone please guide me to the thread) however I remember hearing a while ago that there was a proposal that the N26 was to be up-graded with a new road running south of Ballina where the "new" alignment ends to joining up with the N5 on the Dublin side of Swinford bypassing both there and Foxford. If memory serves me correctly this will (or would have) required building a totally new road between (Sth of) Ballina and around Foxford and onto Swinford with 2x new bridges over the River Moy.

    What (if anything) has become of these plans, or am I dreaming of them?:confused: Was there (or is there still?) a plan to build a new road from Ballina - Swinford?


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,098 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    ABP rejected the scheme on the grounds that it was out of scale (dual carriageway). Nothing heard since.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 4,917 Mod ✭✭✭✭spacetweek


    Neworder79 wrote: »
    They are now looking at the project in terms of best linking the South Galway axis onto the N17 as well as East - West Castlebar/Dublin.
    I had my own ideas about how the roads could be connected up in this area.

    My ideas were:
    2+2 from Bohola-N17 along the N5 (assuming there will be 2+2 from Bohola to Castlebar)
    SC from Bohola-N17 via Kiltamagh (assuming the N26 scheme will have gone ahead)

    I thought about combining the two, but unfortunately this would make the recently built Charlestown BP obsolete, which would be a shame.


  • Registered Users Posts: 607 ✭✭✭Neworder79


    It lives! This project went back to a strategic traffic review following ABP rejection to look at flow between towns in the region and new interface points with the N5. Mayo County Council and the NRA have published feasible route corridors under consideration for the N5/N26/N58.

    Google maps of routes:
    http://www.regdesign.com/?page_id=645


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,811 ✭✭✭Chris_5339762


    Fair play to them, although they really are trying to cover their bases by including EVERY POSSIBLE ROUTE. While I do hope this goes ahead eventually, there are far bigger priorities.


  • Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 14,071 Mod ✭✭✭✭monument


    Fair play to them, although they really are trying to cover their bases by including EVERY POSSIBLE ROUTE. While I do hope this goes ahead eventually, there are far bigger priorities.

    Expect a route east of Foxford.

    While I do hope this goes ahead eventually, there are far bigger priorities.

    And even with this, the N5 upgrades along this section is much lower of a priority than the N26/N58.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,106 ✭✭✭antoobrien


    Fair play to them, although they really are trying to cover their bases by including EVERY POSSIBLE ROUTE. While I do hope this goes ahead eventually, there are far bigger priorities.

    This is a lesson that was learned from the rejection of (parts of) some controversial projects that shall remain anonymous.


  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 14,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭marno21




  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 14,317 Mod ✭✭✭✭marno21


    Confirmation from TII that the scheme won't be done this side of 2025

    http://www.mayonews.ie/news/28946-n26-upgrade-dead-in-the-water-claims-councillor


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  • Registered Users Posts: 32 newtown13


    Very disappointing considering the length of time this has been discussed and the traffic volumes on the road. It also appears that the revised plan doesnt include a bypass of either Foxford nor Swinford aside from an western bypass of foxford for the castlebar route.


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