N55 - Athlone to Ballymahon [preferred route published; complete before 2032]

marno21 · 13-10-2017 9:28pm #1

http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/home/275459/new-ballymahon-to-athlone-route-sparks-fears-of-center-parcs-headache.html

Looks like the N55 realignment between Ballymahon and the Pigeons has been scrapped in favour of a full new route from Ballymahon to Athone.

This will be pushed given the new Centre Parcs place in Ballymahon.

SeanW · 13-10-2017 10:11pm

Good thing something is being done with this road. Has some awful sections. Ballykeeran in particular is a kip. No offense to the Ballykeeraners, but a steep drop into the town, a 90 degree bend and then a steep ascent?

JupiterKid · 14-10-2017 6:41am

Good to hear. The N55 from Athlone to Edgeworthstown in particular is an atrocious section of road.

Is the Centre Parcs proposal for Ballymahon actually going ahead? I had heard of its announcement but nothing since.

Truckermal · 14-10-2017 10:51am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Good to hear. The N55 from Athlone to Edgeworthstown in particular is an atrocious section of road.

Is the Centre Parcs proposal for Ballymahon actually going ahead? I had heard of its announcement but nothing since.

Ya work is started on it!

road_high · 14-10-2017 1:09pm

Good, this road is like a rollercoaster coming out of Athlone. The angle dips are incredible for a national road.

Middle Man · 14-10-2017 2:25pm

road_high wrote: »

Good, this road is like a rollercoaster coming out of Athlone. The angle dips are incredible for a national road.

Not only that but with our changing demographic situation, we need to consider re-designating some National Secondary Roads as National Primary given the strategic importance of some. Examples would include the N52 (Belfast to Limerick (N33)), N54/N55 (Belfast to Galway (N12)), N61 (Athlone to Sligo (N34)), N62 (Cork to Athlone (N35)) etc.

roadmaster · 19-10-2017 9:02pm

http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2017/10/18/4147371-have-your-say-on-new-athlone-to-ballymahon-road/

I Don't know if this is the original public consultation or another one

elperello · 19-10-2017 9:11pm

road_high wrote: »

Good, this road is like a rollercoaster coming out of Athlone. The angle dips are incredible for a national road.

You are right but I'll miss that car park at the top of the hill.
Great view over the Inner Lakes and out to Lough Ree.
One of the best inland views in Ireland.

SeanW · 22-10-2017 2:43pm

What stage is this plan at - it's supposed to be done by 2020?

road_high · 23-10-2017 2:52pm

elperello wrote: »

You are right but I'll miss that car park at the top of the hill.
Great view over the Inner Lakes and out to Lough Ree.
One of the best inland views in Ireland.

The pace infrastructure moves at in this country, it'll be a while before you'll be missing the car park!

whyulittle · 24-10-2017 10:54pm

Allow up to 6 years according to this!

http://www.shannonside.ie/news/local/longford/full-upgrade-n55-ballymahon-athlone-take-six-years/

elperello · 24-10-2017 11:00pm

whyulittle wrote: »

Allow up to 6 years according to this!

http://www.shannonside.ie/news/local/longford/full-upgrade-n55-ballymahon-athlone-take-six-years/

Sure we'll all have to go into Glasson anyway to charge up our electric gizmos by then!

D Trent · 24-10-2017 11:06pm

I bet this doesn't even incorporate a bypass of Ballymahon which is a load of shlte

elperello · 24-10-2017 11:13pm

And a couple of more jobs that wouldn't cost much would be -

1-The right turn outside Ballymahon where you leave the Lanesborough road towards Keenagh.
2- The sharp left about a mile further on towards Keenagh.

JupiterKid · 25-10-2017 1:57am

Surely a planning prerequisite for the CenterParcs development would be that the local roads that will serve the complex are upgraded?

This is putting the cart before the horse. CenterParcs are very large facilities that draw in a lot of people. How will the N55 and other local roads cope?

L1011 · 25-10-2017 2:11am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Surely a planning prerequisite for the CenterParcs development would be that the local roads that will serve the complex are upgraded?

This is putting the cart before the horse. CenterParcs are very large facilities that draw in a lot of people. How will the N55 and other local roads cope?

They really don't generate that much traffic at all. Workers arrive very much staggered traffic wise; guests arrive over an entire day.

The infrastructure needs of Centreparcs were gone in to in detail - hence the gas line.

Med101007 · 01-02-2018 10:38am

Can anyone tell me where exactly the Center Parcs development is taking place? Is the site located on the Athlone side of Ballymahon? I need to visit the site offices tomorrow and I don't really know the area that well.

D Trent · 01-02-2018 12:11pm

Med101007 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me where exactly the Center Parcs development is taking place? Is the site located on the Athlone side of Ballymahon? I need to visit the site offices tomorrow and I don't really know the area that well.

It'll be on your Right hand side if your coming from Mullingar approaching Ballymahon.
If your in Ballymahon, go past the Garda station on your left stay on that road it will be on your left before a sign post for Abbeyshrule, again this is the road to Mullingar

marno21 · 10-05-2018 8:40pm

Public consultation ongoing on a new route between Athlone and Ballymahon.

http://www.shannonside.ie/news/local/longford/five-different-routes-identified-n55-realignment-athlone-ballymahon/

http://www.midlands103.com/news-centre/information-evening-n55-glasson/

roadmaster · 30-05-2018 2:09pm

N55 Public Consultation Extended

http://www.midlands103.com/news-centre/n55-public-consultation-extended/

marno21 · 30-05-2018 7:20pm

roadmaster wrote: »

N55 Public Consultation Extended

http://www.midlands103.com/news-centre/n55-public-consultation-extended/

Good. Iron out any issues now rather than when it gets to An Bord Pleanala.

Anyone familiar with the area want to comment on the project so far?

tullyhumphry · 06-06-2018 11:59am

I live very close to Route B and it looks like it will be one of the preferred options. As part of the submission process we have been asked to propose the best alternative route if we don't believe the one affecting us is suitable. Many of the residents living along the existing N55 (Ballykeeran, Glasson, Tubberclaire and Tang) have chosen Route B as the best alternative as it will mean they will be living on/ beside a nice quiet local road in the future. I was told a number of farmers on Route B have already been approached regarding CPO but this could just be a rumour.

medoc · 22-06-2018 7:15am

Hopefully on track to announce the preferred route soon.

http://www.midlands103.com/news-centre/westmeath-council-not-expecting-delay-choosing-n55-route/

veryangryman · 24-06-2018 9:57pm

N61 (Athlone to Sligo (N34)), N62 (Cork to Athlone (N35)) etc.
I think it should go one further and reassign parts of each road.
N61 should only be made primary from Athlone to Roscommon (as its a star junction of sorts for other secondary routes) The routes from there on not so much. Those going to Sligo (outside of Athlone to Sligo traffic, not much) would use the N4 or N17, both of which with upgrades planned. Roscommon to Boyle, leave as secondary. Little to no traffic. Straighten out some bits but generally that's getting done already.
N62... Ah c'mon. Athlone to Cork can be achieved much safer and faster by going M6->N52->N80->M7->M8. The N80 Tullamore to Portlaoise upgrade when done will copper fasten that (and back up the need for alot of N52 to be primary). In fact when M20 is complete, you can get to Cork doing M6->M18->M20. Nobody should have to go near Birr and/or the bogs without actually wanting to go there in the first place.
Lets spend the pennies we get for Infrastructure wisely.

Bacchus · 26-06-2018 11:41am

veryangryman wrote: »

N61 (Athlone to Sligo (N34)), N62 (Cork to Athlone (N35)) etc.
I think it should go one further and reassign parts of each road.
N61 should only be made primary from Athlone to Roscommon (as its a star junction of sorts for other secondary routes) The routes from there on not so much. Those going to Sligo (outside of Athlone to Sligo traffic, not much) would use the N4 or N17, both of which with upgrades planned. Roscommon to Boyle, leave as secondary. Little to no traffic. Straighten out some bits but generally that's getting done already.
N62... Ah c'mon. Athlone to Cork can be achieved much safer and faster by going M6->N52->N80->M7->M8. The N80 Tullamore to Portlaoise upgrade when done will copper fasten that (and back up the need for alot of N52 to be primary). In fact when M20 is complete, you can get to Cork doing M6->M18->M20. Nobody should have to go near Birr and/or the bogs without actually wanting to go there in the first place.
Lets spend the pennies we get for Infrastructure wisely.

The M6-M18-M20 would be a very nice alternative to M6->N52->N80->M7->M8 whenever it is complete (is there any sort of ETA for the M20?). What would that cut the journey down to? 2:30? The M6->N52->N80->M7->M8 route hovers around the 2:45 mark depending if there's light traffic on the N52 and N80.

Selfishly though, I'm in east Cork so an upgrade of the N52 & N80 would be great, as going out towards Galway/Limerick would be swinging quite far west to go back east again in Cork.

The N62 is a horrible road to go on though and I would have thought it was a busy link connecting Athlone to Birr, Nenagh, Thurles, Limerick.

roadmaster · 26-06-2018 11:58am

Does anyone know what option the locals are more in favor off?

Bacchus · 26-06-2018 1:48pm

roadmaster wrote: »

Does anyone know what option the locals are more in favor off?

I've only heard the opinions of a few locals but... B I think, taking it wide of Glasson

marno21 · 08-11-2018 5:57pm

Public consultation planned later this month .. https://www.longfordleader.ie/news/home/346255/public-meeting-to-consider-ballymahon-to-athlone-routes.html

marno21 · 26-06-2019 2:45am

Public consultation on preferred route tomorrow

https://www.longfordleader.ie/news/home/426623/public-consultation-on-preferred-route-for-n55-athlone-to-ballymahon-road-realignment.html

medoc · 26-06-2019 9:33pm

The preferred route has been announced today.

http://www.midlands103.com/news-centre/new-route-for-n55-upgrade-is-revealed/

https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2019/06/26/4176134-preferred-route-for-new-n/

Aontachtoir · 27-06-2019 12:35am

medoc wrote: »

The preferred route has been announced today.
https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2019/06/26/4176134-preferred-route-for-new-n/

Project Engineer in Westmeath National Roads Office, Ann Marie Corroon, said that the timeframe for the project is “between eight and thirteen years”...

marno21 · 27-06-2019 1:16am

Aontachtoir wrote: »

Project Engineer in Westmeath National Roads Office, Ann Marie Corroon, said that the timeframe for the project is “between eight and thirteen years”...

It is beyond parody at this stage.

roadmaster · 27-06-2019 1:34pm

marno21 wrote: »

It is beyond parody at this stage.

That’s crazy stuff they are not going to get two stressed anyway

Pete_Cavan · 28-06-2019 10:11am

Imo they should be building more of the upgraded route on the existing road. There is about 2km south of Glasson and potentially 0.6km north of it which would be suitable for online upgrade, plus at least 1km more north of Tang. There is only a small number of houses on these stretches and many of them are small old bungalows which probably won't be occupied beyond the current occupants anyway. Building more online should mean less CPOing, less environmental issues, reduced costs and ultimately faster delivery of the project.

veryangryman · 28-06-2019 12:02pm

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

Imo they should be building more of the upgraded route on the existing road. There is about 2km south of Glasson and potentially 0.6km north of it which would be suitable for online upgrade, plus at least 1km more north of Tang. There is only a small number of houses on these stretches and many of them are small old bungalows which probably won't be occupied beyond the current occupants anyway. Building more online should mean less CPOing, less environmental issues, reduced costs and ultimately faster delivery of the project.

I cant think of much of that road id like to see again, houses, hedges and awkward bends galore. Lets do a quality upgrade here, its been a long time coming

SeanW · 28-06-2019 1:43pm

Agreed. There are a few small bits of the current road that are good, but the bulk of it is poor.

But ... 13 years :mad: and the plan isn't even all that ambitious, as it looks like it still goes very near to Ballykeeran. While it may cut the bad bend and some of the steep hills, it will still mean a lot of traffic noise in Ballykeeran which will not have much room to grow, to say the least with the new road cutting so close. I also would not be surprised if the new road has urban speed limits or gets them soon after construction owing to the new roads' proximity to the village centre.

Could it be cut into phases with some phases done faster?

Pete_Cavan · 28-06-2019 2:24pm

veryangryman wrote: »

I cant think of much of that road id like to see again, houses, hedges and awkward bends galore. Lets do a quality upgrade here, its been a long time coming

The sections of road I am talking about are quite straight and any bends could be improved as part of the upgrade. The road would obviously be widened to the applicable standard. A mix of online and offline sections could be of similar quality in a shorter time.

marno21 · 17-08-2019 12:46pm

Now we have an N55 Steering Group to make racket about this development

https://www.longfordleader.ie/news/news/438045/concern-over-new-athlone-to-ballymahon-n55-route-plans.html

It doesn't seem to be going anywhere at the minute anyway so they need not be too concerned.

SeanW · 17-08-2019 5:31pm

I'm not usually a fan of NIMBYs but in this case they do have a point - for some reason the "New" N55 will be really close to the existing one, such that all the traffic (and all the noise and everything) will still be very close to the towns and homes on the current route. Not to mention that if any of these towns or villages grow, like a few hundred metres, they'll quickly encompass the new road. Ballykeeran and Glasson look particularly problematic. Why is the "emerging preferred corridor" so close to the existing urban areas?

I made a submission and raised my view that the new road should give the urban areas a wide berth, IIRC I wrote in support of the blue option (Option

. This design is puzzling.

munchkin_utd · 30-09-2019 8:27am

Longford County Council have a clearer map of the route than the newspapers in their broschure
http://www.longfordcoco.ie/services/roads/latest-news/n55-eprc-brochure.pdf

As for the 13 years timeline, they must be planning something similar to the N55 upgrade in Cavan where sections were done bit by bit when funding became available and having the road so close to the old one allows this to happen

marno21 · 31-07-2020 3:23pm

https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2020/07/31/n55-road-design-modifications-under-investigation/

SeanW · 02-08-2020 4:08am

marno21 wrote: »

https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2020/07/31/n55-road-design-modifications-under-investigation/

Thanks for the update/article.

Hopefully by "design modifications" they mean moving the plan at least 1km to the West. Northern part looks good but the Southern part is a head-scratching mess. Glasson and Ballykeeran both need proper bypasses, but the planned road cuts very close to the villages to the point of being more like an inner relief road. Why?

The plan is for a new road anyway, why not build the new road far enough from the villages as to give them some space and quiet?

munchkin_utd · 18-10-2022 9:25am

Westmeath co co have a project website with working links to broschures but otherwise I cant find any news on progress with the scheme.

https://www.westmeathcoco.ie/en/ourservices/roadsparkingandtransport/westmeathnationalroadsoffice/n55athlonetoballymahon/

cartoncowboy · 24-10-2022 10:17am

Is the plan for this to be single carriageway or dual of some kind?

munchkin_utd · 24-10-2022 10:57am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119786051#Comment_119786051

you would presume the road type would be chosen appropriately matched to the traffic.

The traffic is barely 4000 AADT at the 2 stations on the N55 (admittedly not on this exact stretch, but surely it'd be close enough) https://trafficdata.tii.ie/publicmultinodemap.asp

For a 2+1 the threshold is 14,000, a 2+2 20,000 https://www.tiipublications.ie/library/DN-GEO-03059-01.pdf

If I understand right, theres to be no more 2+1 any more so anything that might require that could be done as a 2+2 (tight dual with no hard shoulder like Kells N3 section) but, its still difficult to see how they could possibly justify a dual when the traffic is (probably) not even near the threshold for a 2+1

KrisW1001 · 24-10-2022 1:46pm

You're right: there will be no more 2+1 builds in Ireland. The most likely options for a secondary road with such low traffic is Type 2 Single Carriageway (Diagram here: courtesy of sligococo.ie). If there are busier sections at either end of the scheme, it may get bumped to Type 1 for consistency. There's almost no chance of a Type 2 Dual Carriageway here, which is recommended for traffic above 13,000 AADT: three times the current volume (20,000 is the maximum for Type 2 DC).

marno21 · 21-01-2023 3:28am

https://www.anglocelt.ie/2023/01/20/new-n55-route-plan-by-february/

godtabh · 12-03-2023 11:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120137222#Comment_120137222

That didn’t happen

Standard Toaster · 10-05-2023 12:56pm

https://www.westmeathcoco.ie/en/ourservices/yourcouncil/councilnews/pressreleasen55athlonetoballymahonroadscheme.html

https://twitter.com/westmeathcoco/status/1656228538066907136

13-08-2023 11:23pm

Looks like this will be done in bits rather than a single catch all project

https://www.westmeathindependent.ie/2023/08/11/council-moves-to-advance-n55-revamp-with-bypasses/

marno21 · 18-08-2023 11:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120974630#Comment_120974630

Seems rather pragmatic. It'll get built this way same as the LVNS projects on the west coast (even though they are underway 10+ years now and only partially complete).

N55 - Athlone to Ballymahon [preferred route published; complete before 2032]

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