N4 - Collooney to Castlebaldwin [open to traffic]

highwaymaniac · 26-12-2018 5:58pm

marno21 wrote: »

Maynooth posts moved.

Tender for this scheme was to be awarded in Q4 2018 and it was to start before Christmas. This has not happened and there has been no official reason published for this.

Here's what Shane Ross said last week:

If I were to guess it's something to do with him that's holding it up.

No doubt, he couldn't care less about it. Pascal could be holding it up too. I would say the tenders must have come in over budget and they have to rerun the cost benefit assessment, which may not be looking great. What other reason to hold it up, can't find anything online about a legal challenge from a losing tenderer and haven't heard anything in that front either.

roadmaster · 26-12-2018 7:17pm

highwaymaniac wrote: »

No doubt, he couldn't care less about it. Pascal could be holding it up too. I would say the tenders must have come in over budget and they have to rerun the cost benefit assessment, which may not be looking great. What other reason to hold it up, can't find anything online about a legal challenge from a losing tenderer and haven't heard anything in that front either.

I wonder could projects like this take the hit for the children’s hospital?

Drifter50 · 26-12-2018 7:44pm

Donegal Storm wrote: »

Yeah 2+2 would be perfectly fine from Longford on, traffic always noticeably thins out after Longford. Once the Castlebaldwin section is done the N4 will be largely complete from a safe alignment point of view but Mullingar - Longford is increasingly bumper to bumper so definitely needs an upgrade.

I'd argue that a Carrick bypass is the single most urgent project on the N4 but seemingly no real progress being made there, I spent 35 minutes in a 4km tailback into the town last Monday all caused by the mini roundabout by the bridge.

There's a short section from south of Mullingar to Lough Owel thats 100kph DC due to inadequate junctions. I drive it frequently and while it'd be nice to see it upgraded I've never seen any issues with it so would place it well down in the list of priorities

Yes, you`re spot on there, regularly waste hours of my life trying to get over that damn bridge

marno21 · 29-12-2018 2:09am

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/delight-as-work-on-n4-scheduled-to-begin-in-early-2019-37648737.html

N4 to proceed to construction after Cabinet signoff.

So the delay has now been pinpointed and it's the usual suspect holding it up.

road_high · 29-12-2018 2:33am

This is a very bad omen for all other road projects- this has been in the pipeline for years, lots of planning done and shovel ready, relatively small compared to say a new M20- and yet hasn’t even started yet on site. What hope then for bigger, less progressed schemes? Shocking stuff

marno21 · 29-12-2018 2:38am

road_high wrote: »

This is a very bad omen for all other road projects- this has been in the pipeline for years, lots of planning done and shovel ready, relatively small compared to say a new M20- and yet hasn’t even started yet on site. What hope then for bigger, less progressed schemes? Shocking stuff

Shane Ross being ****ed out and someone coming in that actually takes their job seriously would be a good start.

Metrolink, BusConnects, M20, M21, N6 Galway Bypass, this scheme amongst others delayed this year due to political incompetence.

29-12-2018 2:57am

marno21 wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/delight-as-work-on-n4-scheduled-to-begin-in-early-2019-37648737.html

N4 to proceed to construction after Cabinet signoff.

So the delay has now been pinpointed and it's the usual suspect holding it up.

I'm sorry, but what? Can you clarify because that article you linked and your comment do not tie together

marno21 · 29-12-2018 3:03am

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm sorry, but what? Can you clarify because that article you linked and your comment do not tie together

Tenders have been received by Sligo County Council, they are awaiting Cabinet signoff on the project before proceeding to construction.

What's wrong with my comment?

road_high · 29-12-2018 10:45am

marno21 wrote: »

Tenders have been received by Sligo County Council, they are awaiting Cabinet signoff on the project before proceeding to construction.

What's wrong with my comment?

I was confused too. The cabinet haven’t actually signed off on it yet I think is the question?

jdbarry · 22-01-2019 10:28am

https://www.oceanfm.ie/2019/01/22/work-officially-due-to-start-on-major-n4-project/

HabibiLibnen · 22-01-2019 3:12pm

https://www.midwestradio.ie/index.php/news/28723-minister-ross-to-turn-the-sod-on-long-awaited-new-n4-from-collooney-to-castlebaldwin-this-sunday

Midwest reporting that the sod-turning will be this Sunday.

veryangryman · 22-01-2019 5:36pm

Map of the scheme looks to be an almost online dualling - is this correct?

Are they building a roundabout or freeflowing it from south of Castlebaldwin?

Theyd hardly be smart and lose the N17/N4 roundabout as part of this or am i being hopelessly optimistic.

marno21 · 22-01-2019 5:52pm

veryangryman wrote: »

Map of the scheme looks to be an almost online dualling - is this correct?

Are they building a roundabout or freeflowing it from south of Castlebaldwin?

Theyd hardly be smart and lose the N17/N4 roundabout as part of this or am i being hopelessly optimistic.

The first few kms on the northern side are online - the rest is offline

The N17/N4 roundabout will remain as is. When the N17 dualling is done there'll be three dual carriageways meeting at the roundabout so it'll likely need addressing then

HabibiLibnen · 22-01-2019 5:58pm

The section closest to the Collooney tie-in is online but most of it is offline but parallel to the existing route.

ryanch09 · 22-01-2019 6:31pm

Is there a specific time for this to be completed in 2021 or is that just an estimate in itself?

HabibiLibnen · 23-01-2019 2:03am

http://www.midwestradio.ie/index.php/news/28737-minister-shane-ross-to-visit-sligo-on-25th-february

It's actually not going to happen until February 25th. 4 months lost when this could already be well under way.

roadmaster · 23-01-2019 10:04am

Who has won the contract it doesn’t say in the reports

tigerboon · 23-01-2019 10:09am

roadmaster wrote: »

Who has won the contract it doesn’t say in the reports

Roadbridge as far as I know

Donegal Storm · 23-01-2019 10:10am

HabibiLibnen wrote: »

http://www.midwestradio.ie/index.php/news/28737-minister-shane-ross-to-visit-sligo-on-25th-february

It's actually not going to happen until February 25th. 4 months lost when this could already be well under way.

Jokeshop.

Is there any confirmation that work is even starting then? Sod turnings are just meaningless PR shoots a lot of the time. Plenty projects over the years that had sod turnings then never even started

roadmaster · 23-01-2019 10:15am

tigerboon wrote: »

Roadbridge as far as I know

Id say with site set up etc we could be looking at well after st Patrick's day before any heavy work starts

tigerboon · 23-01-2019 10:31am

roadmaster wrote: »

Id say with site set up etc we could be looking at well after st Patrick's day before any heavy work starts

Time enough for earthworks. Only burning diesel before that.

HabibiLibnen · 23-01-2019 7:19pm

Is there any chance they'd start before the sod turning? As already mentioned, it's just a PR event and I've seen sod turning events for schools etc happening after construction commenced.

roadmaster · 23-01-2019 7:39pm

tigerboon wrote: »

Time enough for earthworks. Only burning diesel before that.

They got be getting rid of the bushes and hedges before 1st March Aldo I I know technically under planning they can remove them after the1st March but the grennies still would winge. Since you mentioned roadbridge I have seen a few ads for them looking for staff in the west

marno21 · 23-01-2019 9:38pm

No rush or anything

https://twitter.com/sligococo/status/1088165692036337665

marno21 · 24-01-2019 1:49am

Anyone from the area know if the hedges along the route have been cleared?

If not, construction work will start approx 3 days before the hedge cutting ban comes into effect which rules that out for 6 months.

Funny how such a straightforward project can be turned into such a dumpster fire under the eye of this individual.

roadmaster · 24-01-2019 7:04pm

marno21 wrote: »

Anyone from the area know if the hedges along the route have been cleared?

If not, construction work will start approx 3 days before the hedge cutting ban comes into effect which rules that out for 6 months.

Funny how such a straightforward project can be turned into such a dumpster fire under the eye of this individual.

As mentioned in my last post i believe there is a clause under planning that you can remove the hedges after the official ban but the optics look bad if you do

roadmaster · 25-01-2019 11:21am

What is the long term plan for road type from this road to mcneads bridge? Is it going to be a mix of HQDC,Motorway,Type 2 or will they for less confusion for the standard motorist have 1 type only?

BelfastVanMan · 25-01-2019 12:12pm

roadmaster wrote: »

What is the long term plan for road type from this road to mcneads bridge? Is it going to be a mix of HQDC,Motorway,Type 2 or will they for less confusion for the standard motorist have 1 type only?

I THINK...It's going to be Type 1 DC from Sligo to Collooney, Type 2 DC Collooney to Castlebaldwin, WS2 Castlebaldwin to Carrick, Type 2 DC Carrick to Longford, Type 1 DC (Inc. Motorway) Longford to Lucan.

marno21 · 25-01-2019 4:26pm

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

I THINK...It's going to be Type 1 DC from Sligo to Collooney, Type 2 DC Collooney to Castlebaldwin, WS2 Castlebaldwin to Carrick, Type 2 DC Carrick to Longford, Type 1 DC (Inc. Motorway) Longford to Lucan.

This is correct. Planned improvements between now and circa 2030 are 2+2 from Collooney-Castlebaldwin, 2+2 around Carrick on Shannon to the Dromod/Roosky bypass, and the entire gap between J17 of the Mullingar bypasss and the Dromod/Roosky bypass which will be an unknown standard.

The biggest change here will be that the DC now will start north of Carrick-on-Shannon and run the whole way to Dublin instead of starting at Mullingar. That's an extra 73km of dual carriageway which will make a substantial difference. It's likely that the Castlebaldwin-Boyle-Carrick section will be 2+2 retrofitted post 2027 giving continuous Sligo-Dublin DC.

L1011 · 25-01-2019 11:00pm

The 2+2 retrofit will be relatively easy due to the sections being new builds from the 1990s/early 2000s and frequently featuring climbing and passing lanes anyway. There's some limited grade separation too, e.g. the junction for Ballinafad. All good road built to a very high standard for the time, and with minimal encroachment over time - that its mostly offline from Boyle to Castlebaldwin and a relatively large chunk north of Carrick helped there in terms of accesses going on to the old N4.

A few compact GSJs and unfortunately probably a roundabout at each end of the Boyle bypass should solve all the crossing traffic.

marno21 · 29-01-2019 7:02pm

Bingo

https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2019/0129/1026310-n4/

highwaymaniac · 29-01-2019 9:10pm

HabibiLibnen wrote: »

Only €150 million for a major upgrade. Albeit short but that's not expensive. Compare that to €1.4 million for a news room revamp at RTE...

Also bare in mind that this is the total budget including vat, land,design, supervision etc.

veryangryman · 30-01-2019 8:22pm

Delighted for Sligo. Those crosses are an awful sight (though a reminder if how dangerous) on the existing stretch.

Downside of course is 2 years of Stop/Go systems and the likes i guess.

BelfastVanMan · 30-01-2019 9:19pm

veryangryman wrote: »

Delighted for Sligo. Those crosses are an awful sight (though a reminder if how dangerous) on the existing stretch.

Downside of course is 2 years of Stop/Go systems and the likes i guess.

Shouldn't be too bad....all offline bar the two tie-ins.

marno21 · 30-01-2019 11:30pm

BelfastVanMan wrote: »

Shouldn't be too bad....all offline bar the two tie-ins.

2/3km closest to Collooney is online upgrade

marno21 · 09-02-2019 8:33pm

Confirmation that this project will start this month and that the contract has been awarded to Roadbridge

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/road-saw-almost-30-deaths-in-30-years-37766526.html

roadmaster · 10-02-2019 9:52am

marno21 wrote: »

Confirmation that this project will start this month and that the contract has been awarded to Roadbridge

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/road-saw-almost-30-deaths-in-30-years-37766526.html

I was in Sligo last week and seen roadbridge pickups driving around. They must be planning on starting very soon

marno21 · 22-02-2019 2:07pm

https://twitter.com/CISireland/status/1098931496491118593

Sod turning today also in Sligo as per post below

https://www.oceanfm.ie/2019/02/22/sod-officially-turned-on-new-n4-stretch-by-taoiseach-leo-varadkar/

hondar · 22-02-2019 2:37pm

Official sod turning today.plant has been in there working for the last 2 weeks.

marno21 · 26-02-2019 12:27am

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/PublicTenders/ViewNotice/211946

Tender award to Roadbridge in full.

JupiterKid · 27-02-2019 12:28am

hondar wrote: »

Official sod turning today.plant has been in there working for the last 2 weeks.

Glad to hear this much delayed and urgently needed scheme has finally started. But why on Earth did Leo V show up for the sod turning? Wasn’t Shane Ross’s présence enough?

Looks like Leo would turn out for the opening of a pack of crisps...:rolleyes:

marno21 · 27-02-2019 12:37am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Glad to hear this much delayed and urgently needed scheme has finally started. But why on Earth did Leo V show up for the sod turning? Wasn’t Shane Ross’s présence enough?

Looks like Leo would turn out for the opening of a pack of crisps...:rolleyes:

They have custom made Ireland 2040 hard hats and hi vis jackets now. May as well make the most of them

highwaymaniac · 27-02-2019 12:39am

X

marno21 wrote: »

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/PublicTenders/ViewNotice/211946

Tender award to Roadbridge in full.

Lowest was €70M highest nearly €98M that's some spread and only 4 tenders received!

Aontachtoir · 27-02-2019 1:17am

JupiterKid wrote: »

But why on Earth did Leo V show up for the sod turning? Wasn’t Shane Ross’s présence enough?

National infrastructure deserves national attention.

That and there isn't going to be many other sod turnings for the next few years.

marno21 · 27-02-2019 1:37am

Aontachtoir wrote: »

National infrastructure deserves national attention. That and there isn't going to be many other sod turnings for the next few years.

N5 Westport-Turlough, N22 Macroom-Ballyvourney in 2019. No sod turning at Dunkettle (yet!) which is a bit surprising.

spacetweek · 28-02-2019 10:04pm

highwaymaniac wrote: »

X

Lowest was €70M highest nearly €98M that's some spread and only 4 tenders received!

Very cheap, I wonder why some schemes are so incredibly expensive compared to others, even taking into account standard, terrain etc.

marno21 · 09-04-2019 1:40am

Stop go system in place along here until 2021 as per AA Roadwatch. Looks like it will be a long 2 years for any N4 regulars

shanec1928 · 09-04-2019 6:31am

marno21 wrote: »

Stop go system in place along here until 2021 as per AA Roadwatch. Looks like it will be a long 2 years for any N4 regulars

Great..

veryangryman · 09-04-2019 11:53pm

On the mainline? Ah ffs i thought road was to be parallel

spacetweek · 10-04-2019 10:32am

veryangryman wrote: »

On the mainline? Ah ffs i thought road was to be parallel

It is parallel; I don’t see why you’d need a stop/go system?

N4 - Collooney to Castlebaldwin [open to traffic]

Comments