IRL: M1 widening

odlum · **Posted:** Sat Jan 07, 2012 16:32

Hi all,

Phase 1 of widening the M1 to 6 lanes between J1 (M50) and J3 was completed last year.

Phase 2 contract of M1 widening scheme has been awarded to SIAC construction. Construction on an additional lanes and upgrading of J4 is to begin immediately which will provide some relief to commuters.

http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/show/ ... =JAN300035

bothar · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 00:07

This section include the Broadmeadow Bridge (inland of the railway one that collapsed). This bridge was designed to be widened to D3.

Some more info on the upgrade of the Lissenhall Interchange (M1/R132).

Trebeck · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 23:22

Most of the M1 has been well futureproofed with wide medians.

odlum · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 00:28

Quote:

Work on 3rd lane of M1 from Drinan (J3) to Lissenhall (J4) begins on 25th of January

Construction of an additional lane in each direction of the M1 between Junction 3 (Drinan) and Junction 4 (Lissenhall) is due to start on Wednesday 25th January next.

The works will be carried out in the central median from the northern end of the current M1 Lane Improvement Scheme and construction is expected to be completed by the end of November 2012.

Upgrade works will also be carried out at the Lissenhall Junction starting in February and lasting approximately five months.

Statutory speed limits will be in operation during the works and drivers are expected to observe these reduced speed limits at all times and to drive with extra caution in the vicinity of the road works.

Fingal County Council regrets any inconvenience or delays this work will cause to motorists.

http://www.fingalcoco.ie/Roads/SchemesonDisplay/SchemesPreviouslyonDisplay/DrinanLissenhall-Proposed3rdLane/

Mark Hewitt · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 09:48

odlum wrote:

Hi all,

Phase 1 of widening the M1 to 6 lanes between J1 (M50) and J3 was completed last year.

Is it Irish standard to say '6 lanes', as usually it would be referred to as a 3 lane motorway?

IrlRon · **Joined:** Fri Feb 10, 2006 21:01 **Posts:** 478

Depends who you're talking too, I've heard people refer to them as "triple carriageways"!!!!

The concept of a dual carriageway with more than two lanes in each direction is foreign to a lot of people, since they're new arrivals and only really exist in the Dublin area.

Mark Hewitt · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:43

IrlRon wrote:

Depends who you're talking too, I've heard people refer to them as "triple carriageways"!!!!

The concept of a dual carriageway with more than two lanes in each direction is foreign to a lot of people, since they're new arrivals and only really exist in the Dublin area.

Sure, a lot of people here seem to think a dual carriageway is so called because there are two lanes, so if it has more than two lanes that means it's a motorway!

Trebeck · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:52

Mostly 2 lane motorways are why people on this island don't get English comedians' jokes about "those middle lane hoggers!".

Mark Hewitt · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:13

Trebeck wrote:

Mostly 2 lane motorways are why people on this island don't get English comedians' jokes about "those middle lane hoggers!".

Indeed, many don't think 2 lane motorways exist at all. I've commented before on another forum about getting stuck in Lane 2 behind a lorry on the motorway and several replies were along the lines of why don't you use lane 3? What lane 3?

M5Lenzar · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 14:46

Mark Hewitt wrote:

Trebeck wrote:

Mostly 2 lane motorways are why people on this island don't get English comedians' jokes about "those middle lane hoggers!".

Indeed, many don't think 2 lane motorways exist at all. I've commented before on another forum about getting stuck in Lane 2 behind a lorry on the motorway and several replies were along the lines of why don't you use lane 3? What lane 3?

It would be interesting to see what percentage of our motorway network actually was D2M. Thanks to little lengths of it through junctions (Almondsbury comes to mind), I suspect it's more than most would think.

Trebeck · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 14:54

In fairness to the Scottish motorway network, it is mostly D2M too.

I think the main motorways (the M6/M74, M1 for example) are mostly D3M?

M5Lenzar · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 15:21

Virtually all of the M5, especially south of J15, is D3M.

All the other sections of major motorways seem to use D3M as the default, only gaining and dropping lanes when traffic levels demand.

Chris Bertram · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 15:51

M5Lenzar wrote:

Virtually all of the M5, especially south of J15, is D3M.

All the other sections of major motorways seem to use D3M as the default, only gaining and dropping lanes when traffic levels demand.

The only remaining bits of M5 with two lanes are:

1) At M6 J8, both of the M5 arms are D2M, but combine as D3M. This is original.
2) At J4a, there are fake lane drops through the junction - not original, added by paint job later
3) At Almondsbury, the main line drops to D2M through the junction, as does the M4. This is original.

J3 to J8 was originally built as 2-lane. All the remainder was built as 3-lane, with the exceptions above. There are now sections of 4-lane near Bristol.

Trebeck · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 16:30

Certainly in NI/the North, anything wider than D2M is treated in terms of D2M.

The original hill section of M2 was 3 lane uphill, treated as a crawler lane/Sandyknowes lane drop.

M2 foreshore is 5 lanes, but is treated in practice as 1+2+2, especially with the leftmost lane drop/gain for Fortwilliam, 2 lanes to and from the M5-M3, and 2 (3 including the Fortwilliam lane) to and from the M2-Westlink.

Westlink -> M1 3 lane sections, the inside lane is treated as an extended off/onslip.

Though there are no real long sections of D3M, all of these sections are usually widening to accomodate junction traffic.

nirs · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 20:52

Trebeck wrote:

Certainly in NI/the North, anything wider than D2M is treated in terms of D2M. The original hill section of M2 was 3 lane uphill, treated as a crawler lane/Sandyknowes lane drop.

That's how it was treated because that's how it was meant to be used. The original plan for the M2 hill section was D2M. Before work began it was realised that lorries would be unable to sustain their speeds on gradients that reach 1 in 14 at one point. Thus it was decided to add a crawler lane up hill to allow slow vehicles the space they needed. The recent upgrade changed that a bit, in that the third lane now starts at Fortwilliam. But it was originally designed as a crawler lane, and people were correct to treat it as such.

loch_cuan73 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 21:49

Will be heading through the works on Friday morning, hopefully the extra lane will sort the delays when the extra lane opens.

IMO should have been built D3M from the start, never seen light traffic here except maybe nights and early mornings at the weekend.

Trebeck · **Posted:** Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:38

nirs wrote:

Trebeck wrote:

Certainly in NI/the North, anything wider than D2M is treated in terms of D2M. The original hill section of M2 was 3 lane uphill, treated as a crawler lane/Sandyknowes lane drop.

That's how it was treated because that's how it was meant to be used. The original plan for the M2 hill section was D2M. Before work began it was realised that lorries would be unable to sustain their speeds on gradients that reach 1 in 14 at one point. Thus it was decided to add a crawler lane up hill to allow slow vehicles the space they needed. The recent upgrade changed that a bit, in that the third lane now starts at Fortwilliam. But it was originally designed as a crawler lane, and people were correct to treat it as such.

Fair point and thats exactly how it is used. As it was a lane gain from Greencastle there was no need for Livingston crawler lane-style signage .

I guess that I was trying to say was that other sections of D3/D3M are treated similarly, as a D2 with crawler lane or on/offslips. For example, the inside lane between Grosvenor Road on the Westlink and Blacks Road on the M1 is really used for traffic leaving and joining, traffic tends to use the outside 2 lanes as a D2.

loch_cuan73 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 27, 2012 18:54

Passed here both ways today. Not much construction activity yet, just lots of cones either side if the central reserve.

Enceladus · **Posted:** Fri Jan 27, 2012 23:38

Good to see work finally getting underway on widening this section of the M1. At least they had the foresight to make the entire M1 wide median so that it can be widened easily in the future when required. Ideally it would be widened to D3M all the way up to Balbriggan, but given the dire straits the country is in fiscally it's better than nothing.

Widening of the M7 Naas bypass, on the other hand, will require the demolition and rebuilding of a few bridges.

NSWP · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 05:19

Whilst I was in Ireland in 2004 an Irish Tour guide told me that Motorway funding in Ireland comes from the European Union, with very little money actually coming from the Irish Government. Now with the EU in a little trouble, would that mean that Irish Motorway construction will falter? :roll:

I liked this in Ireland :drink:

IRL: M1 widening

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