[IRL] N25 - New Ross Bypass

[murphaph]

The markings are yellow but is the sign blue and if so, is there a green version available?

[NedNew]

An excellent recent drone video courtesy of insta_mavic:

https://youtu.be/sVTLUlv5BgQ

[Enceladus]

Barrow Bridge now only days away from the deck joining up...

https://i.imgur.com/uttoc2f.jpg

[spacetweek]

Bridge looks amazing.
https://i.imgur.com/XtiEKZE.jpg

[nowster]

Bridge looks amazing.
https://i.imgur.com/XtiEKZE.jpg

That's a "WOW!" from me, too.

[Herned]

Bridge looks amazing.
https://i.imgur.com/XtiEKZE.jpg

Check your link, that's a totally different bridge!

[spacetweek]

Whoops! It seems that's a bridge in Panama! Silly me

However I assure you the New Ross bridge in Ireland is almost as good.

[spacetweek]

Let me try again: https://imgur.com/Wj6mSXw

[Johnathan404]

Let me try again: https://imgur.com/Wj6mSXw

Still nice but anything less than your previous post was always going to be a disappointment!

[spacetweek]

This is even better, with added wind turbines: https://i.imgur.com/AzKiPP5.jpg

[spacetweek]

One more. The gap between the bridge spans is being built right now.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpos ... count=1570

[Herned]

One more. The gap between the bridge spans is being built right now.
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpos ... count=1570

Great photos. Is the rest of the road more or less done?

[spacetweek]

Great photos. Is the rest of the road more or less done?

From aerial photos yes apart from signing and lining, but the word is that the scheme isn't opening until November so there's a way to go yet.

[bothar]

[Brownfools]

I kept hearing rumours that, when the cables were tensioned to take the weight of the bridge, something wasn't right with the structure.

This from the Irish Times.
Crumbling concrete delays finish of Ireland’s longest bridge
Delivery of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge over Barrow delayed ‘by several weeks’

Delivery of Ireland’s longest bridge has been delayed by several weeks due to crumbling concrete which was detected at one of the supporting piers for the structure, The Irish Times has learned.

The problem, which was detected over the summer and has since been remedied, is thought to have been caused by voids within the pier which occurred during the high-pressure blasting of concrete during construction.

The 887m Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge, which crosses the river Barrow between Wexford and Kilkenny, forms part of upgrades to the €230 million New Ross bypass.

A spokesman for Wexford County Council said “there was an issue with one of the 11 pier supports at the interface where the pier meets the underside of the bridge deck”.

The spokesman said the matter was identified as part of a works monitoring regime and corrective action was successfully undertaken. While remediation work did not stop main construction work from progressing, the spokesman said that fixing the issue had led to a delay of “weeks, not months”.

The council argued that “non-conformances of this nature are not untypical on a structure of this complexity”.

The project is a public-private partnership (PPP) with a joint venture of BAM Civil Construction and Spanish builder Dragados responsible for construction. A spokesman for BAM said the company was contractually precluded from discussing the project.

The bridge was initially scheduled to open early this year, but construction complexities unrelated to the issue around the piers have led to delays. It is thought the bridge is now likely to open towards the end of this year or early next year.

Challenging weather conditions during the winter may present another hurdle to completion of the project, Wexford County Council said in a statement.

“Wexford County Council remains hopeful that the project will open before the end of the year, but also recognises that the timeline is challenging and is subject to an ongoing review. We are conscious that there is a growing anticipation of the opening and that a lot of people in the New Ross area and beyond have waited a long time to see this project come to fruition.”

The bridge, which is one of the longest of its construction type in the world, is named after the mother of former US president John F Kennedy, whose ancestors came from the New Ross area.

“The project stakeholders are working to ensure that the project is completed safely and opened at the earliest opportunity to realise the benefits that the project will bring to New Ross and the wider region,” the spokesman added.


There is a rather disturbing picture in the article of the crumbling support. I can't seem to get it to post in the article. I'll try and post it separately.

[Brownfools]

Hopefully, the image will post here!

It doesn't exactly inspire confidence, does it!

[spacetweek]

Thankfully this seems to have been a storm in a teacup. The deficient concrete has been removed and replaced.
We're still on track for an end-of-year opening.

[Brownfools]

I wish I could say that I admire your confidence.
All involved have long since given up on setting an opening date.
But still, on the plus side, the later into next year it gets, the better the weather is likely to be!
However, all our thoughts should be with the poor b*****d who had his chest and lung punctured in an accident involving a cable on the bridge.
Details reproduced from the New Ross Standard -
A worker on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy bridge was seriously injured in an horrific accident on Wednesday night (13th) which saw him suffer a serious chest injury.

The Italian man is understood to have been working with cables at 8.15 p.m. when one punctured his chest. The accident occurred in close proximity to some co-workers who quickly reported the incident.

There was grave concern for the man who is believed to have suffered a punctured lung and other injuries. He was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Waterford's Intensive Care Unit where he was treated.

Gardaí arrived from New Ross and preserved the scene until Health & Safety Authority officials arrived to carry out an investigation.

Works ground to a halt on the bridge on Thursday as the investigation was carried out.

A spokesperson for Transport Infrastructure Ireland said they are aware that an incident occurred in which a member of the site team was injured and was subsequently removed to hospital.

'On behalf of the project, all at TII would like to wish the injured man a speedy recovery. The N25 New Ross Bypass scheme is being delivered under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mechanism. Under the PPP contract, responsibility for Health & Safety during the Construction phase rests with the contractor - in this case New Ross Joint Venture (NRJV). The incident on November 13 was handled in accordance with the contractor's Health & Safety procedures including notification to the Health & Safety Authority. All stakeholders on the project continue to work towards completion of the scheme and wishes that all those working on site keep safe as the works draw towards a conclusion.'

A spokesperson for the PPP company BAM Iridium said: 'An incident occurred on the N25 New Ross Bypass. An operative working for a specialist sub-contractor was injured and was taken to hospital. His condition is described as comfortable and the incident is under investigation. Whilst continue putting the emphasis on making the site safe for everyone, we hope for the prompt recovery of our colleague.'

[bothar]

Sad to hear of the injury, but at least such things are uncommon on modern projects unlike the significant number of fatalities on large bridge projects in the past.

[Brownfools]

Yes, Bothar. Thankfully that's true. Which, I suppose, is why it comes as a shock.
This bridge does seem jinxed, though.
I was watching an old episode of Thunderbirds yesterday. The one where the Arlington suspension bridge collapses after a storm. Our RFK bridge was the first thing it brought to mind. And we have plenty of storms here!
Perhaps when they do (hopefully) open it, we should have a video camera permanently watching it.
Well, you wouldn't want to be kicking yourself after the event, would you?