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IF YOU’RE PLANNING a trip through Kildare this weekend you should be warned traffic diversions come into effect along the M7 from 9pm on Friday night.
Traffic will be restricted to one lane between 9pm on Friday and motorists will be diverted onto new slip roads to facilitate the demolition of an existing overbridge on the motorway.
During the peak travel times of 6am and 10pm on Saturday and Sunday, traffic will return to using two lanes but a speed limit of 25km/h will be in force in some parts.
The diversions come as part of the M7 upgrade project which will expand the road from two lanes to three lanes in a bid to ease congestion.
In a statement, Gardaí said: “As part of the M7 upgrade project it is necessary to demolish an existing overbridge to facilitate the ongoing construction of the new Osberstown Interchange Junction 9a between junctions 9 (Naas North) and Junction 10 (Naas South). This will affect traffic in both directions.
“Traffic will be directed around the area of the works via the newly constructed off/on slips of this new interchange. A cautionary speed limit of 25km/h will be in place through the new roundabout.
“Before 6am on Monday 1 April the demolition works will have been completed and traffic will return to the current mainline.”.
The latest phase is expected to be completed in April with the project completed in full by early 2020.
Kildare County Council apologised to motorists and said “any inconvenience caused to the public is regretted”.
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It usually takes 40 mins on Friday evenings to get from Naas North to Naas South on the M7 with 2 lanes. One lane will be mind-numbing.
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: “From 9pm on Friday”
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: do you not know the back roads, through Tallaght, Blessington, NASA south on your doorstep with da backroads
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: I’m sure you mean arse numbing.
@Chewey Bacca: Tallaght might be a bit too early for backroads. Castlewarden or Kill down the old Woolpack Road until the Curragh. That’ll be chockers too at that time.
M7 is the most gridlocked road in the country, M50 is a walk in the park compared to it. Hopefully the addition of the third lane will have the desired effect?
@Aging Lothario: More lanes = more traffic
@Slab Murphy: Maybe more traffic but will be less per lane.= less congestion.
@Shawn Rahoon: Research shows that when you add more lanes, traffic reduces for a while but then goes up as more people use the road than before.
@Aging Lothario:
Seriously?
The M50 is a complete disaster…..all day, everyday.
@moneymaid: totally agree, both m50 and m7 are a disaster. They should both be closed down.
@Shawn Rahoon: No one has ever managed to solve congestion by building new roads or lanes. Maybe we’ll be first though, there’s always hope :P
@Aging Lothario: I live in naas all my life…it should be 4 or 5 lanes at this point. 3 will allow growth for another 5 to 7 years max.
@Shawn Rahoon: Build the roads, the cars will come.
At least there’s no traffic going to Croke Park from Kerry and Limerick this weekend!
@Darren O’Sullivan: and kilkenny who will join onto the m7
@Daniel Fielding: Somehow i think Waterford will be bringing more fans than Kilkenny!
Thats Kerry, Limerick, Waterford & KK fans all coming up the M7 at the same time.
With one lane open.
Its going to be gridlock!!
Lol and the brain boxes planned a “triple header” im croke park with kerry limerick and kilkenny involved. #mayhem on sunday
@Daniel Fielding: but Kerry and Kilkenny fans don’t travel for league matches
@Daniel Fielding: and Waterford….
Thankfully not going on the M7 this weekend!
Thank feck!
@Barry Somers: we were all just thinking that.
2 lanes to 3 lanes for now, why not make it 4 lanes because give it 10 or 20 years they will do this all again to make it 4 lanes anyway
@Karl Charlie:
Most (but obviously not all!) existing bridges can accommodate three lanes each way without major work but four would mean demolition and rebuilding of most of them.
@Karl Charlie: because Uber sky ports will make owning a car redundant
Continue to commute in to pay tax to fund the inner city dwellers.
Where is my comment?
@Maire: too hot to handle, stupid Planners!
@Maire: there it is now
@Maire: did you try the drawer in the back kitchen? I sometimes leave stuff there. Or on the unit in the living room???
@Maire: or under the sofa
If this is ur only worry of the week!! Ur a lucky person.
*further delays
There is no such thing as a 25km/h speed limit.
Maybe a 25km/h advisory limit for tight corners, but NO ONE can be legally prosecuted for exceeding a 25k zone.
@mike: there was two gatso Van’s within a kilometer of each other on the same side in the temporary 60 zone yesterday…..sneaky sneaky.
Building Junction 9A? Such a wasted opportunity; Junction 9.75 has more tourism potential…
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