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Tag Archives: roads
Road verses Rail. Part 1: The case for roads.
Road verses Rail. Part 1. Why do most people prefer rail to road? Most people, myself included, if asked would say that they prefer train travel to road travel. This is strange when you consider that trucks and cars are far … Continue reading
Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged advantages of roads, cars, ireland, Road verses Rail, roads, the case for roads, trucks
2 Comments
On the road: Playing chicken with sheep
The Curragh plains are in the East of Ireland, in County Kildare. It is a lovely area of flat open grass land, (approx. 20 square km), most of which is common land. As the land is open grazing, visitors driving … Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged dangerous roads, ireland, Irish, kildare, roads, The curragh
1 Comment
Historic French infrastructure: Different ways to cross water
Long before terms such as cost-benefit analysis, whole life costing etc were invented these concepts were being used by governments to choose solutions to infrastructural challenges. In North Western France, within 12km of each other, are examples of two remarkable … Continue reading
Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged bridge, Brittany, Cartanec, economic, France, infrastructure, Morlaix, Railway, Railway viaduct, roads, tidal road
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More tolls proposed for Irish motorways
A recent report recommends additional tolls for existing Irish motorways as a way to generate additional revenue for the Government. Continue reading
Road markings for merging traffic
I took the following photograph at the junction between the M50 and M1 outside Dublin, Ireland, traveling South bound. As you can see the traffic has to merge from two lanes to one lane before joining the M1 motorway. But my question is, why does the slower inside lane traffic have to move into the overtaking lane Continue reading
Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged dublin, ireland, m1, m50, markings, overtaking lane, roads, slow lane, traffic
4 Comments
M1 motorway closed at Watford due to fire
At first thought you would think it would be hard to close a motorway for days because of a fire. But not, it turns out, when the fire occurs beneath the motorway. On Friday a fire occurred in a scrap yard which was located under a bridge of the M1 motorway at Watford, North London, in England. The fire was severe and damaged the bridge supporting the motorway. As a result the motorway was closed last weekend. This caused serious traffic congestion. The motorway has now partially reopened, while inspections and repairs are carried out. Continue reading
Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged London, m 1 motorway, m1 closed, m1 fire, m1 motorway, motorway, reinforced concrete and fire, roads, traffic, watford
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Roads as tourist attractions
Large or spectacular buildings and bridges can give local people pride but they can boost tourist numbers by giving strangers an identifiable fix on an area they have yet to visit. But it goes beyond this with people actually deciding to visit an area to see a building. These are too numerous to mention but to name a few, from oldest to youngest: Newgrange, The Pyramids of Gaza, The Parthenon, The Colosseum, The Tower of London, The Vatican, The Taj Mahal, The Eiffel Tower and the tallest building in the world the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. These are the best known tourist attractions but there many more. However what about famous roads?
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Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged norway, paved roads, roads, the Atlantic road, tourist attractions
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Snap, said my car engines timing belt
The timing belt in my car has failed while I was driving on the M50 motorway. There was no bang or loud noise when it happened, the engine just stopped working. The computer display in the car simply stated ‘check fuel injectors’. The car is being fixed at the moment, but as I have learned a lot about timing belts in the last week, I thought I would share it with you all. Continue reading
Posted in Technical & Discussion
Tagged camshaft, car, engine problem, engine valves, engineer, engineering, Irish, roads, Snapped, Timing belt failure
6 Comments
A machine that lays an instant brick paved road!
A friend e-mailed my pictures of this amazing machine that is used in Holland to speed up the laying of brick paved roads. It is an impressive operation and a sensible idea. The manufactures say that it can lay more paved road per worker then the traditional method, while reducing the amount of back braking work. The machine is called the Tiger Stone and it is a good example of someone ‘thinking outside the box’. Continue reading
Posted in Infrastructure
Tagged brick layer machine, brick roads, cobblelock, construction, Holland, paved roads, paving, roads, tiger stone machine
7 Comments
Ireland’s M7 motorway complete
Last week marked a mile stone day in the history of Ireland’s road infrastructure. The last section of the M7 opened, between the towns of Nenagh and Castletown. This final section of link motorway is 36km long and it cost 365 million euro to build. The total length of this completed motorway is 195 km. As a result, apart from one signal controlled traffic junction (Newlands Cross), ever major city in Ireland is linked to the capital, Dublin, with either a motorway or high quality duel carriageway. Continue reading
