Westmeath fans travelling from the South of the county will shortly find their travel time to GAA headquarters cut dramatically as the next phase of the N6 National Primary Dual Carriageway is well underway. The emergence of the senior footballers in 2004 has seen a dramatic increase in the support that the county has and although they are going through a transitional period at the moment, support for the Lake County is one of the best in the country. Maroon and White spoke to County Council Project Engineer Niall Kennedy and Ascon Senior Site Agent Jack Curley about the project and what affect it will have on motorists. Currently a year ahead of schedule and within budget is a Design and Build project consisting of the phased construction of the N6 Dual Carriageway. The two phases in this scheme will create a new 60km stretch of high quality road running from Kinnegad to Athlone, and will form part of the Dublin to Galway east-west major inter-urban route. At half a billion euro in total, this scheme is geared to significantly improve road safety and reduce travel times between east and west, as well as dramatically reducing local traffic flow by up to 80% in the villages and towns through which the previous route passed. When completed, the new 60km road will bypass the towns and villages of Kinnegad, Milltownpass, Rochfortbridge, Tyrrellspass, Kilbeggan, Horseleap, Moate and finally Athlone on the river Shannon. A total of seven diamond interchanges will provide access to these centres and the Irish Midlands Region is already gearing up to reap the benefits that the local tourism industry has to offer. Niall told us that the client authority is Westmeath County Council and that the National Roads Authority has funded the project. The successful contractor, appointed after a very competitive tendering process for this major design and build contract is Ascon Ltd, who retained Jacobs Babtie Consultant engineers for the detailed design elements of the project. Roughan O'Donovan/Ryan Hanley - WSP JV, Consulting Engineers advised the client in relation to all aspects of the contract. "Each of the two phases involves a two and a half year programme, with Phase 1 having commenced in Spring 2005 and is due for completion in November 2007, while Phase 2 began in Spring 2006," said Niall. "Phase 1 of the works comprises of the construction of approximately 30km of high quality dual carriageway running from Kinnegad to Kilbeggan. Almost 20 km of this stretch, from Kinnegad to Tyrrellspass, was completed a full year ahead of schedule and was opened to traffic in time for the busy Christmas festive season. In addition, just under 5km of the north-south N52 National Secondary route was also incorporated in this early road opening," he added. Works on this phase involved the excavation of 1.36 million cubic metres of peat from the Bog of Allen - one of the largest bog lands in Europe. A massive rock blasting operation through Gneevebawn Hill was also involved, with 1.2 million cu Metres of this rock used to fill the excavated peat bog and in the road base layers. "Additional works in this phase include the laying of drainage designed to accommodate one in 100 year floods and the construction of 18 road bridge structures. The opening of the remaining 11km of Phase 1 is anticipated early in the New Year. "Phase 2 involves the construction of a further 30km of the N6 road, this time passing through extensive gravel deposits. Works on this phase include quarrying and re-use of the gravel in the road-base layers." Extensive landscaping and other mitigation measures are being carried out in both phases of the scheme, in accordance with the Environmental Impact Statement. "The works were preceded by an archaeological excavation which revealed 900 burials at one point of the new route, thus providing an insight into the lives of generations long since past," revealed Niall. An intensive land acquisition programme, involving over 400 land owners and 1,500 acres of agricultural land, was seen as being crucial to the early delivery of the construction programme. Mr Kennedy pointed out that to date, Westmeath County Council had either settled or agreed compensation with 80% of the landowners on Phase 1 and he paid tribute to the co-operation and patience of the land owners and general public affected by the scheme. Jack Curley has worked on many road projects with Ascon as the Roscommon native has worked for the company since 1979, apart from a short break he took between 2000 and 2004. His role on this project is to oversee the overall works from start to finish and his experience has been essential to the development of the N6. Jack explained that there are many various steps to go through and although the project is in the early stages, he revealed that it was well on target to be completed on time and under budget. "This current Phase began last June and we are currently at the earthworks. The route from Kilbeggan to Moate will be completed at the end of 2007, while the remaining part from Moate to Athlone will be completed by the winter of 2008," said Jack. Ascon was established in 1958. Today, the holding company is called Ascon Contractors Ltd and the two operating companies are Ascon Ltd (Civil Engineering) and Rohcon Ltd (Building). Together they rank no.2 in Ireland's 'Top 10' general contracting companies. They cover the entire spectrum of construction in Ireland. Ascon Contractors Ltd is part of Royal BAM Group of the Netherlands, which ranks no.5 in European Construction ratings. The Company Head Office is at Kill, Co. Kildare where administration and support services are shared resulting in greater efficiency and flexibility. Regional Offices are located in Cork and Galway. Ascon has many years experience in road building and Jack revealed that he worked on the first phase of the M50, which was constructed in 1988 by the Kildare based firm. "Ascon have been involved in many road projects down through the years including the M50. More recently we have completed the Sligo bypass, while the Carlow and Waterford bypasses are ongoing at the moment," he added. Jack admitted that the N6 would make a huge difference to travel time for motorists, while there was also a safety aspect to the new high quality dual carriageway. "The fact that the new route will take up to 80% of the volume of traffic away from the towns and villages concerned is a major factor as this will help the free flow of traffic and cut down on travel time from Dublin to the west and vice versa. "Travelling on the N6 will also be safer as there are crash barriers in place along with the necessary speed limits for dual carriageways. Road Safety has become such a major concern due to the high fatality rate on Irish roads and every step necessary is been taken to avoid accidents." Tweet

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