Sallins Road & M7 Bridge Upgrade Works

M7 Sallins Road bridgeA major set of road works is to commence on the Sallins Road / M7 motorway bridge during the months of July and August.  The works are being carried out by the NRA and involve essential maintenance and safety upgrades that are now due.

Traffic Impact: The project will start on August 6th and will run for between 8-10 weeks. For the first two weeks ONLY the bridge will employ a one-way system with traffic flowing from Sallins->Naas but not back from Naas->Sallins. For that two week window, an official detour has been set up via Kill / Straffan though it is expected that local traffic will use one of the many shorter, alternate routes with the detour mainly being taken up with HGVs and bus traffic. After the first two weeks traffic will flow in both directions as normal during day time. The works will go on 24 hours a day and a traffic light system will be occasionally used between the hours of 8pm-6am. Pedestrians will be able to walk across the bridge at all times including the one way fortnight.


I met with the NRA twice and discussed various permutations with them including the possibility of reversing the flow of the one way system at morning and evening. However the NRA calculates that the arrangement chosen is the one that will cause the least disruption based on modelling of traffic flows along the Monread, Millennium, Sallins and other local roads.

Works Detail: The Naas bypass is the oldest stretch of motorway in Ireland and the primary purpose of this work is structural to reinforce some components of the bridge that have reached end-of-life. In addition the works will repair and smooth the footpaths over the bridge as well as raising the parapet overlooking the motorway. At my request the works will also now install ducting for public lighting cabling to facilitate lights being installed at a later stage. The bridge is very popular with runners and walkers and footpath improvements and provision for future public lighting will certainly enhance it in that regard.

2 Replies to “Sallins Road & M7 Bridge Upgrade Works”

  1. Carmel Brown

    James, if the prep work for street lighting on the Sallins bridge is being carried out now, why not finish the job at this time? The dark evenings of Winter will be approaching so why not complete the job prior to that – shortsighted perhaps?
    On a different note, as a resident of Sallins Wood, I wish to draw your attention to the overgrown public footpath that borders our estate. It is becoming a health and safety issue as pedestrians are having to step out onto the road at a number of places as the pathway is obstructed with severe overgrowth.
    Also I wonder if you’ve been able to arrange an Engineer to look at and discuss with us, the possibilities of erecting the best form of retaining wall around the outside of our estate to make safe the eroding embankment which was so savagely destroyed in response to Council planning dictate of a footpath being installed there.

    Regards,

    Carmel

  2. Paul

    Hi. What’s the extra distance of following the official detour? How long does NRA think this will take? The shorter, more direct, detours are likely to be jammed, along the canals, is there any provision for traffic management at the exits of these routes in sallins?

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