Hello there everyone and welcome to Wednesday, aka Hump Day. Soon we’ll be over that hump mind you.
Cianan Brennan here, as usual I’ll be bringing you all the traffic, travel and weather news you need to know until 9am.
If you spot anything out there, or fancy sharing something to lighten people’s mood, send it on to me at cianan@thejournal.ie, or you can tweet @ciananbrennan or @thejournal_ie. But please, DON’T do so if you’re driving.
Ok, lets’s do this…
Good morning everyone! It’s a very calm day out there in Dublin city centre, a little overcast but certainly the prospect of a warm day to come.
Anyway, it’s Wednesday, that means there’s only two days left in the week. We can do this:
There are no immediate traffic snarls to tell you about so far this morning thankfully.
However, in Dublin, the Luas is once more out of commission as part of the ongoing industrial action at the company, so if you would normally use a tram to get to where you need to go you’ll need to make alternative arrangements.
Dublin Bus are operating as normal but have warned to expect additional delays given the upsurge in custom the company is likely to see this morning.
Let’s have a quick look at the weather now with thanks to Met Éireann.
Contrary to the calm morning in the capital, it’s going to be breezy and mostly cloudy today, with outbreaks of rain on the west coast.
Most of the sun we’ll see will be in the east where things will stay dry for the most part. There’ll be high temperatures of between 12 and 16 degrees Celsius so we’re starting to creep up a little bit from the cool weather we’ve seen in recent weeks.
North Leinster will see the best of it. Here’s what the rainfall looks like at present:
If you’re just surfacing, there has been some big, big news in America overnight. Ted Cruz, the seeming only legitimate alternative to Donald Trump in the race to be the Republican nominee for president, has dropped out of the race.
So it seems that Trump is definitely going to be in the running in November.
But what of his Democrat opponent? Well, last night Bernie Sanders came up with yet another surprise victory over Hillary Clinton in Indiana. It’s all getting very, very interesting stateside.
Now, let’s see how the traffic is shaping up in Dublin courtesy of AA Roadwatch. You would think the Luas strike should have a big impact there also.
You would be right in that assumption. Things are very slow already on the Stillorgan Road, particularly at the RTÉ Nutley Lane intersection.
Collins Avenue to Drumcondra is busy but moving. Things are also busy in neighbouring Fairview.
The dreaded North Quays aren’t looking too bad for now.
To the M50 - southbound the motorway is slow between junction seven and junction 10 Ballymount. Northbound the road is moving well.
Trouble on the rails…
Currently the 6.05am Waterford / Heuston service is delayed by a half an hour due to operational issues. Expect knock-on delays if you’re heading for Dublin.
In the regional cities, AA Roadwatch reports that all is well in Limerick and Waterford at present.
In Cork however traffic is slow approaching the Dunkettle Interchange on both the Dublin Road inbound and the South Ring Road. It’s also starting to get busy on the Ringaskiddy Road inbound.
In Galway traffic is busy southbound on the N17 between Loughgeorge and Claregalway. It’s also slow, as is generally the case, at Ballybrit Crescent approaching Galway Technology Park.
That pesky Luas strike, it’s making its presence felt.
Reader Michael Kavanagh has this to say from the Red Line Luas route:
123 buses, whose route is parallel to a good chunk of the Red Line Luas from Black Horse to Heuston, seem fairly full this morning alright!
Thanks for that Michael.
If you’ve a photo or something to say regarding this morning’s traffic situation please do drop me a line at cianan@thejournal.ie or on twitter @ciananbrennan. But please, NOT WHEN YOU’RE DRIVING.
The North Quays… bane of a morning motorist’s existence…
In better news, Live Drive is happy with how the M50 southbound is operating this morning, with the only delay to be seen at the Red Cow M7 exit:
Who would be the Dublin Bus Twitter person – it’s a tough gig:
Here’s the highlights from this morning’s news headlines courtesy of our own 8 at 8:
#TRUMPED: Ted Cruz is out of the presidential campaign. The Republican Senator stepped down last night making Donald Trump the presumptive nominee.
#DAMAGES: A six-year-old boy who was left scarred for life after a swimming pool fall was awarded €21k.
#MANIPULATED: Seven major world banks have agreed to pay a total of $324 million to settle a lawsuit accusing them of manipulating interest rates.
#RAMMED: Five youths were arrested yesterday after a car rammed a garda vehicle in Dublin.
#SWIFTWAY: Plans for a rapid bus corridor to Dublin Airport have been put on hold as planners concentrate on the Metro North project.
Let’s have another quick look at how things are shaping up in Dublin traffic-wise, courtesy of AA Roadwatch.
And frankly, there’s delays everywhere. You would imagine that the Luas strike has a lot of people sitting in their cars at present who wouldn’t normally be. So…
Southside
Things are busy in Clonskeagh coming from the M50 interchange as far as the Goatstown Road. It’s busy in both directions in Ranelagh.
Traffic is busy in both directions along the Grand Canal between Harold’s Cross and Leeson Street.
The Stillorgan Road is very slow between Nutley Lane and Donnybrook, as is the Rock Road inbound.
The turn for Kilmainham at Con Colbert Road, while the nearby North Quays are very slow indeed from Inns Quay to Bachelors Walk.
Northside
Things are busy from Collins Avenue to Dorset Street in Drumcondra.
Likewise, Fairview is chockablock from Fairview to Five Lamps inbound, as is Phibsborough from Hart’s Corner to Doyle’s Corner.
The M50 isn’t doing too badly however. Southbound it’s slow between junction 10 Ballymount and junction 14 Leopardstown. Northbound, all is moving well at present.
There are HUGE delays on Dublin’s southside according to Live Drive. Sandyford to Donnybrook is currently a 60 minute journey – six times the journey length without traffic.
Dundrum to nearby Milltown meanwhile is clocking in at 40 minutes. Our thoughts are with you if you’re stuck in gridlock at present.
And back to the regional cities, again with AA Roadwatch. And things are getting very heavy around the country too it seems.
In Cork traffic is slow all around the Dunkettle Interchange, and slower than usual on the South Ring Road N40 in both directions. Further in, things are very busy on the South Link Road as far as Albert Street. Standard city centre delays apply also.
Galway is seeing some very heavy traffic this morning also, particularly on the N17 between Loughgeorge and Claregalway, and again between Castlegar to the Bothar na dTreabh junction. The Dublin Road is also busy at Merlin Park.
In Waterford things are busy on the Rice Bridge travelling from Ferrybank, and also from Bridge Street to the Military Road outbound.
Limerick is the star pupil this morning – traffic is moving well in and around the city.
Ok guys, that’s gonna do it for another liveblog. It’s been a quiet one again this morning, Luas-related tomfoolery aside, but as always that’s a good thing.
Take care on the roads and arrive safe.
Until tomorrow.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say