HI EVERYONE, AND welcome to Wednesday morning’s commuting liveblog.
Cianan Brennan here, stick with me and I’ll bring you all the weather, traffic and travel from across the country throughout the morning.
It’s Wednesday, but that means we’ll soon be over the hump and getting close to another weekend.
I’ll be here until 9am, if you spot anything you think we should know about you can mail me on cianan@thejournal.ie, or alternatively tweet me @ciananbrennan or @thejournal_ie.
Good morning all you good, good people. It’s a bitter morning, but fresh and clear with it.
Today is hump day, but don’t worry, we’ll all be over that hump soon.
What does the weather have in store today we hear you ask? Well, ask and you shall receive as they say.
According to Met Éireann, it’s going to be a frosty, misty morning giving way to a cool, bright day with plenty of sunshine.
Naturally, this is Ireland after all, there’ll be some rain and hail showers, mostly in the afternoon, with the possibility of sporadic thundery downpours in places.
Temperatures will be up a little on yesterday, ranging from eight to 11 degrees Celsius at their height, with moderate westerly winds.
Tonight will be cold with a widespread frost and some icy patches – temperatures will drop to between two and minus two degrees.
The accident at Athlumney Castle in Meath has been cleared, and the Kentstown Road reopened…
Let’s have a look at how traffic is building into Dublin, courtesy of AA Roadwatch.
It’s the usual suspects causing trouble at this early stage:
Con Colbert Road is causing delays at the turn for Kilmainham.
The north quays, which have been problematic each morning for some time, are slow from Ormond Quay to Bachelors Walk.
Traffic is slow on Guild Street approaching the Samuel Beckett Bridge, and there are delays from Ranelagh to Leeson Street Bridge along the Grand Canal.
The M50 is currently behaving itself however with no major delays either north or southbound.
A quick look at the various commuter services now:
Luas
There are no major issues to report on the tram service, which is back running to schedule now after last weekend’s strikes. Don’t forget though, there are more strikes planned for this weekend.
Dublin Bus
There are no major issues or delays to report on any routes at present.
Irish Rail
Nothing to report, apart from the 7.10 Dundalk train sounds like an icebox:
Bus Éireann
No news on specific routes to report this morning.
In Offaly, there are reports of debris on the M7 between Moneygall and Toomevara – AA Roadwatch advises you drive with care.
In Kilkenny, the Gowran / Clara Road, the R702, will be closed for road works until 6am on Friday, 1 April – motorists should use an alternative route.
To the rural cities now, again thanks to AA Roadwatch:
Galway is routinely the bold boy of these cities – there’s a bit of a traffic snarl on Ballybrit Crescent heading for the Galway Technology Park. That aside, traffic in the city is moving well.
Traffic in Cork, Limerick, and Waterford cities is moving well with nothing of note to report.
In general news, it seems that the man behind yesterday’s hijack of an EgyptAir plane which subsequently diverted to Cyprus found the time to take a selfie with another passenger. Good Lord.
There are horses loose on the N84 Headford Road in Galway at Curraghline. Take care out there.
Trouble on the Luas Red Line:
There’s been an incident between a tram and a cyclist at the IFSC. Expect delays to the Red Line service. Hopefully the incident isn’t a bad one.
That incident on the Luas line appears to have happened on Mayor Street Lower.
Red Line services are only running between Tallaght / Saggart and Connolly as a result.
The debris on the M7 motorway in Offaly between Moneygall and Toomevara has been cleared apparently. If you’re driving in the area exercise caution all the same:
Here’s the highlights of this morning’s news from our 8 at 8:
#BERKELEY TRAGEDY: The families of the Berkeley balcony collapse victims have expressed their disappointment at the decision not to bring criminal charges in the case.
#STALEMATE: Coalition talks will continue this morning as Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil separately seek to reach agreement with smaller parties and independents.
#US ELECTION: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has defended his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, after he was charged with assaulting a reporter.
#ALLEGATIONS: Elton John has strongly denied claims made by a former bodyguard who said he was sexually harassed by the singer.
The incident on the Luas Red Line at Mayor Street has been cleared, and the tram has moved on:
The horses that were acting the goat (acting the horse?) on the N84 in Galway at Curraghline have been removed.
A Dublin Bus has broken down at Amiens Street, near Connolly Station in Dublin. According to Live Drive it’s not causing any delays:
Here’s our story on the accident involving a cyclist and a Red Line Luas tram this morning:
Here’s a Dublin traffic update, courtesy of AA Roadwatch:
Many routes into the city are moving slowly as commuter traffic builds. It’s very busy inbound on Dorset Street between North Frederick Street and Belvidere Road.
The N4 Lucan interchange has picked up and is now moving well towards Palmerstown.
The troublesome north quays are slow, but moving.
The Grand Canal is seeing delays between Portobello and Leeson Street Bridge.
M50 northbound is moving well.
Southbound, there are issues on the motorway at the Junction 10 Ballymount exit. Thereafter, traffic is moving well.
There’s no indication yet as to when Brussels’ Zaventem Airport will reopen following last week’s terror attacks.
Ryanair have announced that all their flights to and from the Belgian capital will continue to operate via Charleroi airport (about an hour’s drive from the city) up to and including 1 April:
And here’s how things are looking in the regions according to AA Roadwatch:
In Galway traffic is slow on the N84 Headford Road approaching the Kirwan Roundabout. Ballybrit Crescent remains very busy, and things are getting congested on the Tuam Road inbound.
In Cork city traffic is busy between the Dunkettle Interchange and the N40 South Ring Road. Otherwise, the city is relatively quiet with schools off for the week on Easter holidays.
In Waterford and Limerick things are moving well with no major incidents to report.
In Limerick, there’s been a collision on the M20 Limerick-Cork Road at the Raheen roundabout. It’s creating traffic delays:
There have been a number of accidents in the last couple of days down to sleety weather conditions.
There’s more such showers expected again today, so take care out there, and drive safe.
Ok guys, that’ll do it for another commuting liveblog, check back in tomorrow morning and we’ll keep you updated on how things are panning out.
As always, take care and get to where you want to go safely.
See you all tomorrow.
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