An aerial view of the Whitegates to Athlone Castle Cycleway.
Roughan & O’Donovan is honoured to have two projects shortlisted for the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) Engineering Excellence Awards: Whitegates to Athlone Castle Cycleway and M50 Traffic Flow Optimisation. The shortlisted projects reflect the diversity of our work in areas ranging from bridge and geotechnical design to intelligent transport systems (ITS) implementation.
Whitegates to Athlone Castle Cycleway
The Whitegates to Athlone Castle Cycleway project involved the design and delivery of a new landmark bridge crossing of the River Shannon in Athlone town centre. The bridge is a vital link in the Euro Velo Route 2 Galway to Dublin Cycleway project, which aims to deliver Ireland’s first ever dedicated inter-city route for cyclists and walkers, and link Galway to Moscow over a distance of 3,700km.
The project team overcame significant challenges in the delivery of this modern and slender pedestrian cycle bridge. These ranged from the constrained nature of the site to the requirement for substantial landside works along the narrow riverbanks to the complexities involved in constructing a pier in the middle of the river while maintaining navigational access and avoiding any negative impacts on water quality.
Our team provided detailed design, geotechnical design, procurement, construction supervision and contract administration services on the scheme.
M50 Traffic Flow Optimisation
The M50 Traffic Flow Optimisation scheme was designed to improve safety, alleviate congestion and protect the capacity of Dublin’s M50 motorway. A first of its kind project in Ireland, it involved the deployment of over 500 pieces of intelligent transport systems (ITS) technologies and associated infrastructure across the M50.
Works included the upgrade of 87 existing ITS gantry sites and surrounding facilities and erection of 34 new ITS gantries, including associated access bays, cabinets, and power and communications infrastructure.
Our team delivered the planning and design for the upgrade civils works, the retrofit of 253 mounting frames onto existing gantries, the design for the new full-span, half-span, and cantilever gantries, and site supervision.
The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on 22 March.
