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Displaying items by tag: New Bypass at New Ross

#MajorBypass -A contract for a major €230m New Ross Bypass and 900m river bridge was signed last week, following numerous false dawns and political promises, reported the Wexford People. 

The sod turning took place on Monday of the new bypass bridge of New Ross, by the Minister of State Paul Kehoe who said work will begin shortly.

Upwards of 300 jobs are expected to be created in the construction of the bypass, while 2,100 jobs will be created through maintenance, repairs, bridge repairs, drainage and lighting the bypass over 30 years, according to contractors BAM Iridium.

Once open to traffic in 2019 the new road will cut journey times by up to 40 minutes and provide a safer and shorter alternative to the current route through New Ross, eliminating the need for motorists to use the rat run at Raheen into the town.

The new road will allow traffic on the N25 between Cork and Waterford to bypass the town of New Ross and cross the Lower Barrow on a new 36m high, 900m long four-lane suspension bridge. This will feature the world's longest central span three tower extradosed bridge, a type of cable-stay structure, spanning the River Barrow.

It will measure 887m.

The €230 million scheme will involve the construction of approximately 13.6km of new dual carriageway and 1.2km of new and upgraded single carriageway to bypass the town of New Ross.

For more on this major infrastural development spanning the south-eastern river, click here.

Published in Inland Waterways

The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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