Irish Tar & Bitumen Suppliers is celebrating 75 years ‘on the road’ in 2013. But despite becoming best known over the years as ‘Irish Tar’, only bitumen-based products have been produced in the last 30 years or more. The company manufactures and supplies a complete range of bituminous road binders, covering all segments of the market in Ireland – producers, contractors and local authorities. Its product range also includes some industrial and DIY coatings and sealants and a range of ...

  Seán McGrath, BE MIEI, Fingal County Council and Robert Curley, BE MIEI, Kildare County Council In March 2013, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) jointly published the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS), a new guidance document setting out an integrated and holistic approach to road and street design in our cities, towns and villages. The use of DMURS is mandatory on all urban ...

The draft Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network Plan, which was launched on 4 September, is the culmination of over a year's work by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and AECOM-Roughan & O'Donovan (ROD) Alliance consultants. It sets out a vision and a strategy for the construction and designation of a comprehensive network of cycling routes throughout the greater Dublin area in counties Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. At a presentation last Wednesday in Engineers Ireland HQ, ...

  Author: Dr Eoin King MIOA MIEI, acoustics engineer, Roughan & O'Donovan Noise pollution has become a critical issue in the assessment of transportation systems. Excessive exposure to environmental noise may induce annoyance, sleep disturbance, hearing impairment and cardiovascular disease and can also impair the cognitive development of children. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that at least one million healthy life years are lost every year from traffic-related ...

  Author: Tim Ahern BE CEng FIEI, chartered engineer and freelance consultant  This paper is a personal review of public procurement in Ireland. It is based on my experience with the National Roads Authority (NRA), where a major infrastructure programme was delivered on time and within budget. The NRA’s procurement strategy was progressive and innovative. Significant opposition was raised against many of the practices introduced but, in all cases, real and meaningful negotiations were ...

  Eamonn O'Reilly, chartered engineer and chief executive of Dublin Port Company, is speaking at Engineers Ireland’s 2013 Annual Conference, entitled ‘Building Ireland’s Business Networks’, on Thursday, 6 June at Dublin’s Ballsbridge Hotel For a city by the sea, Ireland’s capital is curiously unconnected to Dublin Port. The country’s main port handles almost 50% of the Republic’s trade, two thirds of all containerised trade and is the largest of the three base ports on the island, the ...