PHOTOS: First pictures of M7 bridge being demolished: Good progress made!
Specialised machinery from the UK has been working through the night demolishing the bridge over the M7 between Junction 9 (Naas North) and Junction 10 (Naas South) - and has made good progress as these drone photos from Derek Clifford show.
Northbound and Southbound M7 traffic also appears to be flowing smoothly around the significant construction zone.
The work has to be completed by Monday morning to allow the daily 80,000 vehicles to use the motorway once more.
Apparently residents living nearby could hear the loud sound of the machines breaking concrete during the night.
More traffic than normal is expected on the special 25km/hr diversion route around the demolition zone this weekend.
Thousands of Limerick, Waterford and Kerry fans are using the M7 to travel to National League finals in Croke Park - as well as a Private Sale at Kildare Village, and don't forget Mother's Day trips!
And a new bridge will have to be re-constructed and laid in place before the scheduled end-of-April timeline for completion of the roadworks.
As the photos show, excavator construction machines are dismantling tons and tons of concrete which made up the massive bridge.
The photos also show that:
* A total of at least 6 excavator machines with special cutting and breaking attachments are working together at the bridge;
* Very few workers are on the ground due to the dangerous nature of the site;
* Lorries are lining up to carry away the large chunks of rubble to be unloaded elsewhere;
* Dozens of special wooden panels are used under the track machines so they don't damage the newly-laid motorway tarmac;
* A large tanker is parked on standby to refuel the machines so they can operate on a constant basis. Or possibly a water tanker so water can be sprayed onto the rubble to prevent clouds of dust on the site.
* Containers used for toilets and canteen facilities are a safe distance away so no time is wasted for the highly trained operators;
* Relief drivers may be rostered for consecutive shifts to maintain a round-the-clock operation if required.
The Council said that the specialist machinery had to be booked in advance and had a tight window in which to carry out the demolition work and clean-up operation.
Traffic will be reduced to a single lane again tonight from 9pm to facilitate the demolition works.
Before 6am on tomorrow, traffic will be returned to two available lanes running on the off/on slips.
A minimum of two lanes will be maintained during peak hours of 6am to 10pm at all times.
Before 6am on Monday, the demolition works are scheduled to be completed and traffic will be returned to the main M7 lanes.
The Council forewarned that delays are expected and that any inconvenience caused to the public was regretted.