[Anonymous]

[MartynSinclair]

Not much is written here about car transport.

I needed to travel to Sheffield and Leeds after my flight back from the States. The M1, one of main northerly motorways out of London is just one continual road works.

This time, there was a 15 mile set of road works with a 50 mph speed limit just north of Luton

Some comments and questions which I would love to hear answers to understand.

1. I counted about 30 workers in total working on the entire stretch of roadworks.

2. There were about 10 people just standing around chatting and smoking and a couple of people in maintenance vehicles fast asleep

3. along the entire 15 miles of road works, i did not see 1 residential house or building. So why on earth are these road works not blitzed by teams working 24 hours a day?

4. Does anyone actually know when the M1 will be clear of these works?

5. Once the latest works are completed are there more planned?

I find these continual works totally unacceptable as it is having a massive effect on traffic and prolonging journeys. When accidents occur, one can be stuck for hours at a time as the mess clears up.

One additonal question, if there is an accident which causes the people in the Q money, by missing flights or cancelled meetings are you able to sue the or make a claim against the insurer of the person who casued the crash on the basis on consequentual losses. I know this may seem callous, but why should I have to suffer financially if someobody casuses an accident which in turn causes me to arrive too late at check in for an Easyjet flight.

[Bucksnet]

It’s like painting the Forth Bridge, the roadworks seems to be continuous, although I heard the Forth Bridge painters are using a new paint now which will last for 25 years.

On one episode of Top Gear, they proved that doing roadworks was faster and cheaper if done 24/7 by several shifts of workers. A stretch of road that the local council planned to do in 7 working days was done in only 24 hours. Although it required the complete closure of the road, the overall disruption was less and money was saved.

Maybe you should try the train. I hear that East Midlands Trains are not too bad, and they go from the fantastic St Pancras station.

[NTarrant]

Martyn, Bcksnet is right why not try the train? EMT has some good deals in 1st if you can specify trains, although East Coast is faster. I used to drive to Nottingham/Derby for years but the journey became a bore and went by train, far better and cheaper.

You can go on to the Highways Agency website and they detail the roadworks that are happening and some projected ones.

[MartynSinclair]

Fortunately cars do not need to drive up the Forth bridge gantry and supports so in the main traffic flows are unaffected by the repainting.

The M1 and motorway maintenance is different. I accept the work needs to be carried out but to cone off 15 miles of motorway and see a mere 30 workers, some of them asleep, is just soul destroying. At night there seem to be fewer people working. Why on earth can the work not be done 24/7, THERE ARE NO HOUSES IN THE AREA WHERE NOISE WOULD BE AN ISSUE.

Or is the UK workforce so busy.

Have considered the train service, which I use for London to Doncaster. However, Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford back to Sheffield and then London with no set times, partly at night, the train doesnt work.

The other issue is where I live in London, 5 minutes from Junction 4 and 5 M1 and 7 minutes from Junction 19 M25.

[VintageKrug]

The painting of the Forth Road Bridge is – for the first time – almost complete and won’t need to be started again for two decades:

http://news.scotsman.com/transport-news/End-in-sight-for-Forth.6831352.jp

M1 Roadworks between Junctions 10 and 13 (near Luton) will complete in Spring 2013.

[Bucksnet]

Nearly 2 more years to do a short stretch of road is an utter shambles, and how long has it been going on for already? There’s no reason why this should take more than a year from start to finish!

[VintageKrug]

On what do you base your assessment, Bucksnet?

Have you seen the work which has been going on?

Are you aware of the constraints of the site, budget, or the way in which this integrates with wider public spending?

In fact, do you have the slightest authority on this matter whatsoever?

Unless you have facts to support your assertion (and you may well have them) such commentary doesn’t really add much of value.

[craigwatson]

Im from Canada but have been living here for years, and for almost as long as I have liveed here those roadworks have been ongoing. In canada roadworks go 24/7 365 days per year. I have to say roadworks are the one pet peeve I have aboout the UK. Most of the time you drive through roadworks where they are slowing traffic down to 30/50 MPH and there is NOBODY working and no equipment in sight.

[RichHI1]

It is just part of being in the UK. Roadworks are ongoing, they are done slowly, they are always done as cheaply as possible (requriring them to be redone) and the only efficient thing about them is setting up of speed cameras and speed traps to provide a revenue stream to the local government. Questioning why the UK cannot be more organized in maintaining its infrastructure (Roads, Trains, Airports) just displays a misunderstanding of the complex British character. Having things to complain about, roadworks, weather, prices, the national soccer team, the Government (after 6 months honeymoon for either party) etc is what being British is all about.

[NTarrant]

Sorry Rich but you are talking complete tosh. You are from the US right? Well they are not much better at it either from my experience of driving on the roads.

As VK hints at there are many parts to roadworks on motorways and other roads which have bearings on construction and repair. Motorway roadworks are far quicker these days than thirty years ago. It has been a while since I drove up the M1 but if they are widening parts then it will take more than a year. It is incredably complicated

[VintageKrug]

I don’t make any excuses for roadworks in the UK; I’m certain they could be achieved more quickly, with less disruption, but the complexity and liability/risk/impact/cost of 24 hour working is not as simple as many seem to think.

And other countries don’t have our rigorous Health & Safety protocols which for all their faults do actually save workers’ lives.

[Bucksnet]

VK, as others have commented, roadworks take far too long in this country. Too much road is coned off at a time, and a lot of the time no one is working.

What is wrong with coning off a few miles at a time and working on it 24/7 until it is done?

[RichHI1]

NTarrant, no I grew up in Cheshire in UK with the finest roads and worst weather in UK. So I am used to roadworks in UK and yes they were even slower in the 1960’s. One useful development was the roadcharging scheme which was introduced for overrunning roadworks but not heard much about that for years..
In UK I am now based in South East where there is sandy soil and constant roadworks. Also lots of housing redevelopment so constant gas, electric and water main work.
In US I am based in HI which is even slower at Roadworks than the UK, so there are no prizes. I think some states such as California do a better job in expediting roadworks (or construction as it is called) but that is probably due to road traffic being a higher priority for the society as the public transport is so limited. Take the recent closure of a section of the San Diego freeway just over a weekend to replace bridges in Los Angeles. In UK would take 6 months, in HI the republican malahinis (Newcomers) would still be fighting it in court.
Though I have not been there for a while, I do remember German autobahn work going on 24/7 and seeming to be very efficient though now they are spending all their money in Greece things may have slowed down.

[RichHI1]

Shame there used to be a BMI service from LHR-LBA which I have used in past. Now the best connection is AMS but I do not think AMS is well served from Florida.

[Author]

Posts