Smart motorways

Just been watching programme on c5 on demand. About the m1 being 60 years old.

When was built took 2 years start to finish 55miles including all the bridges and slip roads etc.
Primative machinery manual labour.

Now look at smart motorways modern machinery etc and takes them years just to add a couple of miles.

Makes you think

60 years ago you didn’t have health and safety hoops to jump through or tree huggers worried about some land populated with rare newts or some other wildlife :imp:

I know all that. But once there given the all clear and actually start I bet they couldnt do 55 miles in 2 years these days

It’s clear that the establishment agenda now is to disincentivise road use and that applies to ‘motorways’ as much as any other type of road if not more.Maximising inconvenience caused by ‘road works’,among other methods used to artificially increase overall journey times,obviously being part of that.

I wondered why we spend so much time and money repairing it again and again. 55 miles in two years, you say?

Look at China or any asain country they can practically build stuff practicaly overnight.
dailymail.co.uk/news/peoples … HOURS.html

This country is mad on health and safety and it’s Def hampering our ability to grow.

I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway. They’re just postponing the problem and wasting money now…in my humble opinion [emoji106]

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Although I bet they would significantly reduce the time if they just said sod you all And shut the M6 for the time it took to complete the works. Doing the work and keeping it open will add a lot of time to the project. When they built the M1 they didn’t have to also keep it open while they built it. This and health and safety of course.

edd1974:
Just been watching programme on c5 on demand. About the m1 being 60 years old.

When was built took 2 years start to finish 55miles including all the bridges and slip roads etc.
Primative machinery manual labour.

Now look at smart motorways modern machinery etc and takes them years just to add a couple of miles.

Makes you think

It’s hardly the same thing trying to completely refurbish an existing road whilst having to keep it open & at full capacity for 16 out of every 24 hours. They generally have to wait until night time to do a lot of the major works and they will be delayed/slowed down everytime there is poor weather or they can’t get the road shut on time because of an RTC or whatever.

DickyNick:
Although I bet they would significantly reduce the time if they just said sod you all And shut the M6 for the time it took to complete the works. Doing the work and keeping it open will add a lot of time to the project. When they built the M1 they didn’t have to also keep it open while they built it. This and health and safety of course.

A few years ago the supermarket I worked in had an extension and refit, one of the biggest they did without closing and a full rebuild.

It took 29 weeks with a 1 week closure at the end working overnight and behind hoardings. The night manager told me it could have been done in 8 if they had shut the dhop and let them get on. Shows the difference it makes

stuwozere1:
I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway. They’re just postponing the problem and wasting money now…in my humble opinion [emoji106]

How does ‘widening’ help when it just means more overtaking lanes and the speed limit remains the same.IE in most cases it’s just pointlessly adding extra overtaking lanes which can’t then be used without either getting nicked for speeding or lane hogging.

Carryfast:

stuwozere1:
I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway. They’re just postponing the problem and wasting money now…in my humble opinion [emoji106]

How does ‘widening’ help when it just means more overtaking lanes and the speed limit remains the same.IE in most cases it’s just pointlessly adding extra overtaking lanes which can’t then be used without either getting nicked for speeding or lane hogging.

I’ve just travelled virtually all the way through Birmingham in Lane 1 (hard shoulder) with about 5 other vehicles whilst the other 3 lanes were rammed :unamused:

edd1974:
I know all that. But once there given the all clear and actually start I bet they couldnt do 55 miles in 2 years these days

Course they could, the problem is as already has been mentioned.

Trying to do all these works while keeping it going at nearly normal capacity.

Youd be surprised what can be acheived in 24 hours with no restrictions.

RIPPER:
60 years ago you didn’t have health and safety hoops to jump through or tree huggers worried about some land populated with rare newts or some other wildlife :imp:

True. Not long ago I watched a youtube video from the 50’s about the making of the M1 (or maybe the M6). The narrator said matter-of-factly “of course there will be some unavoidable deaths”. I actually gasped when he said that.

In 1892 the last stretch of Brunel’s broad gauge railway between Paddington and Penzance was re-laid to standard gauge.
All the materials, sleepers, rails and pre - built pointwork had been placed into position ready for the work starting. Fifteen
miles of temporary broad gauge sidings were laid at Swindon for all the redundant locos and rolling stock which were worked
there on a Friday night. Across the weekend 4200 men re-laid 177 miles of track and the first standard gauge train through was the Sunday night mail which arrived on schedule early Monday morning. Time certainly was money over 100 years ago.

ezydriver:

RIPPER:
60 years ago you didn’t have health and safety hoops to jump through or tree huggers worried about some land populated with rare newts or some other wildlife :imp:

True. Not long ago I watched a youtube video from the 50’s about the making of the M1 (or maybe the M6). The narrator said matter-of-factly “of course there will be some unavoidable deaths”. I actually gasped when he said that.

Watching the programme on c5 on demand.
H & S would be having kittens.
They had an old interview with some bloke from the aa.
He said when.motoways 1st started .when ever anyone broke down the came out. And to warn oncoming traffic . They used carry wooden broom.handles wrap a rag around the end cover In petrol set it alight and place it in.the road …if it was going out they just add more petrol.
The fire and smoke usually slowed the traffc down.

stuwozere1:
I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway.

Apparently not. One of the things now being discussed is whether or not they’re wasting money adding all this extra capacity when people are using cars less and young people aren’t bothering to get a driving license at all unless they absolutely have no choice. Self driving cars will mean less road required as it can be used more efficiently.

eagerbeaver:

Carryfast:

stuwozere1:
I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway. They’re just postponing the problem and wasting money now…in my humble opinion [emoji106]

How does ‘widening’ help when it just means more overtaking lanes and the speed limit remains the same.IE in most cases it’s just pointlessly adding extra overtaking lanes which can’t then be used without either getting nicked for speeding or lane hogging.

I’ve just travelled virtually all the way through Birmingham in Lane 1 (hard shoulder) with about 5 other vehicles whilst the other 3 lanes were rammed :unamused:

I’m down there every Thurs morning and do exactly the same.
You can understand car drivers selecting the lanes that are bound to make least progress in that situation, and the habitual lane hoggers, but I just can’t understand the incompetence and lack of lane discipline with some of our fellow illustrious ‘‘professionals’’. :unamused:

Conor:

stuwozere1:
I don’t know why they’re bothering with smart motorways because all that’s gonna happen in 10 years time is they’ll need to widen them anyway.

Apparently not. One of the things now being discussed is whether or not they’re wasting money adding all this extra capacity when people are using cars less and young people aren’t bothering to get a driving license at all unless they absolutely have no choice. Self driving cars will mean less road required as it can be used more efficiently.

This is true.

I also wonder whether there is some untold technology being installed as part of these smart motorways that will help facilitate self driving vehicles in future.

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t be in favour of ploughing billions into properly widening roads, the traffic would only grow into it. Mass private motoring is not sustainable. The money should be spent on delivering world class public transport that’s cheap to use & cycling infrastructure thus getting office commuters and the like off the roads freeing the existing capacity up. If we need to bring in congestion charging and such like to help fund it then so be it.