Not a moment too soon either! It’s opening tonight/tomorrow
trubster:
Not a moment too soon either! It’s opening tonight/tomorrow
Blimey, thought that it looked like it months away 
, well done to those who’ve grafted, and will continue to graft to get the rest of this open 
The workers at Catthorpe sure seem to work faster than the lot they got doing the Smart Motorway at 10a-13.
If you read the link properly it’s only the Westbound A14 onto the M6 whats opening but it’s a step in the right diretion 
About time, whoever designed the original junction layout should be forced to live in a shed in the middle of it, how anyone with half a brain thought that a major intersection of three of the UK’s busiest roads would work with a roundabout and a set of traffic lights was obviously in the wrong job
That junction. I’ve always thought. If some terrorist organisation really wanted to bring this country to a standstill surely instead of targeting busses in London, they’d want to blow up the junction for 3 of the major British roads. It’d bring the country to a standstill. It’d screw up going north and south and cause mayhem with container traffic coming from Felixstowe.
And at our roadwork pace it’d be 2050 before it was built again! 
"Should I be prepared for the men to turn up and throw me in a van now? "
mazzer:
About time, whoever designed the original junction layout should be forced to live in a shed in the middle of it, how anyone with half a brain thought that a major intersection of three of the UK’s busiest roads would work with a roundabout and a set of traffic lights was obviously in the wrong job
well actually that junction was never really designed from scratch, and has been changed a few times since the motorway was first built. Originally the motorway went up from London then west towards Birmingham, before it was changed to extend the m1 northbound towards Leicester, and at catthorpe it changed to the m6 towards Birmingham and eventually Scotland.
I think that whole junction isn’t due to be fully completed until 2017, but, it is good to see such progress, considering it took them over 2 years to build a concrete wall from Nottingham to Sheffield on the m1
mazzer:
About time, whoever designed the original junction layout should be forced to live in a shed in the middle of it, how anyone with half a brain thought that a major intersection of three of the UK’s busiest roads would work with a roundabout and a set of traffic lights was obviously in the wrong job
The bloke who designed the A14 intersection should be doing time, with an added life sentence to run consecutively for every poor sod who’s perished or been permanently maimed there over the years.
the had all that time to make it a full motorway from east to west …and totally fooòoooked it up. …the same as the tolls at Dartford
Hammy747:
That junction. I’ve always thought. If some terrorist organisation really wanted to bring this country to a standstill surely instead of targeting busses in London, they’d want to blow up the junction for 3 of the major British roads.
"Should I be prepared for the men to turn up and throw me in a van now?
Remember the ■■■■■■■■ the IRA tried in the 90’s on the motorways with a few phone calls. No actual action needed to cause chaos 
You’ll see most ‘strategic’ bridges caged in at appropriate points now.
Took me ages once to work out why there was extra temporary protection on some bridges, A party political conference on the following month 
Anyway pm me 4 best locations to cause chaos
mazzer:
About time, whoever designed the original junction layout should be forced to live in a shed in the middle of it, how anyone with half a brain thought that a major intersection of three of the UK’s busiest roads would work with a roundabout and a set of traffic lights was obviously in the wrong job
It was only made busier because the A14 was added 40 years after the M6 was built, and in 91 when it opened, that junction was no were near as busy as it is now, and that junction is still better than the original route that had to be taken to get from cambridge to the M6, and its not like its chocker 24/7, and there are alteratives to avoid it in rush hour
All down to costs and disruption to the original layout.
It all comes down to traffic volume and projected traffic volume vs cost, disruption etc. At the time the original layout was deemed sufficient.
Dont get me started on the M6 toll road stratergy and the pricing ■■■■ up from day one, would you believe it was my idea to keep it cheap to get folks used to using it and I was outvoted. I also reccomended free times and the odd free day to get the numbers up.
No need they said, all we have to do is put the matrix sign permanently on ‘toll road clear’ and all will be fine.
My original costing was £1 for motorbikes, £2 for cars and vehicles up to 7.5t, anything over was £5 unless a tag was brought then it was £4 (£1.50 for cars and vehicles upto 7.5t). Tags available only for commercial/business operators. £10 fee per tag.
TruckdriverTom:
well actually that junction was never really designed from scratch,
erm… so it was never designed from scratch how did it get there?
saxtonhaulage-andre:
TruckdriverTom:
well actually that junction was never really designed from scratch,erm… so it was never designed from scratch how did it get there?
It was designed then modified and so on. Same with everything on our roads. About time too considering everytime I’m in that neck of the woods there is always a problem there.
Can hold me hand up to helping there with all the all excavators I took up there !
Had its problems up there though !
speedyguy:
Hammy747:
That junction. I’ve always thought. If some terrorist organisation really wanted to bring this country to a standstill surely instead of targeting busses in London, they’d want to blow up the junction for 3 of the major British roads.
"Should I be prepared for the men to turn up and throw me in a van now?Remember the [zb] the IRA tried in the 90’s on the motorways with a few phone calls. No actual action needed to cause chaos
You’ll see most ‘strategic’ bridges caged in at appropriate points now.
Took me ages once to work out why there was extra temporary protection on some bridges, A party political conference on the following month
Anyway pm me 4 best locations to cause chaos
I often look at the big concrete supports that are everywhere around spaghetti junction and also where the M6/M5 split is and they worry me, is access to the base of these supports restricted and monitored by CCTV? I hope so.
Sprinter Si:
speedyguy:
Hammy747:
That junction. I’ve always thought. If some terrorist organisation really wanted to bring this country to a standstill surely instead of targeting busses in London, they’d want to blow up the junction for 3 of the major British roads.
"Should I be prepared for the men to turn up and throw me in a van now?Remember the [zb] the IRA tried in the 90’s on the motorways with a few phone calls. No actual action needed to cause chaos
You’ll see most ‘strategic’ bridges caged in at appropriate points now.
Took me ages once to work out why there was extra temporary protection on some bridges, A party political conference on the following month
Anyway pm me 4 best locations to cause chaos
I often look at the big concrete supports that are everywhere around spaghetti junction and also where the M6/M5 split is and they worry me, is access to the base of these supports restricted and monitored by CCTV? I hope so.
I was driving the M25/M11 interchange and looking at the graffiti on the supports. There really isn’t anything to stop someone determined from wrecking that junction and ■■■■■■■ up the countries transport infrastructure. I suspect many other major junctions are the same.
Juddian:
The bloke who designed the A14 intersection should be doing time, with an added life sentence to run consecutively for every poor sod who’s perished or been permanently maimed there over the years.
saxtonhaulage-andre:
TruckdriverTom:
well actually that junction was never really designed from scratch,erm… so it was never designed from scratch how did it get there?
I wouldn’t lay My house on it, but I’ve always been under the impression that the under pass at Catthorpe was already there, as a local road underpass. The planners thought that by adapting it, they could cut costs. If you think about it, for the politicians of the Thatcher/Major Governments, it did save a lot on the cost of building that road, win win for them, and someone else’s problem in the future.
Its the problem with our short sighted political process. always kick the problem down the road.
Think about how long the A14 or A604 as I seem remember it being named, ended at Rothwell, either routing you through Rothwell and Desborough (before they were bypassed), to Market Harborough or Leicester, or cutting of at Thrapston and heading to gate 15 on the M1(though I normally went via Bedford to gate 14 M1). All down to arguments over the sight of the battle of Naseby. With all that the small issue of building the terminal junction correctly was an after thought
eddie snax:
Juddian:
The bloke who designed the A14 intersection should be doing time, with an added life sentence to run consecutively for every poor sod who’s perished or been permanently maimed there over the years.saxtonhaulage-andre:
TruckdriverTom:
well actually that junction was never really designed from scratch,erm… so it was never designed from scratch how did it get there?
I wouldn’t lay My house on it, but I’ve always been under the impression that the under pass at Catthorpe was already there, as a local road underpass. The planners thought that by adapting it, they could cut costs. If you think about it, for the politicians of the Thatcher/Major Governments, it did save a lot on the cost of building that road, win win for them, and someone else’s problem in the future.
Its the problem with our short sighted political process. always kick the problem down the road.
Think about how long the A14 or A604 as I seem remember it being named, ended at Rothwell, either routing you through Rothwell and Desborough (before they were bypassed), to Market Harborough or Leicester, or cutting of at Thrapston and heading to gate 15 on the M1(though I normally went via Bedford to gate 14 M1). All down to arguments over the sight of the battle of Naseby. With all that the small issue of building the terminal junction correctly was an after thought
I think you are right eddie snax. That underpass would have remained pretty much unchanged since the early 1960’s when the M1 was extended northwards. That little road that joins into the two roundabouts at the underpass was once actually part of the A427 according to this map from the 1940’s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catthorpe … ap_old.jpg
from the Wikipedia site here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catthorpe_Interchange
.
They did something pretty similar when they added junction 15a further down on the M1.
The underpass at Junction 15a where the A43 passes was actually the track bed of the old Northampton to Blisworth railway line although they did eventually add a second underpass alongside it after several years when traffic levels increased.
Turbovision:
eddie snax:
I wouldn’t lay My house on it, but I’ve always been under the impression that the under pass at Catthorpe was already there, as a local road underpass. The planners thought that by adapting it, they could cut costs. If you think about it, for the politicians of the Thatcher/Major Governments, it did save a lot on the cost of building that road, win win for them, and someone else’s problem in the future.Its the problem with our short sighted political process. always kick the problem down the road.
Think about how long the A14 or A604 as I seem remember it being named, ended at Rothwell, either routing you through Rothwell and Desborough (before they were bypassed), to Market Harborough or Leicester, or cutting of at Thrapston and heading to gate 15 on the M1(though I normally went via Bedford to gate 14 M1). All down to arguments over the sight of the battle of Naseby. With all that the small issue of building the terminal junction correctly was an after thought
I think you are right eddie snax. That underpass would have remained pretty much unchanged since the early 1960’s when the M1 was extended northwards. That little road that joins into the two roundabouts at the underpass was once actually part of the A427 according to this map from the 1940’s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catthorpe … ap_old.jpg
from the Wikipedia site here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catthorpe_Interchange
.
They did something pretty similar when they added junction 15a further down on the M1.
The underpass at Junction 15a where the A43 passes was actually the track bed of the old Northampton to Blisworth railway line although they did eventually add a second underpass alongside it after several years when traffic levels increased.
Blimey I was right for once, thanks Mate.
Seeing what you wrote about 15a, I thought that was done in a similar vein(I assumed it was a local road underpass), didn’t realise that there had been a railway track through there, but I suppose, as with many disused rail lines, they used its coarse to build the A43 Blisworth bypass, or am I getting ahead of myself there. It makes you wonder though, why they don’t future proof these projects, and build the junctions properly in the first place