More misery to come folks in local paper an article saying the current works are coming to an end in the next 8 weeks but in the Autumn work starts on the same stretch 16-19 to uprade to Smart Motorway…prepare for another 18 months of frustration.
highways.gov.uk/roads/road-p … e-running/
Didn’t they learn a single thing from the M1 J28-31 fiasco?
What they’re now going to start to do, which they’ve been doing J28-31 for the last two years, is end up taking up the crash barriers they’ve just spent 2 years installing in order to upgrade to smart motorway. So they end up doing the job twice. One wonders what the size of the brown envelope was…
All the hauliers need to get together and start suing Highways Agency for the cost. This is beyond ridiculous.
Sorry to ■■■■ on your parade but check the Road Investment Strategy document. It outlines all the plans for the road network right through to 2040.
For those who can’t be bothered to read it they’re pretty much going to Smart Motorway the entire length of most motorways in the country as well as making roads like the A38 from Lichfield to the M1 and the A46 from the M6 to the M40 full Expressway standard. They’re also looking at dualling the A428 from the A14 all the way over the Black Cat roundabout and M1 and onto the A34.
It’s safe to say the majority of drivers on this forum will be seeing endless cones till the day they retire.
I’ve no problem with them doing that. My problem is them replacing the central reservation THEN deciding to do the upgrade which involves undoing the 12 months of barrier upgrade work. They should’ve done it at the same time.
Terry T:
For those who can’t be bothered to read it they’re pretty much going to Smart Motorway the entire length of most motorways in the country as well as making roads like the A38 from Lichfield to the M1 and the A46 from the M6 to the M40 full Expressway standard. They’re also looking at dualling the A428 from the A14 all the way over the Black Cat roundabout and M1 and onto the A34.It’s safe to say the majority of drivers on this forum will be seeing endless cones till the day they retire.
As long as I still get paid by the hour, I am cool with the cones. Transport misery for me, would be getting back in the yard after just eight hours… 
The A38 would be challenging, as on that section there are quite a few lanes that meet the main road at ninety degrees with no acceleration or de-acceleration lanes and in one place there is actually a gap in the central reservation to access an industrial estate on the other side, but no safety filter lane. Effectively parked in the right hand lane of a fast moving road waiting for traffic to clear on the opposite carriageway. 
I guess they’ll have to shut some of the junctions off. Or grade separate them.
Terry T:
I guess they’ll have to shut some of the junctions off. Or grade separate them.
Ahhh you mean the new “expressway” concept where roads are upgraded to grade seperated 
Conor:
What they’re now going to start to do, which they’ve been doing J28-31 for the last two years, is end up taking up the crash barriers they’ve just spent 2 years installing in order to upgrade to smart motorway. So they end up doing the job twice. One wonders what the size of the brown envelope was…
The barrier being replaced has nothing to do with upgrading it to a smart motorway, you can blame Lafarge Tarmac and the owners of Whitwell Quarry Concrete Plant for that.
I don’t give a monkeys, if I’m going south I get on at 16, and if going north, I use 20. HTH [emoji2]
I was heading north through that section of roadworks last week,pass first Swains delivering pre-cast concrete barriers,then a mile or so further was the machine laying poured concrete barriers and then further along another team of men demolishing concrete barriers with a JCB what’s that all about?
I think its good news. Miles and miles of hard shoulder with nobody on it.
These road upgrades will all become white elephants as the need to travel for average suit will massively decrease over next 20 years due to march of technology…
But environmental damage will last for ever
Far better to increase road capacity by reducing speeds and increasing taxation
And
Putting cycle carriage vans back on the trains and making all buses pull a cycle trailer
Uncleskid:
I was heading north through that section of roadworks last week,pass first Swains delivering pre-cast concrete barriers,then a mile or so further was the machine laying poured concrete barriers and then further along another team of men demolishing concrete barriers with a JCB what’s that all about?
Basically what you was witnessing was them having replace all of the old (well a couple of month old) concrete barrier with a new one due to it crumbling to pieces through incompetence and bad practices.
They have also had to do the same to the stretch between Junction 28-32 on the M1. I think someone on here had said on another thread that while at they were laying the barrier, work lads were chucking crisp packets, tab ends and all sorts of ■■■■ into the mix probably the reason why it had started dropping to pieces 
Well perhaps someone can tell me how the effin long purple tubing that carries all the data cables which sits on top of the concrete barrier gets below it.
Conor:
Well perhaps someone can tell me how the effin long purple tubing that carries all the data cables which sits on top of the concrete barrier gets below it.
I’ve been wondering that too
Conor:
Well perhaps someone can tell me how the effin long purple tubing that carries all the data cables which sits on top of the concrete barrier gets below it.
I think they actually run it underneath the new hard shoulder once they have put the refuge areas in and it’s all finished.
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
Basically what you was witnessing was them having replace all of the old (well a couple of month old) concrete barrier with a new one due to it crumbling to pieces through incompetence and bad practices.
I think I’m witnessing is a pile of uninformed ■■■■■ 
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
They have also had to do the same to the stretch between Junction 28-32 on the M1. I think someone on here had said on another thread that while at they were laying the barrier, work lads were chucking crisp packets, tab ends and all sorts of [zb] into the mix probably the reason why it had started dropping to pieces
Google “calcined dolomite lafarge motorway barrier” 2nd hit is the Gov upload of the report on ‘popouts’
1st is theconstructionindex.co.uk/n … d-concrete