I’m surprised the AA and the RAC have not led one of those online government petitions to highlight the problem not that they would give two hoots about joe public.
Smart motorway
- Thread starter PKRS
- Start date
When they widened the section of the M1 between the M25 and Milton Keynes it was done in two stages. The first stage from the M25 to the Luton Airport turn was done with extra lanes an involved rebuilding numerous bridges. The new bridges cost a fortune. One on the lane my parents live on cost about 2 million. When they started phase two from Luton to Milton Keynes they had ran out of cash and went with the smart motorway idea. It is already struggling to cope with the traffic, and by the new junction 11A ten thousand houses are being built meaning more traffic. Within a few year I can see it being widened with another lane or two.
As for HS2 it would be cheaper the demolish Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester and rebuild them 30 minutes nearer to London
As for HS2 it would be cheaper the demolish Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester and rebuild them 30 minutes nearer to London
A good few years ago I saw the figures for --Making motorway into smart motorway --adding extra lanes onto the motorway --construction of brand new motorway in virgin ground. The new motorway was not much more expensive and a lot quicker construction than Smart Motorway both being a lot dearer than upgrade with additional lanes. Trouble was the political ramifications of going in virgin ground. The cost basis for the new roads were referenced to M6 toll and A14.
So what does a red X mean then people.. how many actually disobey it amazes me. I remember on the M25 before the M23 junction. All lanes had red X’s. I pulled on to the hard shoulder as the motorway was technically closed. A few did not and kept going. Found out a car had hit the central reservation on the other side sending debris and shards of metal, gravel and a lot more over all four lanes. Hence it was closed. When they reopened the motorway the cars that had gone through were all on the hard shoulder getting tyres changed and even a windscreen. Glad I stopped and yes I did wonder what the hell do I do. Lesson learned as you could not see all the debris on the motorway.
But that’s where the problem is. The problems are now huge. Nothing exists in glorious isolation. There is no simple silver bullet answer to the many problems. Most sections of motorway that need extra capacity are in urban locations. There isn’t the space to widen them to full motorway with hard shoulder. Tens of thousands of homes would need to be raised to the ground to add extra lanes. If there is space every bridge has to be taken down at many £m per bridge. Our train network is built on Victorian infrastructure. When it costs twice as much to use the train than fly or when you have to book weeks in advance to get the cheapest train fare or end up using the car because it’s impossible to get a seat on a train it shows that priorities are all out of kilter.
Doesn’t all lanes closed mean stop? Passing red Xs is an offence but so does using the hard shoulder unless you personally have an emergency or you are instructed to do so. I guess all those passing the closed markings would put you in danger too. I hope they prosecuted anyone who ignored the signs. Easy pickings.