time to build a motorway

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Sun 26 Mar 2006 22:54
time to build a motorway - spikeyhead {p}
it only took 19 months to build the whole 72 miles of the first section of the M1

www.bbc.co.uk/northamptonshire/asop/northampton/m1...l

so why is it going to take several years to build and extra lane onto it?
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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Sun 26 Mar 2006 23:03
time to build a motorwa - Altea Ego
Slight problem.
Cars are still using it

didnt have that problem first time round
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Sun 26 Mar 2006 23:07
time to build a motorwa - Pugugly {P}
Guess they've learnt a bit about motorway construction in that time as well.
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Tue 28 Mar 2006 19:13
time to build a motorwa - Roly93
Guess they've learnt a bit about motorway construction in that time
as well.

>>
Yes, like how to bump-up the costs of the project after winning the initial bid !
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Sun 26 Mar 2006 23:11
time to build a motorwa - Bromptonaut
Reports of how things were done better/faster in the past often involve rose tinted specs!!

Driving a new road through open country is a v. different prospect to a rebuild/extension while keeping the road open 24/7 for tens of thousands of vehicles. BBC article describes a road built to basic standards - remember how quickly the early motorways wore out?.

The Luton to M25 section now being widened was built as only four lanes, then widened to present 6/8 lanes in 1981/3.

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Mon 27 Mar 2006 00:47
time to build a motorwa - pafosman
Bridges! under & over. Nightmare. Junctions! under & over. Bigger nightmare. Rather them than me.
Papho
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Mon 27 Mar 2006 01:12
time to build a motorway - rtj70
If you take a look at what the highways agency are doing with a relatively short section of the M60 around Manchester you might have an idea what is involved. The widening all started at the end of JULY 2003 (yes 2003) and is due for completion end of Spring this year.

www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4826.aspx

If you see what's been done as a regular user of the this section then you have to (a) realise the mammoth task it was and (b) how they have had minimal disruption. Worst bit are those adamant on trying to speed due to 40mph limit.

Okay there has been disruption but a lot of that is related to extra traffuc since the completion of the ring-road (M60 as it is now) and not this work. It was so nice a stretch of road when it was the M63.

Rob
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Mon 27 Mar 2006 19:05
time to build a motorway - g3zdm
I live just down the road (in Sale) from those mammoth M60 roadworks.
I was close enough to hear the explosion when they blew up one of the old motorway bridges one Saturday evening.
Biggest problem is that every few weeks I have to relearn my normal route between Sale and elsewhere (either Stockport or Bolton direction as Sale is in the midst of this mess) ; this is because as building progresses, different bits of road are closed / opened/ reopened.
The speed camera positions change from time to time to catch the unwary or foolhardy too ; I just set cruise control at 40 mph and stop worrying about that though.

Chris Muriel, Manchester
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Tue 28 Mar 2006 18:19
time to build a motorway - PatrickO
I don't know why they are bothering to widen the m1 so we can have a car sharing lane. Should have just got private finance to build a new toll motorway so rich people can waft past everyone else, poor people in a hurry can get on with it, foreign trucks would use it so they aren't constantly side swiping ppl in their blind spots and at least some uk trucks would too. By the time it is finished the traffic will have increased so it will still be as rammed as it is now. Or they could demolish Luton and move it south of London.
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Tue 28 Mar 2006 19:08
time to build a motorway - BB
"Or they could demolish Luton and move it south of London."

You should have stopped half way through that sentence.
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Tue 28 Mar 2006 19:57
time to build a motorway - Altea Ego
YOu go whistle mate, we dont want it any further south than it is thank you very much.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Tue 28 Mar 2006 20:39
time to build a motorway - madf
Civilisation stops 50 miles north of Luton...
madf
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