'They are among Britain's most notorious roadworks - ten miles of nose-to-tail misery on one of the busiest stretches of the M1.
For nearly three years they have disrupted an estimated 160million journeys, slowing drivers to a crawl and causing massive'
'The roadworks signs will disappear this week. The carriageways will be opened stage by stage. And then - cue fanfare of car-horn trumpets - the M1 will fully open in time for Christmas.
For the first time since March 2006, when those wearily familiar traffic cones began to appear in the night, the motorway will be back in business.
Eight lanes of business, to be precise, all the way from the M1's interchange with the M25 at Junction 6a to the heady northern heights of Junction 10, just below Luton.
If all goes according to plan, a journey that seemed to take half a lifetime in the grim, dark days of traffic-jam hell should be completed in under ten minutes. '
We will see, we will see. I have to use that stretch about 6 more times between now and may.
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Anything that allows a faster exit from Luton can't be all bad ...
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I was bumped whilst stationary in those roadworks about 6 weeks ago. 10 minutes of barely moving ( est less than 10mph ) with stop start, stop start and then BUMP, myself and my front seat passenger jolted forward. I got out and exchanged words with the oaf behind me he denied hitting me. I pointed out the fresh marks in the dirt on my rear bumper. I also pointed out with that with his level of concentration he shouldn't be on a road with a speed limit of 70 mph and would be better off sticking to his drive way.
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I also pointed out with that with his level of concentration he shouldn't be on a road with a speed limit of 70 mph and would be better off sticking to his drive way.
What a clever of your idea of yours to remain calm, factual and non-confrontational, so avoid the collision turning into a fight. Soothing words like yours must help enormously.
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What do you say to some one who doesn't have the ability to control a vehicle at less than 10 mph in a straight line on an even, dry road surface.. ' Sorry old bean, my fault for stopping with an adequate gap between my car and the car in front " ?
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You say as little as possible, even though you're in the right.
Back to the point - let's hope it makes a difference. But I fear that traffic volume will creep up to fill the extra space, in an automotive version of Parkinson's Law.
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One thing that bothers me about all those extra lanes alongside the slip roads leading off is the fact that we have all seen the idiot who dives across from lane two or three to use the slip road having suddenly decided that they wanted to exit. Now there is the possibility that some will be darting from lane 4 across 3 other lanes and putting even more of us at risk.
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Every silver cloud has a dark and gloomy lining :-(
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Every silver cloud has a dark and gloomy lining :-(
try prozac
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What do you say to some one .........
Collisions happen all the time. Just get as many of the necessary details as possible from him so that you can claim on your insurance.
Edited by L'escargot on 16/12/2008 at 06:33
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Detail - - so that you can claim on HIS insurance surely?
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Accidents happen. My foot slipped off the clutch the other day - fortunately, the car stalled before it hit the one in front!
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Three years to widen ten miles of road? Even with the economy the way it is, here in Chicago there is a bunch of work going on widening the roads. They can widen a lot more than that in one year!!
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They might be that quick in Chicago but have you ever been to Boston?
I'll be mighty glad once these roadworks end, make my journeys into London much better, and the journeys home after midnight when they take it down to one lane and cause huge delays far better.
Until they start on the widening from Jn 10 up to 14.
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Boston Mass ?
"The Hole" is the second largest civil engineering project in the world - most of its arterial roads going underground - plays havoc with sat-nav though !
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Came that way this morning, sailed through!
But, unless I missed it, which is possible I guess, the M10 southbound at J7 is not signed until you are either on the fenced off slip road, or like me, you're now on the wrong road (which I was).
I'll know next time!
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SP
You are correct, what an oversight !
Unless they are going to rename the M10, to the A414 as this is what is signed ?
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The M10 is to be reclassified as the A414, with the new collector/distributor roads going in either side of the M1.
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Quotation from a Highways Agency document: "Once the M1 widening between J6A – J10 has been completed and open to traffic in 2008, the M10 will be re-designed [does this mean "reclassified"?] as an all purpose trunk road."
Note the following from CBRD: "On-line widening of the M1 between junctions 6a and 10 to dual-four lane motorway standard. Proposals that the new lane would be designated a HOV lane, for the use of vehicles carrying more than one person, have now been dropped as the Highways Agency considered it unsafe and the local police force refused to enforce it.
The scheme will also provide parallel lanes for the A414 between junctions 7 and 8, and the downgrading of the M10 to become part of the A414."
So the extra lane does not require the use of a cardboard cut-out or inflatable doll in the passenger seat.
Users of the newly completed sections should note that, to enable finishing off (including the planting of trees), on some slip roads speed restrictions and some coning-off will continue for a while and that there may be some overnight restrictions on the main carriageway. Also, the hard shoulder may be subject to closures - see the Highways Agency website.
Having recently driven the section from Jct 8 to 13 I have to say I am very impressed with the appearance of the road, the bridges and the general landscaping, and the quality of the surface. However, going north it's a bit of a shock when you leave the new stuff and find yourself back on the original 1959 road. Yes - it's THAT old.
As a local resident I have a close interest in these matters!
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'' Users of the newly completed sections should note that, to enable finishing off (including the planting of trees), on some slip roads speed restrictions and some coning-off will continue for a while and that there may be some overnight restrictions on the main carriageway. Also, the hard shoulder may be subject to closures - see the Highways Agency website.''
So to all intents, the road works are not yet finished.
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Put it this way: for the vast majority of users for the vast majority of the time, they will not be aware of any impediment to their progress caused by the "finishing-off".
Smile, Mr X!
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Ah mystery over.
I am sure it will catch many people out, and I would have thought an indication that it was the "old" M10 would be helpful ?
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