Best Value

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ANiceEnglishman
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Best Value

Post by ANiceEnglishman »

We're discussing the roads which are the biggest waste of money in another thread. Which roads do people consider the best value?

I'll kick off with one close to the M49 which some have said is a waste of money:

The Avonmouth Bridge on the M5 without which Bristol would be gridlocked unless a road of similar capacity had been built through the city at enormous expense in both the environmental and financial senses.
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Post by DavidBrown »

The Avonmouth Bridge is a huge necessity, I agree, but it has cost HUGE amounts to build, maintain and widen. And they still can't put down a smooth surface! Hence why it is nowhere near the best value for money.

For best value, I would have to say the M25. OK, it's busy and not many people like it, but as has been said many times, imagine the area without it. :shock: It would be hell.
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Post by PeterA5145 »

The M62 over the Pennines must be a strong contender - that has totally transformed the transport situation across a huge swathe of Northern England.
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Post by Jeni »

A38(M)... imagine getting into Birmingham without it! I live South of brum and sometimes still use it to get into the centre!
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Post by boing_uk »

*phew* and for a minute there, i thought this thread was about one of the biggest drains on resources we have in local government... ahhhhh *relaxes*
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Post by highwaymana31 »

boing_uk wrote:*phew* and for a minute there, i thought this thread was about one of the biggest drains on resources we have in local government... ahhhhh *relaxes*
:lol: :lol: :lol:
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Post by Richard Walker »

M6 Shap Fell. Another major road project, revolutionised travelling to Scotland.
Better still, it's great for keeping the traffic off the A6 Shap Fell, giving a glorious clear run on the S3 sections!
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Post by M1 »

The M25 mainly serves for traffic bypassing London, doesn't it? Would it have made any difference (well obviously at least a bit) to traffic in central London had it not been built?
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Post by cb a1 »

boing_uk wrote:*phew* and for a minute there, i thought this thread was about one of the biggest drains on resources we have in local government... ahhhhh *relaxes*
To echo highwayman, :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Post by Steven »

M1 wrote:The M25 mainly serves for traffic bypassing London, doesn't it? Would it have made any difference (well obviously at least a bit) to traffic in central London had it not been built?
Yes.

I remember the days before the completion of the M25, where you did indeed have to plough through the middle of London or use the Circulars.

To get from anywhere north of Luton to the Channel Ports involved a trip via London.
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sotonsteve
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Post by sotonsteve »

The M25 put an end to the isolation between members of my family, so it is good.

I'm sure there are pressure groups who would love the M25 to be turned into a nature reserve. Two fingers to them!!!
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Post by Nic »

sotonsteve wrote: I'm sure there are pressure groups who would love the M25 to be turned into a nature reserve. Two fingers to them!!!
Im not a member of a pressure group, but I'm pretty sure that there aren't many people who want to convert the M25 to a nature reserve.

There may be those who were opposed to its building.
There may be those who thing that better Public transport links would reduce the need for extra road building.

But I think this is a little uneeded as a reaction.
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Post by Ian198 »

The M63 Barton HL bridge was built at a time when there was still significant traffic on the Ship Canal, so the route through Trafford Park and over the nearby swing bridge was subject to Qs and delays, as was going further "upstream" to the Trafford Road swing bridge near White City.

So whatever it cost was worthwhile.
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Post by a80 »

I reckon the A80/A73 Auchenkilns Interchange represents good value. A junction improvement that was years overdue. The previous queues however now start just a few miles further south - but, if they ever build/upgrade the M80, then the benefits of this will be so much more recognised.
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Post by haymansafc »

DavidBrown wrote:The Avonmouth Bridge is a huge necessity, I agree, but it has cost HUGE amounts to build, maintain and widen. And they still can't put down a smooth surface! Hence why it is nowhere near the best value for money.
I'm with you to a degree on this. If it wasn't for the Avonmouth Bridge, I could add probably the best part of another hour to my journey down to Devon yearly. However, they have indeed spent a huge amount of money over it in recent years and to be honest, I much prefered it how it was. It just seems to be a total mess now - however, I've only seen it in recent years covered in cones! The road surface, as you say, isn't exactly smooth is it! It seems to be 'corrugated'!
The M62 over the Pennines must be a strong contender - that has totally transformed the transport situation across a huge swathe of Northern England.
Definately one of my top contenders. It's not a favourite motorway of mine to be honest, but if it wasn't there, I dread to think the state we would be in.
M6 Shap Fell. Another major road project, revolutionised travelling to Scotland.
Better still, it's great for keeping the traffic off the A6 Shap Fell, giving a glorious clear run on the S3 sections!
Haha! This would have been my own top contender. Without it now, today's traffic using the old road would have basically gridlocked. A nightmare. It's about the only true 'link' between here and Scotland. The A1 north of Newcastle really needs dualling all the way. I was using it yesterday to visit various places in Northumberland and if you get stuck behind a wagon - the traffic backs up as far as the eye can see.

As for those old S3 sections on the A6 - terrific! :D

I'd like to add another contender to the list which is reasonably local to me. It's certainly been value for money on a local scale. The build of the A548 crossing over the River Dee, bypassing Shotton and Connah's Quay, which even with the bypass remain congested, so you can probably imagine what it would be like today without the bypass.
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Post by mittfh »

If the M25 can be a contender, then surely the Birmingham Box deserves a mention. OK, so it's a combination of three motorways, and if you're daft enough to do a circuit then you'll face four TOTSOs.

Besides which, now the inner ring road has been decimated, imagine life without the box...
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Post by Jam35 »

Craggs wrote:A38(M)... imagine getting into Birmingham without it!
Funnily enough, I can. Remember the lengthy closure a year or two back? The A38 and A47 coped fine (and the P&R scheme was a failure that would've been risible had the ratepayers of Birmingham not been paying for it). Seeing how ugly the A38(M) is (walk around Aston some time), it seems distinctly STR now we've got the A47 Heartlands Parkway.

The really really indispensible road is the M42 between the M5 and the M6 Toll. It keeps all that through traffic away from Birmingham.
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Post by rusty »

The M25 mainly serves for traffic bypassing London, doesn't it? Would it have made any difference (well obviously at least a bit) to traffic in central London had it not been built?
The whole of the south east would be a nightmare without it. And that's no exaggeration. In the morning rush it can take me an hour and a half to go 30odd miles from [url=http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi? ... ale=100000" target="_blank]City[/url] in the evening rush takes upwards of 2 hours. Imagine what life would be like without the M25! Most essential road in the dam' country if you ask me (and ironically one of the most maligned).
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Post by Jeni »

Jam35 wrote:
Craggs wrote:A38(M)... imagine getting into Birmingham without it!
Funnily enough, I can. Remember the lengthy closure a year or two back? The A38 and A47 coped fine (and the P&R scheme was a failure that would've been risible had the ratepayers of Birmingham not been paying for it). Seeing how ugly the A38(M) is (walk around Aston some time), it seems distinctly STR now we've got the A47 Heartlands Parkway.
The A38(M) wasn't actually closed, but they told everyone it was.

M6S->A38(M) slip was closed, as was A38M->M6(S) and M6(N) -> A38(N). The road itself was open 2 lanes each way in a contraflow and signs all around the Motorway Box was advising traffic to take another arterial route, e.g. A458, A41, A34, A47 etc.

If you wanted to make the M6(S)->A38(M) move, you could (as I did) take the A38 North, then do a dodgy U turn somewhere and get onto the Expressway that way. I continued using it all through the works just fine.
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