A1 Northumberland Dualling

[Haydn1971]

Yep

[c2R]

Yep

It's a bit like the motorways between Alicante and Valencia in that point....

[Mark Hewitt]

I misread your earlier post. You want to build an entirely new route to the west of the A19 running through the built up area.

Just as many if not more issues with that than with the A1.

[Mark Hewitt]

Just got an update from Highways England that the Morpeth - Felton scheme has been merged into the new "A1 in Northumberland" scheme.
http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-p ... umberland/

But the proposal is to dual the S2 stretch between the A697 turnoff and the Alnwick bypass, then extend the dualling North of the Alnwick bypass to meet the existing short section of D2.

Morpeth-Felton should have originally opened in around 2006. Under this scheme construction won't start until 2020. According to their page all the work they did before the scheme was originally scrapped is now in the bin because there has been a change in the planning law, so they have to do it all again. So Morpeth-Felton will be opening at least 15 years after it was originally supposed to - when IMO it should have been completed by the early 90s!

As far as I can see Alnwick-Ellingham is a new proposal. But does still leave 23 miles of S2 to Berwick.

[wrinkly]

I'm surprised it's taken them until now to put out an update, as Morpeth to Ellingham was announced in December.

Calling it Morpeth to Ellingham disguises the fact that it consists of

1. The revived Morpeth to Felton scheme
2. The existing dual carriageway from Felton to Denwick
3. A newly proposed section from Denwick to North Charlton
4. The existing dual carriageway from North Charlton to Ellingham.

The other scheme that was in the pipeline in the noughties was Adderstone to Belford. That seems to have been dropped for now, replaced by Denwick to North Charlton.

According to their page all the work they did before the scheme was originally scrapped is now in the bin because there has been a change in the planning law, so they have to do it all again.

That's depressing. It had reached the stage of a preferred route being announced. I was wondering whether that question would be re-opened.

[Mark Hewitt]

The other scheme that was in the pipeline in the noughties was Adderstone to Belford. That seems to have been dropped for now, replaced by Denwick to North Charlton.

Yes; I can only conclude that they would rather have it as one continuous stretch of D2 rather than yet another short isolated D2 segment. I don't know if it's now policy not to construct short sections of D2 considering the poor accident record they tend to have?

That's depressing. It had reached the stage of a preferred route being announced. I was wondering whether that question would be re-opened.

It's really quite silly that Morpeth to Felton is still there, but then I've been saying that for many many years.

[jackal]

The HA page has been updated including this:

May 2016 - we are currently planning to host a series of Public Awareness Events in the local area in May. This will enable people to find out more about the scheme, meet the project team and contribute their views on the work done so far. Further details including the location, venue and date of the events are available on the ‘Latest’ tab.
Autumn 2016 - we are planning to hold a Public Consultation during autumn, to present the outcome of the improvement options assessment work and to gather further feedback from the public. More details will be made available nearer the time.
2017 - we plan to make recommendations on the preferred route for the A1 Morpeth to Ellingham dualling improvement scheme in 2017 – date to be confirmed.
2018 - we plan to start construction of the A1 north of Ellingham enhancements in advance of the dualling scheme.
2020 - we anticipate that the improvements to upgrade the existing single carriageway to dual carriageway between Morpeth and Felton and Alnwick and Ellingham can be developed to start construction in 2020. This is subject to available funding, completion of statutory procedures and demonstration of value for money.

[Mark Hewitt]

So tenuous plans that if everything falls exactly into place, the planets align with a following wind they *might* start construction in 4 years time!

[jackal]

So tenuous plans that if everything falls exactly into place, the planets align with a following wind they *might* start construction in 4 years time!

Pretty much. The language is a lot more conditional than it has been for other schemes being developed for the first road period (2015-2020). It's quite strange since, as the page says, £290m was announced already for the scheme. Hopefully the point of saying "subject to available funding" and "demonstration of value for money" is just to cover themselves in case costs escalate dramatically.

EDIT - though to be fair the North of Ellington overtaking opportunities etc should start construction within two years and isn't made conditional in the way the dualling is.

[Mark Hewitt]

What exactly are they doing?

As the current situation is

Newcastle - Morpeth - D2
Morpeth - Felton - S2
Felton - Alwick - D2
Alnwick - Ellingham - S2
Ellingham - 1.7miles of D2 then back to S2

[Ritchie333]

I wonder if the A1 will be dualled all the way from Henlys Corner to the A720 before I die?

[Mark Hewitt]

I wonder if the A1 will be dualled all the way from Henlys Corner to the A720 before I die?

Unless we see some massive change like SNP becoming the government of the entire UK and deciding to upgrade the routes to Scotland, then it's doubtful!

[jackal]

What exactly are they doing?

As the current situation is

Newcastle - Morpeth - D2
Morpeth - Felton - S2
Felton - Alwick - D2
Alnwick - Ellingham - S2
Ellingham - 1.7miles of D2 then back to S2

From HA page:

A1 Morpeth to Ellingham – we’ll upgrade the existing single carriageway to dual carriageway between Morpeth and Felton and Alnwick and Ellingham creating a continuous, high-quality dual carriageway from Newcastle to Ellingham
A1 north of Ellingham – we’ll enhance the performance and safety of this section of road, including overtaking opportunities, junction improvements and improved crossing facilities for pedestrians and cyclists

[Mark Hewitt]

Pretty good if they actually get on with it! To be fair once you get North of Alnwick traffic levels tend to drop off.

[wrinkly]

I wonder if the A1 will be dualled all the way from Henlys Corner to the A720 before I die?

Unless we see some massive change like SNP becoming the government of the entire UK and deciding to upgrade the routes to Scotland, then it's doubtful!

But the SNP hasn't shown much interest in further dualling of the A1 in Scotland.

[jackal]

I wonder if the A1 will be dualled all the way from Henlys Corner to the A720 before I die?

Unless we see some massive change like SNP becoming the government of the entire UK and deciding to upgrade the routes to Scotland, then it's doubtful!

But the SNP hasn't shown much interest in further dualling of the A1 in Scotland.

Yes, it is a bit of a puzzling situation where there's more signs of progress 'Down South' despite the much higher per capita road spending in Scotland. Puzzling, that is, until one considers the political effects of increased cross-border economic activity...

[unterwasser]

Pretty good if they actually get on with it! To be fair once you get North of Alnwick traffic levels tend to drop off.

Bit of a chicken and egg situation. If I'm travelling north to central Scotland, I'd cut across A66 at Scotch Corner and then head up the M6/M74. If the A1 was dualled all the way to Edinburgh I'd be content to use that.

[Mark Hewitt]

True. Starting from Tyneside means that isn't a real option but it basically means that the A1 is only carrying traffic from Tyneside and Teesside to Scotland.

As ever the main affect of improved links is not for long distance traffic but more local eg those who may travel between Berwick and Alnwick b

[djw1981]

It also depends where in Scotland one is going. To anywhere west of Airdrie / Stirling, A69/M74 beats A1/M8/M9

[exiled]

Pretty good if they actually get on with it! To be fair once you get North of Alnwick traffic levels tend to drop off.

Bit of a chicken and egg situation. If I'm travelling north to central Scotland, I'd cut across A66 at Scotch Corner and then head up the M6/M74. If the A1 was dualled all the way to Edinburgh I'd be content to use that.

For the Scottish Government it does not make sense to commit to dualling before something concrete south of the border. Without the English stretch getting upgraded the other routes will still be more useful for long distance traffic, risking a completely D2 A1 in Scotland being a bit of a white elephant.