A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon "news"

[c2R]

Can anyone explain why the A14(M)/A1198 junction is only being built limited access?

I doubt a junction would have been built at all if it wasn't for the removal of the Huntingdon viaduct. No A1198N traffic will want to take the A14E (the movement is catered for further south anyway at Caxton Gibbett), and A1198S traffic can use the old A14 LAR.

[kiran_mk2]

Does anyone know what is happening with the new west-bound on-slip at Bar Hill? It seems to be fully tarmacked and painted (and is coned off at the entry) but it seems like the merge point with the carriageway will be where the entrance/exit from the ex-BP garage is and they haven't made any moves to change this entry/exit. Does this mean there is going to be a very short merge or has the on-slip been delayed?

[roadtester]

A14 closed this weekend as they take down the old bridge near Swavesey:

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/c ... 8-15381589

[darkcape]

West on-slip at Bar Hill is temporary to allow the earthworks fill for the new roundabout, permanent slip road will be in similar position but closer to carriageways.

[Al__S]

Reports of (yet again) traffic "chaos" at Bar Hill this morning- caused, presumably, by people not following the diversion signs at Girton to head along the A428 and instead, seeing that the sliproad towards the A14W was still open (as the closure is Bar Hill-St Ives) distrust the warnings of the closure and continue to fallow their satnavs/the normal road signs. They come off at Bar Hill and don't know where to go.

At least progress on the demolition appears to be swift

[mikehindsonevans]

Reports of (yet again) traffic "chaos" at Bar Hill this morning- caused, presumably, by people not following the diversion signs at Girton to head along the A428 and instead, seeing that the sliproad towards the A14W was still open (as the closure is Bar Hill-St Ives) distrust the warnings of the closure and continue to fallow their satnavs/the normal road signs. They come off at Bar Hill and don't know where to go.

At least progress on the demolition appears to be swift

What an informative video. Perfect stability, great focus, an excellent overview of the work. This was a pleasure to watch over a Sunday morning coffee.

[Al__S]

What an informative video. Perfect stability, great focus, an excellent overview of the work. This was a pleasure to watch over a Sunday morning coffee.

Check out the rest of the channel- it's an excellent series, Jonathan is doing good work documenting the project

[dcrc2]

Reports of (yet again) traffic "chaos" at Bar Hill this morning- caused, presumably, by people not following the diversion signs at Girton to head along the A428 and instead, seeing that the sliproad towards the A14W was still open (as the closure is Bar Hill-St Ives) distrust the warnings of the closure and continue to fallow their satnavs/the normal road signs. They come off at Bar Hill and don't know where to go.

Evidently people can't be trusted to follow a diversion when the actual road closure isn't at the start of the diversion. You'd think that lesson had been learnt by now.

Given that they have to leave the A14 open to Bar Hill (as there is no other reasonable access), perhaps it would be better not to close the road at Bar Hill, and allow traffic to continue as far as Lolworth. Then if anyone is determined to ignore all the signs and ends up at Lolworth, they get to do a U-turn through a gap in the central reservation. That would allow all the numpties to turn around without bunging up the whole of Bar Hill. And then you close the eastbound exits at Bar Hill and Dry Drayton to force them all the way back to Girton.

[millionmiledriver]

I know the area well and headed north knowing the road was closed No indication of any diversion until J 29 when we instead of being routed left or right were routed south and east back down the A14 to J32 then round the roundabout to head back west to pick up the A428 What a waste of time when I could have left the M11 at J13 to pick up the A428 What on earth are Highways England thinking of ?

[kiran_mk2]

What provisions were in place for people in Lolworth? While Bar Hill has limited connections at least you can head to Longstanton. AFAIK, Lolworth can only be accessed from the A14.

I think the two big problems with A14 closure diversions are 1- so may of the signs showcasing diversions are not removed/hidden when the diversion is not in place (so people learn that even if the sign is out it likely doesn't apply) and 2 - not everyone is familiar with the A14 junction numbering - saying 'closed J27-J29' might not mean much to people heading up the M11. I've lived in Cambridge over 8 years now and I still know the junctions by the nearby villages rather than junction number.

[KeithW]

Reports of (yet again) traffic "chaos" at Bar Hill this morning- caused, presumably, by people not following the diversion signs at Girton to head along the A428 and instead, seeing that the sliproad towards the A14W was still open (as the closure is Bar Hill-St Ives) distrust the warnings of the closure and continue to fallow their satnavs/the normal road signs. They come off at Bar Hill and don't know where to go.

Evidently people can't be trusted to follow a diversion when the actual road closure isn't at the start of the diversion. You'd think that lesson had been learnt by now.

Given that they have to leave the A14 open to Bar Hill (as there is no other reasonable access), perhaps it would be better not to close the road at Bar Hill, and allow traffic to continue as far as Lolworth. Then if anyone is determined to ignore all the signs and ends up at Lolworth, they get to do a U-turn through a gap in the central reservation. That would allow all the numpties to turn around without bunging up the whole of Bar Hill. And then you close the eastbound exits at Bar Hill and Dry Drayton to force them all the way back to Girton.

Unless things have changed since July there is no gap at Lolworth, even if there is now its surely far better to turn them round over the bridge at Bar Hill. All you have to do is go round the roundabout cross the bridge and turn left. If nothing else I suspect the contractor will want construction traffic on the closed A14 section between Lolworth and Swavesey. In any case traffic that is turned around will still have the same problem of not being able to get onto the A428 westbound at Girton. Traffic will have to go eastbound on the A14 and cross over the bridge at Impington and try again.

Now what signage do we need at Bar Hill - Possibly this

Attention All Idiots
Go back to the A14
Impington and Try Again

[KeithW]

I know the area well and headed north knowing the road was closed No indication of any diversion until J 29 when we instead of being routed left or right were routed south and east back down the A14 to J32 then round the roundabout to head back west to pick up the A428 What a waste of time when I could have left the M11 at J13 to pick up the A428 What on earth are Highways England thinking of ?

I don't think that I would have waited to be told at J13 but given the nature of the Madingley Road I can understand why they didnt want HGV traffic diverting along it. Its not hard to imagine 2 miles of stationary traffic on the Northbound M11 waiting to turn left at the the signalised junction at the end of the slip road. It's common enough to see queues on the M11 there even without a diversion in place.

[Arcuarius]

Now what signage do we need at Bar Hill - Possibly this

Attention All Idiots
Go back to the A14
Impington and Try Again

Nah. They'll just think it doesn't apply to them

[c2R]

There is no gap at Lolworth.

[dcrc2]

Unless things have changed since July there is no gap at Lolworth, even if there is now its surely far better to turn them round over the bridge at Bar Hill. All you have to do is go round the roundabout cross the bridge and turn left.

But the S2 over the bridge barely copes with the amount of traffic using it on a normal day. If you try to add in a large amount of traffic for a diversion, particularly when the drivers aren't really sure where they're supposed to go, it's not surprising that it becomes completely impossible to get out of Bar Hill.

There might not be a gap at Lolworth but it wouldn't have been too hard to make one. They're going to replace the barrier eventually anyway. There have been several closures now at either Bar Hill or Swavesey where it could have been useful.

[c2R]

Unless things have changed since July there is no gap at Lolworth, even if there is now its surely far better to turn them round over the bridge at Bar Hill. All you have to do is go round the roundabout cross the bridge and turn left.

But the S2 over the bridge barely copes with the amount of traffic using it on a normal day. If you try to add in a large amount of traffic for a diversion, particularly when the drivers aren't really sure where they're supposed to go, it's not surprising that it becomes completely impossible to get out of Bar Hill.

There might not be a gap at Lolworth but it wouldn't have been too hard to make one. They're going to replace the barrier eventually anyway. There have been several closures now at either Bar Hill or Swavesey where it could have been useful.

From a safety perspective that would be a nightmare waiting to happen... even if the gap was big, you'd be looking at trying to turn HGVs around in an unfamiliar, unexpected configuration in the dark, while narrow lanes and road works go on around them... I'm not convinced.

[millionmiledriver]

Keith W in fairness it was 7am Saturday morning with light traffic I assumed being a weekend there would fewer trucks and they would route people through the villages

[Arcuarius]

Keith W in fairness it was 7am Saturday morning with light traffic I assumed being a weekend there would fewer trucks and they would route people through the villages

The problem with HGVs is that they are often around at any time of the day or night, depending on when the boat comes in to Felixstowe.

[Chris5156]

Keith W in fairness it was 7am Saturday morning with light traffic I assumed being a weekend there would fewer trucks and they would route people through the villages

A diversion route for a whole weekend closure won't change depending on time of day or night - it'll be put in place once and remain the same all weekend, and for a road like the A14 is never going to send you through back roads and villages.

[Euan]

Keith W in fairness it was 7am Saturday morning with light traffic I assumed being a weekend there would fewer trucks and they would route people through the villages

The problem with HGVs is that they are often around at any time of the day or night, depending on when the boat comes in to Felixstowe.

I would imagine that HGV drivers would, if their time were flexible to some extent, be somewhat more inclined to make their road journey during the night while there are fewer cars on the road. Presumably with Felixstowe being such a busy port, this flexibility will probably be quite limited. It would not be that straightforward to try and estimate when there might be a sudden surge of lorries on the A14 at Cambridge given that the cargo ships will not follow a fixed timetable in the same way that ferries do and that the loading of goods onto lorries will take differing levels of time to complete. All that is really known is that from the time a lorry leaves Felixstowe, it will around around 90 minutes or longer to reach Cambridge.