Upgrading the A66 and A69

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Glenn A
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Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Glenn A »

Mentioned in the budget, the government is looking into( possibly might not do much) into dualling the A66 and the A69 as part of a plan to improve east-west communications in the North, which are often poor. Also since I use these roads frequently and have been stuck behind tractors and slow moving lorries for miles on end, any sort of improvement is needed.
I wonder if this will be done in stages to save money and I'd imagine in the case of the A66, the first part of the project will probably be a D2 by pass of Temple Sowerby and dualling of the remaining S2 sections between Penrith and Scotch Corner. Also for the A69, I'd think a D2 by pass of Low Row and dualling from Low Row to Greenhead will come first.
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LeedsKing
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by LeedsKing »

Then when Fletcher leaves the work party to go to the pub, he CAN claim to be working on a bypass!
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Stevie D
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Stevie D »

Glenn A wrote:Mentioned in the budget, the government is looking into( possibly might not do much) into dualling the A66 and the A69 as part of a plan to improve east-west communications in the North, which are often poor. Also since I use these roads frequently and have been stuck behind tractors and slow moving lorries for miles on end, any sort of improvement is needed.
I wonder if this will be done in stages to save money and I'd imagine in the case of the A66, the first part of the project will probably be a D2 by pass of Temple Sowerby and dualling of the remaining S2 sections between Penrith and Scotch Corner. Also for the A69, I'd think a D2 by pass of Low Row and dualling from Low Row to Greenhead will come first.
Not wanting to spoil your plans, but a D2 bypass of Temple Sowerby opened in 2007...
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jaconway88
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by jaconway88 »

Cool to see talk of A66 AND A69; we normally think in terms of either/or on that front. Hope something comes of it.
Tom H
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Tom H »

Stevie D wrote: Not wanting to spoil your plans, but a D2 bypass of Temple Sowerby opened in 2007...
A bypass which ends half a mile short of a 40(?) limit and the next village of Kirkby Thore :roll:
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Glenn A »

Tom H wrote:
Stevie D wrote: Not wanting to spoil your plans, but a D2 bypass of Temple Sowerby opened in 2007...
A bypass which ends half a mile short of a 40(?) limit and the next village of Kirkby Thore :roll:
Sorry Kirkby Thore, the last settlement between Penrith and Scotch Corner not to be by passed and a bad bottleneck. I'd hope this is a priority, along with the S2 section at Warcop and reconstruction of the westbound carriageway of the D2 at Bassenthwaite.
The A69 also needs some work which would be quite easy, such as a D2 by pass of Low Row and its bends and 40 mph restrictions, and dualling from Haydon Bridge to the start of the D2 near Hexham.
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jackal
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by jackal »

Glenn A wrote:
Tom H wrote:
Stevie D wrote: Not wanting to spoil your plans, but a D2 bypass of Temple Sowerby opened in 2007...
A bypass which ends half a mile short of a 40(?) limit and the next village of Kirkby Thore :roll:
Sorry Kirkby Thore, the last settlement between Penrith and Scotch Corner not to be by passed and a bad bottleneck. I'd hope this is a priority, along with the S2 section at Warcop and reconstruction of the westbound carriageway of the D2 at Bassenthwaite.
The A69 also needs some work which would be quite easy, such as a D2 by pass of Low Row and its bends and 40 mph restrictions, and dualling from Haydon Bridge to the start of the D2 near Hexham.
Improvements to the A69 will probably be piecemeal and single carriageway. I expect the main proposal will be to work towards dualling the A66 between the M6 and A1(M).
Last edited by jackal on Mon Mar 21, 2016 15:15, edited 1 time in total.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Mark Hewitt »

They really do just need to get on and finish the A66.
XC70
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by XC70 »

jackal wrote: Improvements to the A69 will probably be piecemeal and single carriageway. I expect the main proposal will be to work towards dualling the A66 between the M1 and A1(M).
I assume you mean M6?
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Glenn A »

Mark Hewitt wrote:They really do just need to get on and finish the A66.
Too right, I'd imagine Penrith- Scotch Corner is a priority and also rebuilding the westbound carriageway at Bassenthwaite. Another suggestion long put forward by Cumbria County Council is the Bridgefoot- Papcastle section, which is shared with the A595, and is congested as Carlisle bound traffic make this section busy.
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Helvellyn
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Helvellyn »

The A66 really isn't that bad. Finishing off the remaining bits of D2 between Penrith and Scotch Corner makes sense but the lack of them isn't something to get worked up about unless you live in Kirkby Thore.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Mark Hewitt »

Some upgrades to the A69 would be welcome. As it's a long drag from Hexham to the M6 with very few overtaking opportunities. Especially on a summer weekend there's a lot of traffic to/from the Lakes and it can end up being quite a slog as you inevitably get stuck behind that queue going at 40mph.

That said if they just got on and finished dualling the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith, and at the same time stopped coning the majority of the D2 down to one lane which it always seems to be for some reason, then personally I wouldn't be using the A69 to get to the M6 any more.
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jackal
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by jackal »

XC70 wrote:
jackal wrote: Improvements to the A69 will probably be piecemeal and single carriageway. I expect the main proposal will be to work towards dualling the A66 between the M1 and A1(M).
I assume you mean M6?
Indeed - post now edited.
Tom H
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Tom H »

Took a trip over to Barnard Castle from West Cumbria for the weekend.

Eastbound on the A66 after Penrith was barely above 40 until well past Stainmore Summit (exceptions being Temple Sowerby and Appleby bypasses) due to lane closures at Brougham and Brough.
The section between Penrith and Temple Sowerby seemed the worst, with traffic nose to tail in both directions, occasionally stationary for the Center Parcs junction.

However, it seems that the section from the B6259 junction at Sandford to the start of the D2 at Brough will soon be subject to a 50 limit, with new signs erected, but currently taped over, with the numbers below only just visible. Hopefully not an excuse to not build a D2 through there :roll:
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Helvellyn
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Helvellyn »

Bank holiday weekend traffic usually seems awful everywhere.

What's putting the 50 up supposed to achieve? Doesn't stop you from being stuck behind something going, and on the odd occasion you're not 60's fine through most of it (not that that ever seems to stop reductions).
Tom H
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Tom H »

Does anyone know much about the safety record there? As for campaigning locals, there's only a couple of farms and the Army firing range on that stretch. Could the Army have had any influence?

If the safety record is bad enough, then who am I to complain about a speed limit reduction to improve safety. However, this does nothing to ease congestion and therefore shouldn't stand in the way of any measures to do so.
Glenn A
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Glenn A »

Tom H wrote:Does anyone know much about the safety record there? As for campaigning locals, there's only a couple of farms and the Army firing range on that stretch. Could the Army have had any influence?

If the safety record is bad enough, then who am I to complain about a speed limit reduction to improve safety. However, this does nothing to ease congestion and therefore shouldn't stand in the way of any measures to do so.
I don't have any raw stats, but seemingly there's an accident every week on the A66 and the problems occur where the D2 sections end and people run out of road. Reducing the speed limit would merely cause more congestion as traffic becomes more bunched together. Complete dualling of the Scotch Corner- Penrith section, the section west of Bassenthwaite and the Darlington by pass( often overlooked) is the answer to congestion and accidents.
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by c2R »

The main issues for motorised users appear to be drivers of light high sided vans falling off the road in high winds, localised flooding in bad weather, and the unexpected twisty section between Warcop and Bowes. for non motorised users, I don't think I'd fancy accessing the bus stop at Kirkby Thore if I was elderly. And the Appleby show always cases tailbacks with idiots in horses and carts thinking it appropriate to use the A66 at night... There really needs to be better nmu provision on the route....
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Mark Hewitt »

The Warcop section is a barrier for cycling too as all the routes in the area funnel into it so it's almost impossible to avoid if only for a few miles.
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Re: Upgrading the A66 and A69

Post by Rob590 »

Interesting that the two are being considered in tandem. How do they compare usage-wise? My perception would be that the A66 takes a lot more long distance/HGV traffic than the A69, which is more about regional journeys to/from the North East/Cumbria? Is the implication here that improvements to the A66 might be in part justified by it taking traffic off the A69?

I think the issues - Warcop and Kirby Thore on the A66 and almost all of the A69 west of Haydon Bridge - are probably fairly obvious, so I guess it's a question of resources and priority.
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