A130 upgrades

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Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

Another update (or should be non update?).

Still no date given for opening the 3rd Lane by ECC. Still all coned off.
ColdRolledAsphalt
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by ColdRolledAsphalt »

I asked ECC about this last week and they deny all responsibility for the road. Someone called 'Martin' there saying it's a PFI operated by County Route and I'll have to ask them. Strange because all the signage on the route says 'maintained for ECC'. How can ECC not bear responsibility for it. I don't understand why the lanes are coned off. Dangerous too as means there is no hard shoulder.
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jackal
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by jackal »

Maybe try contacting ECC more along the lines of 'are the contractors abiding by the terms of contract? If not they may owe ECC compensation'.
ColdRolledAsphalt
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by ColdRolledAsphalt »

Good idea. My theory is that they've not opened the old hard shoulder becuase the subsurface isn't up to scratch for a running lane. You can tell there are some really bad undulations driving past.
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roadtester
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by roadtester »

I went this way today visiting some friends in Southend.

It's still coned down to two lanes on both carriageways.
Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

Looks like it will be coned off for some time.

It's the embankments that are the problem, which I guessed, given the amount of trees and vegetation I saw cut back this morning.

Work set to start in March, and be completed in the Summer.
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roadtester
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by roadtester »

I went this way yesterday and it's still coned down from three to two lanes in both directions.
Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

It's only been in the last week or so that I have finally seen, what appears to be some work going on to the embankments. Work was supposed to begin in March. Some of it may have been out of sight, but I have seldom seem any construction vehicles parked in the coned off Lane or in the laybys.

There is an overnight closure of the A130 n/b from Howe Green this coming Tuesday night. Wondering if that is connected to the work - putting down vanguard/narrow lanes maybe?
Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

Still seems to be absolutely nothing taking place on this road. No sign of any works vehicles. Wonder if there will be some sort of announcement after the election...
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jackal
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by jackal »

At this rate the A13 widening scheme will be designed and built before they manage to open this..
Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

Confirmation of yet another delay http://m.essexlive.news/works-to-the-a1 ... story.html

Seen the odd works vehicle parked in the coned off lanes from time to time lately, but whether any work has taken place is not clear. Not visibly, anyway.

What's the betting there's another delay?

ColdRolledAsphalt wrote:I asked ECC about this last week and they deny all responsibility for the road. Someone called 'Martin' there saying it's a PFI operated by County Route and I'll have to ask them. Strange because all the signage on the route says 'maintained for ECC'. How can ECC not bear responsibility for it
County Route (Laing?) are responsible (in very loose terms it seems...) for the Howe Green to Fairglen stretch of the A130 until 2030, when it will be transferred to ECC control.
Jamesabout29
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Jamesabout29 »

Runwell wrote:...until 2030, when it will be transferred to ECC control.
And probably still have a lane coned off! :roll:
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Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

At last! Looks like work to finally sort out the embankments will go in to full swing from this weekend.

A130 closed overnight on Friday to put in the vanguarding. Downside is it appears it will be 50 all the way, with SPECS, until the work is done (although that might smooth things out during the morning rush possibly?).
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Arcuarius
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Arcuarius »

Runwell wrote:At last! Looks like work to finally sort out the embankments will go in to full swing from this weekend.

A130 closed overnight on Friday to put in the vanguarding. Downside is it appears it will be 50 all the way, with SPECS, until the work is done (although that might smooth things out during the morning rush possibly?).
Not really a downside if you happen to be working on the A130, honestly...
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Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

Honestly, trying to imply I care not one jot about the workforce...

The '50 moan' is more due to the long straight stretch South of the A12 that will feel a lot slower. There is no dispute about making sure the contractors by the road are given the utmost protection.
Jamesabout29
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Jamesabout29 »

Runwell wrote:At last! Looks like work to finally sort out the embankments will go in to full swing from this weekend.

A130 closed overnight on Friday to put in the vanguarding. Downside is it appears it will be 50 all the way, with SPECS, until the work is done (although that might smooth things out during the morning rush possibly?).
Excellent! Went up that way twice in the past week and noticed some minor earthworks on the embankment of the southbound lanes just north of the Rettendon Turnpike. Wasn't sure if those works were related to the scheme, but it would seem that they are. Exciting times!
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Runwell
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by Runwell »

The main work actually appears to be beside the laybys on the hilly section of the road. That is where most of the varioguard is.

No sign of SPECS, but the 50 limit is now in place, albeit only from about two miles south of the A12, until about a mile from the A132 exit. Seems to be only southbound at this time as well.
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RichardA35
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by RichardA35 »

Runwell wrote:The main work actually appears to be beside the laybys on the hilly section of the road. That is where most of the varioguard is.

No sign of SPECS, but the 50 limit is now in place, albeit only from about two miles south of the A12, until about a mile from the A132 exit. Seems to be only southbound at this time as well.
One unverified but reasonably knowledgeable opinion I've heard is that the problem is also to do with the hardstrips that were pared back to the minimum (something like 300mm) to save money when the scheme was built and are now found to be an issue with RSA3 with opening up the third lane.
roadphotos
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by roadphotos »

Even when lane 3 of the A130 is finally open there will still be the problem where the road joins the A12. The section north of the A130 (constructed in the mid 1980s) is only 2 lanes wide and this already causes congestion where traffic from the A130 joins the A12 northbound, every day there's congestion here. This part of the A12 should have had 3 lanes to begin with, also the bridges on this section of the A12 are only wide enough for the existing 2 lanes as no room was left for future widening when this part of the A12 was built because the government of the time wanted it built as cheaply as possible. To make matters worse current plans to widen the A12 do not include this section. The A130 joins the A12 at junction 17 but the widening plans are from junction 19 at Boreham to junction 27 for Colchester. Another interesting point is that there are plans to make the A12 junction 19 a free flowing junction with the proposed new A131 to the north east of Chelmsford joining the A12 here so there will be a free flowing link to the A12 south just after the A12 has been reduced from 3 lanes to 2 so with all the new houses currently being built to the north east of Chelmsford I predict major jams in the future.
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jackal
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Re: A130 upgrades

Post by jackal »

Thanks for that. It does seem such an obvious oversight not to widen the A12 between J17 and J19 that I wonder if somewhere in the bowels of government there is a plan to do it as one scheme along with the Chelmsford North East Bypass, perhaps as a centrally funded but Essex CC delivered scheme (hence why it's not in RIS1 and 2 with the other bits of A12 widening).

I've posted some relevant docs in the Chelmsford North East Bypass thread: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=31432&p=940648#p940648
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