A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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jackal
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A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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ScottB5411
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by ScottB5411 »

They didn't manage to forsee this when they completely rebuilt the A2 recently then? Here's more misery and public funds squandered. I can think of numerous things this money could be better off put towards.
How about some more beans Mr. Taggart?
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by frediculous_biggs »

Really? How is this money being wasted?

They're building huge amounts of homes at Ebbsfleet and Bluewater just keeps increasing in popularity.
This is a substandard junction that has required improvement for some time.

It seems to be fine to me, although a shame that the A2 isn't 4 lanes under the junction.
I would also like the link from B255 to A292 retained, as that would make it much easier to leave Bluewater heading eastbound.

I'm also surprised at the timing of this. London Paramount are due to submit planning permission this year, and the works at the Ebbsfleet junction will be affected by this - I believe the early plans connected onto the Ebbsfleet junction.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by James »

I've driven around that quite a few times and for such a major road (A2) and Bluewater its surprising that the adapted dumbbell junction wasn't already improved/rebuilt when they built the shopping centre

Its a particular bottleneck and would have been much better if Bluewater had some kind of separate free flow link with the amount of traffic the place generates.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by Truvelo »

Scott has a point. This was rebuilt around 10 to 15 years ago and wasn't seen at the time as a sticking plaster solution.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by frediculous_biggs »

Truvelo wrote:Scott has a point. This was rebuilt around 10 to 15 years ago and wasn't seen at the time as a sticking plaster solution.
It was modified when Bluewater was built. There were no changes when the A2 was widened as Bean was where two of the contracts ended.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by Truvelo »

I'm sure the westbound slips were altered to make way for the 4th lane.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by frediculous_biggs »

There is a lane drop through the junction, so there would have been a small amount of work to change a normal slip to a lane drop, but that is it. Nothing to any of the three roundabouts, nor bridge. (This can be seen on Google Earth photos from 2006)
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by A21Will »

This Junction has been substandard since it was rebuilt when Bluewater was constructed, as anyone who has tried to leave the shopping centre will tell you. This is because the job was done on the cheap and the original bridge was kept. It seems that over 15 years later someone has finally noticed the problem. What is extraordinary is that these plans do nothing about the worse problem of the Lane drop here, which is also at the top of a long hill going westbound, and causes a near solid jam of traffic back to Cobham and sometimes the Medway Bridge every single morning. Why do this work and only solve the less important half of the problem?
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by Bryn666 »

I still find it incredible the abandoned petrol station is still sort of there.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by c2R »

I would use the opportunity here to demolish the old bridge at Bean to allow provision for future widening of the mainline. Ideally, it would be good to see collector distributor roads given how closely spaced these junctions all are...
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by Ben302 »

Ebbsfleet junction really doesn't need improving aside from part-time signalling as it doesn't have the traffic levels the Bean junction does. The main barrier to anything being significantly done there are the houses on the Bean road itself, although there is ample space behind the houses to the west to construct a dumbbell and entry/exit slips and bridge to tie into the roundabout on the north side of the A2 and with the old bridge gone and Bean road stopped up either side. and the B255 rerouted behind the houses to meet the new junction. The A2 can then be made D4H through the junction. Another issue is the A296 doubling as the coastbound entry slip and always grinds to a halt when a significant amount of traffic leaves bluewater. this really needs to be remarked as a S2+1 with a tigertail merge onto the A2.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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I hope they at least build the new bridge at Bean wide enough for D4.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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There was a rejected freeflow option for Bean:
Bean option 4 - Copy.jpg
From the TAR, p. 46:
Option 4 - Redesign of the junction as a free flow layout between the A2 and the B255. Access between the A2 and A296 would be via the B255. ...
Rejected because it did not provide connections to the A296 and Bean Lane.
TAR: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... ARv1_4.pdf

Drawings: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... awings.pdf
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by MotorwayPlannerM21 »

jackal wrote:Preferred route announcement:

https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... preads.pdf
Well it's certainly a bit less sub-standard, but I feel a freeflow option would be better (to Bluewater).
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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jackal wrote:There was a rejected freeflow option for Bean:

Bean option 4 - Copy.jpg

From the TAR, p. 46:
Option 4 - Redesign of the junction as a free flow layout between the A2 and the B255. Access between the A2 and A296 would be via the B255. ...
Rejected because it did not provide connections to the A296 and Bean Lane.
TAR: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... ARv1_4.pdf

Drawings: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... awings.pdf
There is a huge water main near to where the free flow was planned. It was built a few years ago to serve the new estates in the Eastern Quarry. There are 2 tunnels, maybe 3 that were used by earth movers to bring the top soil from the Eastern Quarry to the Western Quarry (where Bluewater Shopping Centre is now. Its a shame thay can not use these as routes out of Bluewater and eventually join the bottom of Pepper Hill.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

Post by jackal »

The statutory consultation is now open: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... sultation/

One of the things they are considering is closing the slip road and left turn filter lane here, which would make Bluewater to the A2 eastbound very circuitous.
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Re: A2 Bean and Ebbsfleet junction improvements

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jackal wrote:The statutory consultation is now open: https://highwaysengland.citizenspace.co ... sultation/

One of the things they are considering is closing the slip road and left turn filter lane here, which would make Bluewater to the A2 eastbound very circuitous.
Why would it? They plan a new slip road for that on the new junction. I don’t see how that’s more circuitous really. That said, it’s still a stupid idea to close the slip because I really can’t see any benefit to doing so - it gives way to traffic on the roundabout so I can’t see how this causes a delay.
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