A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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JammyDodge
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by JammyDodge »

ABB125 wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 19:16 Are there any plans to put a flyover on the Podimore roundabout? I can't seem to find much information about this project. Seems quite expensive (£100-£250 million) for 3 miles of online dualling.
Sadly, Podimore is outside of this project
My assumption, is that when Podimore becomes a major issue in the future, they will build a flyover, only after making it wider, adding traffic light and then turning it into a hamburger
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SouthWest Philip
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by SouthWest Philip »

The works at Podimore could be unrelated. Locally to me there has been a lot of trees being cut down, I would guess due to Ash dieback and the potential for trees to fall on the road?
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Herned »

Perhaps it will be needed if traffic levels increase significantly once other sections are dualled, especially Stonehenge, but as it is I can't see there being much of a business case for a flyover - in 30 odd years of driving regularly that way I can't remember being held up at all
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by jackal »

Podimore GSJ was to be an RIS3 scheme last I heard.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by hoagy_ytfc »

JammyDodge wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 20:16 they will build a flyover, only after making it wider, adding traffic light and then turning it into a hamburger
Part of that (the traffic lights) came true a long time ago.
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JammyDodge
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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hoagy_ytfc wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 09:44
JammyDodge wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 20:16 they will build a flyover, only after making it wider, adding traffic light and then turning it into a hamburger
Part of that (the traffic lights) came true a long time ago.
It is a bit of a joke, but that is the British way
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Debaser
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Debaser »

JammyDodge wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:04
hoagy_ytfc wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 09:44
JammyDodge wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 20:16 they will build a flyover, only after making it wider, adding traffic light and then turning it into a hamburger
Part of that (the traffic lights) came true a long time ago.
It is a bit of a joke, but that is the British way
We live in a country where it appears the majority of the population do not wish to pay the level of taxes required to support the services they demand. A country where we are constantly exhorted to "do more with less".

It's easy to say "build a flyover", another thing to first find the money to build it (which necessarily means other schemes are either delayed or drop off the list altogether) and then the money to inspect and maintain it for the next hundred years, given you've just increased the maintenance burden, again - it's not as if when you build a new bridge the oldest existing one on the network ceases to be maintained.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Herned »

Debaser wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:57 It's easy to say "build a flyover", another thing to first find the money to build it (which necessarily means other schemes are either delayed or drop off the list altogether) and then the money to inspect and maintain it for the next hundred years, given you've just increased the maintenance burden, again - it's not as if when you build a new bridge the oldest existing one on the network ceases to be maintained.
How much does a bridge cost to maintain compared to the traffic lights around the roundabout? Genuine question, I haven't the faintest idea
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Phil »

Herned wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 13:22
Debaser wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:57 It's easy to say "build a flyover", another thing to first find the money to build it (which necessarily means other schemes are either delayed or drop off the list altogether) and then the money to inspect and maintain it for the next hundred years, given you've just increased the maintenance burden, again - it's not as if when you build a new bridge the oldest existing one on the network ceases to be maintained.
How much does a bridge cost to maintain compared to the traffic lights around the roundabout? Genuine question, I haven't the faintest idea
Depends on what the bridge is made of, its length / height, what it passes over / under, the materials its made of.

A set of poles planted in the ground needs very little to keep them safe (basically make sure they aren't in danger of collapse).
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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hoagy_ytfc wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 15:01 It's a "yes"

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a303 ... nt-consent

Development consent granted today
Yippee!!!!!

So with Stonehenge, this and Carland Cross to Chiverton Cross, my wish when I was a teenager of seeing the whole London to Penzance Trunk Road (non motorway sections) dualled is nearly there. Get Wylye to Mere done, the A358 Ilminster to Taunton and dual the Ilminster bypass and it's done.

I'm 52 this week, so by the time I retire it should be completed.

I accept that the section through the Blackdown Hills will not be done, but the traffic levels apart form holiday weekends do not justify it. Given it's in an AONB and the issues with Extinctions Rebellion and the Swampy getting back on the scene, I think there are better battles to fight.

The A358 takes nearly twice the traffic levels then the A303 through the Blackdown Hills and has important local and regional links to play, so is more worthy of the upgrade. When built I presume the A358 will become trunk road.

Would they then detrunk the A303, Ilminster to Honition, and the A30 / A35 become the continuous trunk road.
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A303Chris
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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Here is the HE press release saying works will commence this year.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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A303Chris wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 09:44 I accept that the section through the Blackdown Hills will not be done, but the traffic levels apart form holiday weekends do not justify it. Given it's in an AONB and the issues with Extinctions Rebellion and the Swampy getting back on the scene, I think there are better battles to fight.

The A358 takes nearly twice the traffic levels then the A303 through the Blackdown Hills and has important local and regional links to play, so is more worthy of the upgrade. When built I presume the A358 will become trunk road.

Would they then detrunk the A303, Ilminster to Honition, and the A30 / A35 become the continuous trunk road.
They might well detrunk it, only for it to be retrunked and dualled once they find the M5 becomes overloaded.
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JammyDodge
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by JammyDodge »

Vierwielen wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 14:53
A303Chris wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 09:44 I accept that the section through the Blackdown Hills will not be done, but the traffic levels apart form holiday weekends do not justify it. Given it's in an AONB and the issues with Extinctions Rebellion and the Swampy getting back on the scene, I think there are better battles to fight.

The A358 takes nearly twice the traffic levels then the A303 through the Blackdown Hills and has important local and regional links to play, so is more worthy of the upgrade. When built I presume the A358 will become trunk road.

Would they then detrunk the A303, Ilminster to Honition, and the A30 / A35 become the continuous trunk road.
They might well detrunk it, only for it to be retrunked and dualled once they find the M5 becomes overloaded.
I don't think they will detrunk the A303 through the Blackdown Hills.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

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JammyDodge wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 14:57
Vierwielen wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 14:53
A303Chris wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 09:44 I accept that the section through the Blackdown Hills will not be done, but the traffic levels apart form holiday weekends do not justify it. Given it's in an AONB and the issues with Extinctions Rebellion and the Swampy getting back on the scene, I think there are better battles to fight.

The A358 takes nearly twice the traffic levels then the A303 through the Blackdown Hills and has important local and regional links to play, so is more worthy of the upgrade. When built I presume the A358 will become trunk road.

Would they then detrunk the A303, Ilminster to Honition, and the A30 / A35 become the continuous trunk road.
They might well detrunk it, only for it to be retrunked and dualled once they find the M5 becomes overloaded.
I don't think they will detrunk the A303 through the Blackdown Hills.
Nor they should not. The A358 is a good medium term solution which is why I can forgive the at-grade mess but long term dualling through blackdown is the only long term solution. I for one will still be taking the A303/A30 to Exeter avoiding the dog-leg trip to Taunton.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Herned »

It's 8 miles further via Taunton. The costs of environmental mitigation required to build a dual carriageway through an AONB will be significant, when there is little justification in terms of traffic. The volumes will be even lower when the A358 is dualled, so the route will be fine for traffic that is not going as far as Exeter.

The sensible thing to do would be to renumber the road as the A303 all the way to the M5 at J25
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by jackal »

Vierwielen wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 14:53
A303Chris wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 09:44 I accept that the section through the Blackdown Hills will not be done, but the traffic levels apart form holiday weekends do not justify it. Given it's in an AONB and the issues with Extinctions Rebellion and the Swampy getting back on the scene, I think there are better battles to fight.

The A358 takes nearly twice the traffic levels then the A303 through the Blackdown Hills and has important local and regional links to play, so is more worthy of the upgrade. When built I presume the A358 will become trunk road.

Would they then detrunk the A303, Ilminster to Honition, and the A30 / A35 become the continuous trunk road.
They might well detrunk it, only for it to be retrunked and dualled once they find the M5 becomes overloaded.
The neat thing about the A358 scheme is that it utilises the spare capacity on the M5 between Taunton and Exeter - at 65k AADT it's one of the quieter D3Ms in the country.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Norfolktolancashire »

I have a feeling that once the A358 is D2 between Ilminster and Taunton the A303 classification will take that section instead and the existing A303 between Ilminster and the A30 near Honiton will become a B road with a corresponding weight limit to remove HGV through traffic.

This would remove an obvious mainline route on satnavs and maps and reduce the maintenance costs on that section.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Vierwielen »

Herned wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 16:18 ... snip ...

The sensible thing to do would be to renumber the road as the A303 all the way to the M5 at J25
This would really break the A30 into two parts and would achieve very little. At the moment the A30 multiplexes with the M5 for a relatively short distance.
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Re: A303 Sparkford to Ilchester

Post by Vierwielen »

Norfolktolancashire wrote: Tue Feb 09, 2021 21:17 I have a feeling that once the A358 is D2 between Ilminster and Taunton the A303 classification will take that section instead and the existing A303 between Ilminster and the A30 near Honiton will become a B road with a corresponding weight limit to remove HGV through traffic.

This would remove an obvious mainline route on satnavs and maps and reduce the maintenance costs on that section.
Where would you place the weight limit?
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