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roadtester wrote:Wasn't/isn't there a plan to free-flow the link between the M11 and the A120 to the north avoiding the roundabout as was done to the south some years ago?
I do the M11 a lot and unless it's very quiet, if I need a stop, I tend to go to the services on the A120 near the airport even though this is a detour of a couple of miles because it limits your exposure to the A120/M11 roundabout.
Roadtester; thank you so much for the tip about the service area on the A120. We had a lovely break there on Good Friday (the M11 had been stuffed northbound from the M25 and seemed to be at a standstill north of J8). We took the free-flowing link road up and over the M11 (bypassing J8 completely) and, having previously loaded the satnav with the postcode for the BP site, we breezed into a restful coffee break. We subsequently pootled along the A120 in an easterly direction and discovered an entirely new cross-country route to Norwich.
Thank you
Mike and wife.
Mike Hindson-Evans. Never argue with a conspiracy theorist.
They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
roadtester wrote:Wasn't/isn't there a plan to free-flow the link between the M11 and the A120 to the north avoiding the roundabout as was done to the south some years ago?
I do the M11 a lot and unless it's very quiet, if I need a stop, I tend to go to the services on the A120 near the airport even though this is a detour of a couple of miles because it limits your exposure to the A120/M11 roundabout.
Roadtester; thank you so much for the tip about the service area on the A120. We had a lovely break there on Good Friday (the M11 had been stuffed northbound from the M25 and seemed to be at a standstill north of J8). We took the free-flowing link road up and over the M11 (bypassing J8 completely) and, having previously loaded the satnav with the postcode for the BP site, we breezed into a restful coffee break. We subsequently pootled along the A120 in an easterly direction and discovered an entirely new cross-country route to Norwich.
Thank you
Mike and wife.
Glad to be of service - works for me!
Do be careful with over-staying the parking though. They tried to sting me with a penalty charge by post once a couple of years ago when I inadvertently over-stayed but I managed to wriggle out of it.
An update regarding the improvement works I mentioned upthread. The scheme was apparently given the go-ahead back in October last year, although the exact details of the improvements have changed. http://www.southeastlep.com/images/uplo ... _Case_.pdf describes them as follows:
Location 1:
South-west of M11 Junction 8 - Add additional approach lane from M11 J8 northbound exit slip onto existing A120 (Birchanger Green Services), Bishop's Stortford.
Location 2:
West of M11 J8 - Replace the existing A120/A1250 roundabout with a multi-arm signalised junction and widen to three lanes the A120 “west link” (both directions) and A120 “east link” (eastbound only).
Location 3:
Improved and widened slip between the M11 Southbound slip and A120 East. At the junction with the roundabout, a gantry will be installed spanning the five lanes.
Location 4:
Improved and widened two lane entry to B1256 Dunmow Road from roundabout (housing
developer S278 funded and constructed).
So no more free-flow left turns on the north-facing slips, it appears. There's another little nugget in the above document:
Other alternatives that have been considered include:-
Relocating the exit from Birchanger Green Services to force traffic onto the A120 before turning onto the M11. This option is pending investigation into land ownership issues but could be delivered in the future.
There is actually an ongoing planning application by the Services owners to create a rear exit (mainly intended for HGVs) right now - UTT/17/2352/FUL on the Uttlesford council planning website if you are interested. I can't directly link to the plans, but they're rubbish; it's a single lane exit onto the A1250 with the existing exit onto the main J8 roundabout remaining open. One of the documents in the application shows the layout of the new A120/A1250 signalised junction as well. Given the works that will be happening here, this all strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity. There's surely room for a higher-capacity exit from the services in the new location, allowing the old exit to be closed; this would definitely help the traffic flow on the main J8 roundabout by removing an arm from it. I fancy you could fit some sort of half-hamburger arrangement within the footprint of the current A120/A1250 roundabout to allow it...
The whole junction is going to get substantially worse in terms of traffic the coming years, as there is massive housing development going on to in-fill Bishop's Stortford with the A120 northern bypass, and if the planners think that all the residents are going to be anything other than two car families in this piece of new surburbia then they're delusional. Couple that with further Stansted expansion that is being planned.
I suspect these are really the only remaining options that could be built with minimum land acquisition and cost while making use of the existing structures - some tinkering if you will, to try and reduce current levels of congestion. An optional rear exit for the services might help the services attract more custom from Stortford itself, who at the moment can't be bothered to negotiate the roundabout to access it, so I'm sure that's why they're proposing it - people on their lunch breaks from the industrial areas nearby, for example.
The long term options are going to need to be widening of the overbridges on the circulatory carriageway or more free flow sliproads.
c2R wrote:I suspect these are really the only remaining options that could be built with minimum land acquisition and cost while making use of the existing structures
There are still left turn filters they could put in. Though relatively cheap they are probably beyond what they have to spend at the moment (low seven digits by the look of it). This cheeky little link (in black) would also remove some of the main conflicts and make fuller use of the existing grade separation:
For the long term, here's a suggestion that also GSJs the next roundabout along:
Last edited by jackal on Fri Mar 02, 2018 01:36, edited 1 time in total.
c2R wrote:I suspect these are really the only remaining options that could be built with minimum land acquisition and cost while making use of the existing structures
There are still left turn filters they could put in. Though relatively cheap they are probably beyond what they have to spend at the moment (low nine digits by the look of it). This cheeky little link (in black) would also remove some of the main conflicts and make fuller use of the existing grade separation:
M11 J8 - Copy.png
For the long term, here's a suggestion that also GSJs the next roundabout along:
M11 A120 - Copy.png
Both very nice ideas - the junction with the old A11 would need more thought owing to the railway in the valley but probably something quite creative could be done with it....
c2R wrote:I suspect these are really the only remaining options that could be built with minimum land acquisition and cost while making use of the existing structures
There are still left turn filters they could put in. Though relatively cheap they are probably beyond what they have to spend at the moment (low seven digits by the look of it). This cheeky little link (in black) would also remove some of the main conflicts and make fuller use of the existing grade separation:
M11 J8 - Copy.png
Cough, cough..... on that map the B1256 gets diverted from J8 to the roundabout at the GSJ at the end of the spur, which was an idea I had and which si404 kindly mapped here : viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36694&p=866114&hilit=m11+j8#p866114
Public information:
Thursday, September 13, 12:00 – 18:00, Bishop’s Stortford Football Club
Friday, September 14, 14:00 – 20:00, Birchanger Village Hall
It looks like the proposals are to add additional stacking lanes on the approaches (4 on M11 n/b off slip, 5 on M11 s/b off slip, and a signalised junction to replace the satellite roundabout into Stortford with additional lanes to support further stacking here).
The Essex CC website describes it as a short to medium term solution with preliminary construction expecting to start this winter and lasting two years.
I know it is a 'cunning plan' but, I don't know why this simple layout hasn't been considered? It could even be built as a single carriageway and perhaps even a one-way south bound road if they didn't want to built a northbound link bridge over the M11.
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:13
That's very French and easy.
So we won't do it...
That roundabout is on the internal airport road network so promoting a link from a motorway directly to a private road is not going to happen as it ignores the A120 eastbound. If it were contemplated, the roundabout would have to be adopted and the internal airport vehicles using that road would have to pay for white diesel instead of red or build another road bypassing the roundabout so costing the airport operators millions in the long term either way.
That would be great for access to the long stay car parks but a faff to get to the main part of the airport, and I doubt the dinky at-grade junctions are made for it. The north facing freeflow should be to the A120.
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:13
That's very French and easy.
So we won't do it...
That roundabout is on the internal airport road network so promoting a link from a motorway directly to a private road is not going to happen as it ignores the A120 eastbound. If it were contemplated, the roundabout would have to be adopted and the internal airport vehicles using that road would have to pay for white diesel instead of red or build another road bypassing the roundabout so costing the airport operators millions in the long term either way.
Some very good points. I have to admit this junction does annoy me with its lack of north-facing slips. I feel the long tortuous route around Birchanger Roundabout could be avoided as is represents having to double-back on yourself for those traveling north or coming off the M11 south-bound. The improvements planned by Essex CC are just 'tinkering' with the problem. Here is google snip-shot of the potential link roundabout. I didn't know it was in the ownership of BAA (Stansted Airport).
Bryn666 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:13
That's very French and easy.
So we won't do it...
That roundabout is on the internal airport road network so promoting a link from a motorway directly to a private road is not going to happen as it ignores the A120 eastbound. If it were contemplated, the roundabout would have to be adopted and the internal airport vehicles using that road would have to pay for white diesel instead of red or build another road bypassing the roundabout so costing the airport operators millions in the long term either way.
Some very good points. I have to admit this junction does annoy me with its lack of north-facing slips. I feel the long tortuous route around Birchanger Roundabout could be avoided as is represents having to double-back on yourself for those traveling north or coming off the M11 south-bound. The improvements planned by Essex CC are just 'tinkering' with the problem. Here is google snip-shot of the potential link roundabout. I didn't know it was in the ownership of BAA (Stansted Airport).Strandsted potential access to M11.JPG
There's a Stansted bylaws sign here just off Priory Wood roundabout towards Round Coppice Road.
RichardA35 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2019 10:26
That roundabout is on the internal airport road network so promoting a link from a motorway directly to a private road is not going to happen as it ignores the A120 eastbound. If it were contemplated, the roundabout would have to be adopted and the internal airport vehicles using that road would have to pay for white diesel instead of red or build another road bypassing the roundabout so costing the airport operators millions in the long term either way.
Some very good points. I have to admit this junction does annoy me with its lack of north-facing slips. I feel the long tortuous route around Birchanger Roundabout could be avoided as is represents having to double-back on yourself for those traveling north or coming off the M11 south-bound. The improvements planned by Essex CC are just 'tinkering' with the problem. Here is google snip-shot of the potential link roundabout. I didn't know it was in the ownership of BAA (Stansted Airport).Strandsted potential access to M11.JPG
There's a Stansted bylaws sign here just off Priory Wood roundabout towards Round Coppice Road.
Damn their oily hides. Mind you in this era of M32 bus only slip roads I'm sure some wag would say if the slips were dedicated as part of the airport network......
Bryn Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already. She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
