M6 junction 13 to junction 15 smart motorway

[Bryn666]

I'd asked this question elsewhere - 16-19 is using the modular Deltabloc system that is effectively to the same spec as US Jersey barrier but without being extruded like a step barrier is.

I'm not sure which works out better. The A555 and I think AWPR also use the Deltabloc system?

[brummie_rob]

Not sure if many have seen this video of the Cresswell bridge being demolished, but is pretty good:



Also confirmed the Yarnfield complex being built is for material storage for Phase 2 which begins in the New Year when Northbound verge works start and a contraflow is put in Southbound.

[Big L]

I'm impressed with the amount of concrete barrier that has gone in since I was last up this way in December.

[Jonathan B4027]

Yarnfield will also be used for a HS2 phase 2 construction compound if it gets royal assent.

[brummie_rob]

Most of the concrete barrier is now in between Yarnfield and J15 with random gaps and a bit of work to do by J15 still.

At the end of Jan and start of Feb they are closing the motorway for 10 nights to install the contraflow ready to begin work on the Northbound verge.

[brummie_rob]

The contraflow is now running from the Yarnfield access down to just after J15. Few people moaning that they haven't seen the signs approaching that if you want to leave at J15, to use the 'nearside lanes'. Signage was updated yesterday to say 'use nearside two lanes' and extra ones added on approach but hasn't stopped dangerous swerving at the last minute.

Overall though the contraflow may prove really useful to getting work done quicker. I noticed this morning, rather than a full overnight closure (which was scheduled), they were just running all vehicles down the contraflow (on the Southbound side) which meant they had a whole carriageway to work on without a closure required. The contraflow is wide enough for lorries to use which is useful.

[Bryn666]

The contraflow is now running from the Yarnfield access down to just after J15. Few people moaning that they haven't seen the signs approaching that if you want to leave at J15, to use the 'nearside lanes'. Signage was updated yesterday to say 'use nearside two lanes' and extra ones added on approach but hasn't stopped dangerous swerving at the last minute.

Overall though the contraflow may prove really useful to getting work done quicker. I noticed this morning, rather than a full overnight closure (which was scheduled), they were just running all vehicles down the contraflow (on the Southbound side) which meant they had a whole carriageway to work on without a closure required. The contraflow is wide enough for lorries to use which is useful.

There was a brief period where contraflows seemed to scare Highways England but looks like sense has prevailed. I don't really fancy a run down that way but I'm curious to see how it functions in practice. Suppose there's always the AGM!

[rw93]

The contraflow seems to work quite well here, the traffic actually seems to run a lot smoother now there are 2+1 lanes as opposed to 3 lanes.

There is a worryingly large amount of people making last second decisions to switch lanes at the diverge though, in my opinion there are plenty of signs leading up to it to with enough time to make a decision, but I guess many drivers aren't all that observant!

[brummie_rob]

Traffic for a Friday flowed quite well through it. The irony being the two lanes were running faster than the contraflow lane but that is what you get for sitting in lane three constantly.

[Johnathan404]

If the accident record here is as bad as J16-19, is there a plan to free traffic stuck behind an accident in the contra-flow lane?

On the other hand it does mean you'd be able to keep two lanes open.

[A9NWIL]

If the accident record here is as bad as J16-19, is there a plan to free traffic stuck behind an accident in the contra-flow lane?

On the other hand it does mean you'd be able to keep two lanes open.

I guess thats where 2+1 contraflow is more difficult, if it was traditional 2+2 contraflow like the M5 works in Birmingham then there is space to pass.

[brummie_rob]

If the accident record here is as bad as J16-19, is there a plan to free traffic stuck behind an accident in the contra-flow lane?

On the other hand it does mean you'd be able to keep two lanes open.

I guess thats where 2+1 contraflow is more difficult, if it was traditional 2+2 contraflow like the M5 works in Birmingham then there is space to pass.

There are around three emergency gaps where they haven't concreted, so I assume these will be used in the most severe cases. It would mean blocking lane two on the other side of the barrier so HE could attend the scene.

[A303Chris]

Full weekend closure of the M6 this weekend between 8pm Saturday and sometime Sunday to remove a footbridge between J13 and J14 details here

Good photo, so I presume they never had a contraflow here given the reduce headroom over the HS, or have HGV vehicle heights increased since the 60s.

[Bryn666]

Pity those bridges have to go as they were unusual and made that otherwise tedious length of the M6 a little more bearable. The replacement will no doubt be a bland steel job, assuming one is being provided at all.

[brummie_rob]

The final NSL gap between J13 and J14 has been plugged overnight Northbound. Southbound will follow next week as they move to doing the concrete barrier in this location. Further up, piling works are taking place and seem to be progressing fairly quickly. Of course what will be interesting is that for perhaps a year or so the Northbound will be finished but the Southbound won't even have started (though with the contra-flow it won't be running as a smart motorway), they'll just presumably cone off the refuge bays.

[rw93]

The contraflow has now been extended to cover the full length of J14 to J15.

[brummie_rob]

The narrow lanes are now extended Southbound for an extra couple of miles past J13 into the existing smart section. This means traffic joining at J13 now has to merge on traditionally with lane four closed. The Northbound will be installed like this next week by the looks of it. This may cause some issues where people have to lane drop before the junction. It also means the last average speed camera which has sat with a 'Not in use' symbol can now be used after a year of sitting there!

[rw93]

Not strictly on topic but there was an accident just south of junction 13 in the early hours of the morning (11th September 2019), which has lead to the closure of both carriageways. A lorry has rolled over and in the process taken out a 5m chunk of the concrete central barrier. I know that obviously it's not going to be indestructible but it does perhaps pose the question as to whether it is safe enough?

News article for reference:
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... ut-3305963

[Jeni]

Not strictly on topic but there was an accident just south of junction 13 in the early hours of the morning (11th September 2019), which has lead to the closure of both carriageways. A lorry has rolled over and in the process taken out a 5m chunk of the concrete central barrier. I know that obviously it's not going to be indestructible but it does perhaps pose the question as to whether it is safe enough?

News article for reference:
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/st ... ut-3305963

Looking at those pictures I don't think there is *any* central barrier that wouldn't be destroyed by that!

Unless you built it out of Nokia 3210s

[Norfolktolancashire]

The narrow lanes are now extended Southbound for an extra couple of miles past J13 into the existing smart section. This means traffic joining at J13 now has to merge on traditionally with lane four closed. The Northbound will be installed like this next week by the looks of it. This may cause some issues where people have to lane drop before the junction. It also means the last average speed camera which has sat with a 'Not in use' symbol can now be used after a year of sitting there!

Is this to tie-in the two Smart Motorway schemes?

This will make the 50mph section around twenty miles long