Midlands Connect road strategy

[danfw194]

Some interesting wording in that document. They want to "promote new housing". I get there is a need for new housing in the UK, the current and previous government have undelivered new houses badly, but it makes me a little nervous to see it so front and centre on a document like this.

[darkcape]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

[Chris5156]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Does this also mean that the Western Orbital has sunk beneath the waves yet again?

[danfw194]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Not surprising, inevitably there were a lot of headwinds for the project. I still maintain that it wouldn't be too fanciful to upgrade the current A46 Leicester Western bypass to D3, and to grade separate the Syston Hobby Horse Island. From Syston heading north D2 should still be sufficient capacity wise, but the road itself needs an upgrade, especially between Six Hills and Widmerpool where frankly it's atrocious.

[Steven]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Does this also mean that the Western Orbital has sunk beneath the waves yet again?

Who knows. I've not heard anything about it again for some time.

[ais523]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Does this also mean that the Western Orbital has sunk beneath the waves yet again?

At the M54-M6 Toll link road consultation, I asked the engineers about the Western Orbital; they were aware that it had been suggested in the past, but didn't think it would ever happen. So I suspect there are no current plans to do something like that (and the current plans for the area north of Wolverhampton are probably going to end up under-capacity if the Western Orbital ever does get built).

[darkcape]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Not surprising, inevitably there were a lot of headwinds for the project. I still maintain that it wouldn't be too fanciful to upgrade the current A46 Leicester Western bypass to D3, and to grade separate the Syston Hobby Horse Island. From Syston heading north D2 should still be sufficient capacity wise, but the road itself needs an upgrade, especially between Six Hills and Widmerpool where frankly it's atrocious.

Upgrading the western bypass is likely a non-starter, all the bridges are only wide enough for D2, you could maybe do Ratby to the A5630 with lane drops through the junctions but this wouldn't solve much.

The big idea for the eastern bypass was to facilitate more housing development and provide quicker access to the motorway which area like Oadby & Wigston sometimes takes an hour in rush hour pre-covid to do. All we'll end up with now is little distributor roads filled with roundabouts, side accesses and traffic lights that will just add to congestion.

[nick_dunn]

Does this also mean that the Western Orbital has sunk beneath the waves yet again?

It's still there as a part of their 'Long Term Midlands Motorway Hub' plans.

Personally I think the Western Orbital will be built in the end and I think the strategy of 'new housing' will contribute largely towards that. Recently, property developers have quietly acquired large areas of green belt land adjacent to the urban areas on the border of the Black Country and South Staffs. This was not immediately obvious as detailed development plans were submitted to Staffordshire council rather than Dudley - whose council controls this part of the Black Country. As soon as news leaked out there was local uproar and social media and local press made sure there was fierce opposition to the developers. However, I believe the developers can keep resubmitting their plans every year and residents groups will have to keep demonstrating their objections at the same time. It's just a waiting game and I think the developers will win through in time.

At some point therefore, there will be enough new housing along the South Staffs border to demand a better road network. The whole route from Stourbridge to Wolverhampton is already woefully inadequate and I can't see how it can possibly cope with any more local traffic. The A449 is heavily congested and no amount of tinkering with the A491 will ever make it flow at all until there is some proper relief to the west.

[thatapanydude]

Not sure if we've discussed it already but Midlands Connect and Leics CC recently announced they've dropped plans to build a new A46 expressway around the east side of Leicester as a new bypass.

Not surprising, inevitably there were a lot of headwinds for the project. I still maintain that it wouldn't be too fanciful to upgrade the current A46 Leicester Western bypass to D3, and to grade separate the Syston Hobby Horse Island. From Syston heading north D2 should still be sufficient capacity wise, but the road itself needs an upgrade, especially between Six Hills and Widmerpool where frankly it's atrocious.

Upgrading the western bypass is likely a non-starter, all the bridges are only wide enough for D2, you could maybe do Ratby to the A5630 with lane drops through the junctions but this wouldn't solve much.

The big idea for the eastern bypass was to facilitate more housing development and provide quicker access to the motorway which area like Oadby & Wigston sometimes takes an hour in rush hour pre-covid to do. All we'll end up with now is little distributor roads filled with roundabouts, side accesses and traffic lights that will just add to congestion.

Instead more should be done to utilise the current southern bypass, where there is space to make it a D2, it should be used. E.g. between the A426 and Pork Pie Roundabout - there is massive space left for widening which should be used - it can be an urban D2 at 40/50mph and still have enough space for the residents with the current distributor roads and trees acting as cover. Likewise from Winldey Roundabout to Welford Road, though the other section towards the A6 are a little bit more contentious as you'll have to knock down those tree and come rather close to houses.

In fact if all of the existing ring road was utilised around Leicester better with D2 or S2+1 upgrades, this would be a better solution to keep local traffic using that and strategic traffic on the outer bypass and a whole lot cheaper.

[danfw194]

Not surprising, inevitably there were a lot of headwinds for the project. I still maintain that it wouldn't be too fanciful to upgrade the current A46 Leicester Western bypass to D3, and to grade separate the Syston Hobby Horse Island. From Syston heading north D2 should still be sufficient capacity wise, but the road itself needs an upgrade, especially between Six Hills and Widmerpool where frankly it's atrocious.

Upgrading the western bypass is likely a non-starter, all the bridges are only wide enough for D2, you could maybe do Ratby to the A5630 with lane drops through the junctions but this wouldn't solve much.

The big idea for the eastern bypass was to facilitate more housing development and provide quicker access to the motorway which area like Oadby & Wigston sometimes takes an hour in rush hour pre-covid to do. All we'll end up with now is little distributor roads filled with roundabouts, side accesses and traffic lights that will just add to congestion.

Instead more should be done to utilise the current southern bypass, where there is space to make it a D2, it should be used. E.g. between the A426 and Pork Pie Roundabout - there is massive space left for widening which should be used - it can be an urban D2 at 40/50mph and still have enough space for the residents with the current distributor roads and trees acting as cover. Likewise from Winldey Roundabout to Welford Road, though the other section towards the A6 are a little bit more contentious as you'll have to knock down those tree and come rather close to houses.

In fact if all of the existing ring road was utilised around Leicester better with D2 or S2+1 upgrades, this would be a better solution to keep local traffic using that and strategic traffic on the outer bypass and a whole lot cheaper.

Don't necessarily disagree with any of the points you've made there, but I do feel like the Ring Road is a bit of a lost cause in most places. Not sure the money would end up being justified, it feels like whatever improvement you make you'll just push the queue half a mile further down the road. From purely a roads perspective, I am fortunate being on the northern side of the city, we're far better catered for, not that it's a perfect situation by any means. As is the case for so many places up and down the country now, Oadby and Wigston have outgrown the existing transport infrastructure.

[jedikiah]

The outer ring was effectively wrecked in the 1960s before little of it had even been started on as the alignment that had been set aside since the 1930s was first built on by Leicester City Council on Goodwood Road. In some respects I suppose it might be more surprising that as much of it actually was built to some extent that were rather than the eastern bits that weren't.