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NICK 647063 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 20:47
I really don’t get why these GSJ’s are needed never ever is there a queue here, the remaining A69 to the west is S2, clearly somebody important lives in the area! Sorry I’m all for future proofing but this is an absolute waste of money.... considering when you look at the slog it is to get the A64 sorted east of York which is always hugely congested, really don’t get how the A69 has qualified for this.
The A64 east of York isn't simply a case of building the missing bridges. The A69 junctions may not be the busiest but time, fuel and emission savings by not having to brake and accelerate must surely be worthwhile. Hopefully this will encourage other part built GSJ's to be completed. Take note new towns
How would you like your grade separations, Sir? Big and complex.
GC_A690 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 13, 2018 13:42I hate having to slow down for these roundabouts (moreso than any others since they're so obviously supposed to be grade-separated), but I've never had to queue that I can remember... So is there any point? The rest of the A69 west is still going to be a horrible single-carriageway slog. I suppose it's a 'quick win' as the junctions are so perfectly future-proofed for grade separation, but even so it's hard to see that the benefits outweigh the cost.
While they don't generally suffer from bad congestion, there is an impact on journey times – particularly for heavy vehicles heading west from Styford where there is quite a climb away from the roundabout – but there is also a significant impact on accident rates. Both Styford and Bridge End have seen 3–4 times as many accidents as the A68/A69 GSJ junction on the Corbridge by-pass. Assuming that the new GSJs would have similar accident rates as the existing one (which is hopefully a conservative estimate, given what a low standard the existing GSJ is built to), installing grade separation could prevent 4 or 5 accidents a year, and so on that basis alone the cost of the works would be covered in 30–40 years.
It might also be a spur to further improvements and dualling to the west ... but they don't want to put any more dualling in while those junctions could act as bottlenecks and then cause more disruption by upgrading the junctions once the road is busier.
I guess it’s a low hanging fruit of sorts. Because in the 70s they had the foresight to build them as GSJ ready it means it can be done relatively cheaply now
The construction time seems quick too. All done inside a year?
The Bridge End Roundabout can be busy at peak times and the A6079 coming out of Hexham can get very congested and drivers do take chances. It's better the A69 goes under the roundabout as intended in the seventies and removes a pinch point on the A69, where drivers can continue at 70 mph past Hexham.
I still wonder of they will make any improvements to the A6079 North junction approx 1 mile west which involves crossing the central reservation. There is a road runs parallel to A69 for that bit which could be upgraded.
djw1981 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 23:17
I still wonder of they will make any improvements to the A6079 North junction approx 1 mile west which involves crossing the central reservation. There is a road runs parallel to A69 for that bit which could be upgraded.
Probably eventually as a result (maybe the only result?) of the A66/A69 study, but probably not as part of the current scheme, which seems to be confined to what can be done without legal formalities.
On another aspect, once the current scheme is completed, there will remain a few central reservation gaps between Corbridge and Horsley, on the section that was dualled online in the late 1980s. If they want to bring the road up to expressway standards from the A1 to Hexham, they will need to convert these to LILOs and either cut off some local movements or build a couple of bridges.
I suspect the long-term plan is to make the whole route dual carriageway 'expressway' all the way to Carlisle at some point, and that these junctions are just low hanging fruit that will need upgrading at some point anyway.
djw1981 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 23:17
I still wonder of they will make any improvements to the A6079 North junction approx 1 mile west which involves crossing the central reservation. There is a road runs parallel to A69 for that bit which could be upgraded.
Probably eventually as a result (maybe the only result?) of the A66/A69 study, but probably not as part of the current scheme, which seems to be confined to what can be done without legal formalities.
On another aspect, once the current scheme is completed, there will remain a few central reservation gaps between Corbridge and Horsley, on the section that was dualled online in the late 1980s. If they want to bring the road up to expressway standards from the A1 to Hexham, they will need to convert these to LILOs and either cut off some local movements or build a couple of bridges.
As well as the at-grade junction with the A6079 just west of the Bridge End Rounabout, there's also another couple of gaps in the central reservation shortly before the dual carriageway ends, one for the B6531 and another immediately after for an unclassified road.
havaska_uk wrote: ↑Sun Jul 15, 2018 14:11
I suspect the long-term plan is to make the whole route dual carriageway 'expressway' all the way to Carlisle at some point, and that these junctions are just low hanging fruit that will need upgrading at some point anyway.
I wonder if the A69 will ever be totally D2 as far as jct 43 of the M6, or if there will be piecemeal improvements. Scrapping the at grade junctions would remove an element of danger from the road for a start.
When I first saw it I thought it was for a side road that somehow had something to do with the GSJ, and I was trying to work out where the side road would go and what its purpose was, hence my post.
Mark Hewitt wrote: ↑Sat Jul 14, 2018 09:00
I guess it’s a low hanging fruit of sorts. Because in the 70s they had the foresight to build them as GSJ ready it means it can be done relatively cheaply now
The construction time seems quick too. All done inside a year?
It won't be too hard at Bridge End because there is room for a D2 to go under the roundabout and clearly when Hexham by pass was being built, the layout at the roundabout suggested the A69 would go under the roundabout.
Glenn A wrote: ↑Sat Sep 29, 2018 12:47
It won't be too hard at Bridge End because there is room for a D2 to go under the roundabout and clearly when Hexham by pass was being built, the layout at the roundabout suggested the A69 would go under the roundabout.
And Styford will be easier still because they'll be going over the existing roundabout, not under.
