Newark Bypass

[therock247uk]

Seen this on our local news: https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/loc ... er-2189566

IMO its needed traffic in and around Newark is horrible even more so Friday nights!!

[BeenEverywhere]

It needs doing badly. Newark is one of those places where it's always quicker to go through town than use the bypass.

[Euan]

Ideally the A46 would be dualled to D2 on the Newark Bypass in order to improve the capacity of the road. It is now the only section of S2 on the A46 between Leicester and Lincoln and so the gap would be filled. If widening the existing road is not possible, then there could always be a second bypass built to the south of Newark to D2 standard.

[trickstat]

Is this a situation where a road gets narrower just at the point where it gets busier? Newark is somewhere you can leave or join the A1 to or from places like Mansfield. The inadequacy of the bypass makes people take detours to avoid it.

[A303Chris]

The A46 between Nottingham and Newark became a dual carriageway in 2011, but that increased capacity is said to have exacerbated pressure on the single-carriage Newark northern bypass, creating a bottleneck that causes lengthy queues every rush hour

From the newspaper article, surely it did not take a brain of Britian to work out if you dualled the rest of the A46 to the M1 then the Newark bypass would become even more congested. I could never understand why they didn't go all the way to the A1 with the dualling when they did Newark to Cotgrave section of the A46.

And lets no forget Winthorpe is a disaster given the A1, A46 and A17 all converge onto a glorified dumbbell junction.

[Fenlander]

And lets no forget Winthorpe is a disaster given the A1, A46 and A17 all converge onto a glorified dumbbell junction.

Elsewhere there is talk of upgrading both the A17 and A46, which would put even more pressure on that junction.

[WHBM]

Is this a situation where a road gets narrower just at the point where it gets busier?

Actually a common feature. The worst, busiest bits get bypassed first, maybe even in the 1930s with S3 and roundabouts, then as traffic increases and design and capacity specs increase the later sections get done to a higher standard. I do recall the A46 Newark bypass was built before the dualling either side, some of which has only recently been completed.

M4 past Newport through the tunnel is a classic.

[c2R]

Heel dragging on the Newark Southern Link Road really isn't helping matters either.

[danfw194]

The A46 between Nottingham and Newark became a dual carriageway in 2011, but that increased capacity is said to have exacerbated pressure on the single-carriage Newark northern bypass, creating a bottleneck that causes lengthy queues every rush hour

From the newspaper article, surely it did not take a brain of Britian to work out if you dualled the rest of the A46 to the M1 then the Newark bypass would become even more congested. I could never understand why they didn't go all the way to the A1 with the dualling when they did Newark to Cotgrave section of the A46.

And lets no forget Winthorpe is a disaster given the A1, A46 and A17 all converge onto a glorified dumbbell junction.

Nail on the head. The Cotgrave to Newark section of new A46 is a lovely stretch of new road, but then it slams to a halt at the Farndon roundabout and leaves you in a world of pain. Happens too often with new road schemes - a complete disregard for the terminus junctions.

Winthorpe is appalling and quite frankly dangerous. It would be better if they could take the A17 out of the equation - preferably by taking it south of Newark, crossing the A1 at Fernwood and linking with the A46 at Farndon. But even then, Winthorpe still needs ripping up completely. Simply dualling the bypass and leaving the existing junctions in place would not be anywhere near satisfactory.

[alans]

There is hope on the horizon for the Newark bypass and hopefully Winthorpe A1/A46/A17 junction.Robert Jenrick,a government treasury minister and local MP is pushing for this to be included in RIS2 At around £250m I would say this would be money well spent

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/loc ... er-2189566


I apologise to OP,the above link is the same as in the original post

[wrinkly]

Heel dragging on the Newark Southern Link Road really isn't helping matters either.

Let's hope the heel-dragging continues if we thereby avoid the building of a second flat roundabout on the A46 near the existing one. According to the relevant thread that's a real threat.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37209&p=888472

[Big L]

It needs doing badly. Newark is one of those places where it's always quicker to go through town than use the bypass.

It badly needs doing.

"It needs doing badly" has an unfortunate alternative meaning.

[ForestChav]

The A46 between Nottingham and Newark became a dual carriageway in 2011, but that increased capacity is said to have exacerbated pressure on the single-carriage Newark northern bypass, creating a bottleneck that causes lengthy queues every rush hour

From the newspaper article, surely it did not take a brain of Britian to work out if you dualled the rest of the A46 to the M1 then the Newark bypass would become even more congested. I could never understand why they didn't go all the way to the A1 with the dualling when they did Newark to Cotgrave section of the A46.

And lets no forget Winthorpe is a disaster given the A1, A46 and A17 all converge onto a glorified dumbbell junction.

Nail on the head. The Cotgrave to Newark section of new A46 is a lovely stretch of new road, but then it slams to a halt at the Farndon roundabout and leaves you in a world of pain. Happens too often with new road schemes - a complete disregard for the terminus junctions.

Winthorpe is appalling and quite frankly dangerous. It would be better if they could take the A17 out of the equation - preferably by taking it south of Newark, crossing the A1 at Fernwood and linking with the A46 at Farndon. But even then, Winthorpe still needs ripping up completely. Simply dualling the bypass and leaving the existing junctions in place would not be anywhere near satisfactory.

Considering the A17 went into Newark via Beacon Hill Road initially (the road where the A17 leaves the current route at Coddington) it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense why it was routed to Winthorpe in the first place.

If they (understandably) needed to take that traffic out of Newark too (it was built with the A46) surely the A17 could meet the A1 separately either intermediate between the old A17 junction and Winthorpe, or by taking it south to Balderton. But no, we'll put it in an already overloaded junction.

[Euan]

Considering the A17 went into Newark via Beacon Hill Road initially (the road where the A17 leaves the current route at Coddington) it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense why it was routed to Winthorpe in the first place.

If they (understandably) needed to take that traffic out of Newark too (it was built with the A46) surely the A17 could meet the A1 separately either intermediate between the old A17 junction and Winthorpe, or by taking it south to Balderton. But no, we'll put it in an already overloaded junction.

The A17 could indeed meet the A1 at Balderton and then traffic wishing to continue along the A46 beyond Newark would have the option of using the Newark Southern Link Road once it is open. In other words, traffic from Nottingham/Leicester would then be split at Newark with continuing A46 traffic using the northern bypass and the A17 traffic using the southern bypass.

[danfw194]

Considering the A17 went into Newark via Beacon Hill Road initially (the road where the A17 leaves the current route at Coddington) it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense why it was routed to Winthorpe in the first place.

If they (understandably) needed to take that traffic out of Newark too (it was built with the A46) surely the A17 could meet the A1 separately either intermediate between the old A17 junction and Winthorpe, or by taking it south to Balderton. But no, we'll put it in an already overloaded junction.

The A17 could indeed meet the A1 at Balderton and then traffic wishing to continue along the A46 beyond Newark would have the option of using the Newark Southern Link Road once it is open. In other words, traffic from Nottingham/Leicester would then be split at Newark with continuing A46 traffic using the northern bypass and the A17 traffic using the southern bypass.

And if you did do that ^, it would take a little bit of a traffic away from the A52 and slightly alleviate the traffic levels in Grantham town centre. Wouldn't be a massive difference, but every little helps.

[Simon_GNR]

And yet the A46 Newark bypass was a huge improvement on what was there before, with the road going right through the town centre. I remember what it was like before the bypass, but the increase in traffic over the last 27 years or so has been huge. I think when the Newark by-pass opened the A46 still went through Leicester and the link road to M1 Junction 21A came a few years later. The Newark bypass has simply not kept pace with the improvements in the A46 either side of Newark. The A1/A46/A17 junction is an abomination and at busy times I avoid it if at all possible.

[alans]

And yet the A46 Newark bypass was a huge improvement on what was there before, with the road going right through the town centre. I remember what it was like before the bypass, but the increase in traffic over the last 27 years or so has been huge. I think when the Newark by-pass opened the A46 still went through Leicester and the link road to M1 Junction 21A came a few years later. The Newark bypass has simply not kept pace with the improvements in the A46 either side of Newark. The A1/A46/A17 junction is an abomination and at busy times I avoid it if at all possible.

Yes,a classic case of under provision,in how many instances has this happened ? But it was not too difficult to predict that the A46 either side of Newark would have to be improved given how unsafe it was.As often seems to happen funding seems to take over from common sense,just look at Lincoln eastern bypass for instance ,the local council were pushing for dual carriageway throughout ,but the government would only fund or partly fund single carriageway or no funding.It could have become a much better route around Lincoln if only it was to be full D2 throughout,instead of the half baked road it will be,a chance missed and perhaps one we will live to regret with time
I do not know if new road schemes in England are currently designed and built with future traffic predictions in mind or just current conditions,perhaps someone can inform of this.I believe Scotland does not provide for future traffic in their new schemes,they readily admitted this when designing the new Queensferry Crossing.
Short sighted provision of new roads can cause many problems for future useage,but the current economic conditions at the time of design are now beginning to become apparent.

[2 Sheds]

And yet the A46 Newark bypass was a huge improvement on what was there before, with the road going right through the town centre. I remember what it was like before the bypass, but the increase in traffic over the last 27 years or so has been huge. I think when the Newark by-pass opened the A46 still went through Leicester and the link road to M1 Junction 21A came a few years later. The Newark bypass has simply not kept pace with the improvements in the A46 either side of Newark. The A1/A46/A17 junction is an abomination and at busy times I avoid it if at all possible.

I was taken on a guided tour of the Newark bypass site during its construction (thanks to the Institution of Civil Engineers). Those in charge of the scheme at the time remarked on the shortsighted design, and commented how future dualling on the chosen line was virtually impossible. But politicians wouldn't spend the money to do the job properly. Just another example of failing to look ahead and invest in the future.

Tailbacks onto the A1 from the Winthorpe slip roads have caused some nasty accidents. I'm surprised we don't already have signals on those entries to the roundabouts to ensure those slip roads don't back up too far.

[c2R]

Heel dragging on the Newark Southern Link Road really isn't helping matters either.

Let's hope the heel-dragging continues if we thereby avoid the building of a second flat roundabout on the A46 near the existing one. According to the relevant thread that's a real threat.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=37209&p=888472

I agree that it's short sighted design and I don't support the addition of a permanent roundabout on the A46 there; but as a temporary measure to split traffic around the urban area in the short term, I could see a purpose... certainly I'd look to route one of my regular journeys from the A46 to the A17 to avoid the northern bypass completely. But it needs to have the proviso that a replacement for the roundabout be built at the same time as the northern bypass improved...

[stu531]

If it's a particular problem to dual the existing bypass, wasn't it considered to take the southern link road, dual it, renumber it as A46, and take the mainline of the A46 with it? The existing single (northern) section could be retained and perhaps renumbered as A617. A couple of slip roads could be built at Winthorpe Roundabout taking the A46 directly on/off the A1. Winthorpe could be retained.