Most over-engineered piece of road?

[Big Nick]

I recall driving through Scotland some years ago, somewhere in the A702 or A7 area possibly, and marvelling at the huge new road I was on with its massive retaining wall as it went down a hillside and across a valley.
IIRC it had a sharp turn near the top and bottom. It just seemed oversize for the few cars I saw that day.

[Robert Kilcoyne]

I recall driving through Scotland some years ago, somewhere in the A702 or A7 area possibly, and marvelling at the huge new road I was on with its massive retaining wall as it went down a hillside and across a valley.
IIRC it had a sharp turn near the top and bottom. It just seemed oversize for the few cars I saw that day.

You may be thinking of the new alignment of the A7 at Auchenrivock, between Langholm and Canonbie. It replaced a twisty and quite narrow wooded section of road.

[NICK 647063]

I do remember back in 1999 when the M1 around East Leeds opened not only was it in the local papers for the extreme noise from the concrete near Garforth but it was also often mentioned that it was built “too big” some letters in the paper said a dual carriageway would have sufficed.....

Push forward a few years and it was filling up and now its carrying well over 100k vehicles per day and is now congested every morning from J45 back to the A1(M) at Aberford, it’s queued daily around J47 peak periods and was shown on a Highways England map as a future planned smart motorway, so it just shows that it was right for it to be built D3M back in the 90’s.

[trickstat]

I do remember back in 1999 when the M1 around East Leeds opened not only was it in the local papers for the extreme noise from the concrete near Garforth but it was also often mentioned that it was built “too big” some letters in the paper said a dual carriageway would have sufficed.....

I suspect many of those letter writers were only thinking of the usefulness of the road from their own point of view. Many of us have quite major roads quite near them that they rarely use because they are not actually on their preferred route to anywhere. For instance, on only one day have I ever travelled on the M11 between junctions 8 and 10 and I have hardly ever been on the A6 between Luton and Bedford despite having travelled to or through both towns many times.

[owen b]

Locally the crawler lane on the A505 Great Offley bypass (westbound) doesn't seem to get much use.

[Moore_O]

I recall driving through Scotland some years ago, somewhere in the A702 or A7 area possibly, and marvelling at the huge new road I was on with its massive retaining wall as it went down a hillside and across a valley.
IIRC it had a sharp turn near the top and bottom. It just seemed oversize for the few cars I saw that day.

You've reminded me of a drive I did earlier in the year between Dundee and Aberdeen, between 8 and 10pm one Saturday night. The A90 - beautiful straight D2 with 50mph average speed cameras all along it, and we had it virtually to ourselves. Occasionally someone would slowly catch and overtake us. Occasionally we would slowly catch and overtake someone else. And then we got to the brand new Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route!

I'm sure it's busy some of the time, but coming from South East England (and having travelled up most of the A1 the previous day), it was almost eerie how much room there was. Contrasted with 9pm on a Saturday night on the M25...

[Big Nick]

I had the same feeling when I found the newly opened AWPR in May. Wide open lanes, little traffic and low speed limits.
Long sweeping curves and scenery!

It looked over engineered then, but I'm sure it fills up in the rush hour.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

[Robert Kilcoyne]

I do remember back in 1999 when the M1 around East Leeds opened not only was it in the local papers for the extreme noise from the concrete near Garforth but it was also often mentioned that it was built “too big” some letters in the paper said a dual carriageway would have sufficed.....

Push forward a few years and it was filling up and now its carrying well over 100k vehicles per day and is now congested every morning from J45 back to the A1(M) at Aberford, it’s queued daily around J47 peak periods and was shown on a Highways England map as a future planned smart motorway, so it just shows that it was right for it to be built D3M back in the 90’s.

For the best part of 10 years after the M1 extension was opened, Junction 45 was effectively a "ghost junction" as you could not join or leave the M1. However, much more traffic is now using the M1 between Aberford and Junction 45 since the A63 was rerouted along an upgraded Pontefract Lane and the A63 is now the signed route into Leeds for traffic coming from the north, in preference to the A64, or before that, the A58. The rerouting of the A63 means also that it multiplexes with the M1 up to Junction 46, therefore the majority of traffic from Leeds heading to Garforth and Selby is also using that section of the motorway.

[Richardf]

J11a of the M5 maybe? Always seems over designed if not over engineered to me when a far simpler junction would have sufficed.

A31 eastbound along the A338 multiplex neat Ringwood. Generously laid out with 4 lanes in this direction leaving no space for any extra lanes WB. 3 lanes each way would be better.

Also on the A31, the Alton bypass. 2 big flared roundabouts, future proofed for grade separation that was never needed.

[Robert Kilcoyne]

The A494 north of Queensferry up to the A550 turnoff at Shotwick looks over-engineered now that it is clear that the A494 will not be improved up Aston Hill. If the proposed new link from the A494 to the A55 via the Flintshire Bridge is ever built, the D4 section south of the A548 Flint exit would not be used at all by traffic heading to the North Wales Coast.

[TomJ]

The A494 north of Queensferry up to the A550 turnoff at Shotwick looks over-engineered now that it is clear that the A494 will not be improved up Aston Hill. If the proposed new link from the A494 to the A55 via the Flintshire Bridge is ever built, the D4 section south of the A548 Flint exit would not be used at all by traffic heading to the North Wales Coast.

Are they still using a 50 limit on that section? Felt very wrong travelling down a near empty D3M at that speed when I was there over summer.

[the cheesecake man]

I just wonder with things like this - just because certain roads/junctions don't have a lot of congestion, does it mean they're over-engineered? Or is the reality that they are working properly, and the sad truth is that the majority of roads/junctions in this country are now under-engineered/not fit for purpose with modern day traffic levels.

The A66 is a good example of this. The D2 sections are often so empty they appear to be excessive. The S2 sections show why the upgrades were very necessary and the long-promised completion of D2 from A1 to M6 is needed too.

[fras]

The "Toyota Island" junction between the A38 and the A50. The whole thing is vast and over-scaled but the roundabout is absolutely enormous - it is surely a contender for the largest UK roundabout title. It must have diameter of 300-400 metres or more.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/a38/ ... a=!3m1!1e3

It is so vast that it is difficult to join it off the A50 because the locals come round it at 60+ mph !!

[nirs]

For most over-engineered residential road, how about Knockchree Avenue, basically a residential street in a small town that, for some reason, was built as a four-lane dual-carriageway. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.06079 ... 312!8i6656

[roadtester]

For most over-engineered residential road, how about Knockchree Avenue, basically a residential street in a small town that, for some reason, was built as a four-lane dual-carriageway. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.06079 ... 312!8i6656

Isn't that sort of thing reasonably common?

Here's HIghlands Boulevard in Leigh on Sea, Essex:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5504648 ... 312!8i6656

[BigBazz]

I'd suggest the Turnford (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.72662 ... a=!3m1!1e3), Hoddesdon (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.76538 ... a=!3m1!1e3) and, to a lesser extent, Hertford (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.79956 ... a=!3m1!1e3) junctions on the A10 fit into this category.

Granted the Hoddesdon one was built with provision for Ringway 4 to pass through it, and the Hertford one suffers from queues back along the sliproads at peak times, but the roundabouts themselves are comically oversized.

[Ruperts Trooper]

For most over-engineered residential road, how about Knockchree Avenue, basically a residential street in a small town that, for some reason, was built as a four-lane dual-carriageway. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.06079 ... 312!8i6656

Isn't that sort of thing reasonably common?

Here's HIghlands Boulevard in Leigh on Sea, Essex:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5504648 ... 312!8i6656

In some areas, those sort of dual carriageways used to have tram tracks running up the middle - although that may not be the case in the examples given.

[Big Nick]

Here's HIghlands Boulevard in Leigh on Sea, Essex:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5504648 ... 312!8i6656

In some areas, those sort of dual carriageways used to have tram tracks running up the middle - although that may not be the case in the examples given.

The roads in Southend and Leigh certainly did have trams running down the middle.
My great uncle worked for the council there.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

[roadtester]

Here's HIghlands Boulevard in Leigh on Sea, Essex:

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.5504648 ... 312!8i6656

In some areas, those sort of dual carriageways used to have tram tracks running up the middle - although that may not be the case in the examples given.

The roads in Southend and Leigh certainly did have trams running down the middle.
My great uncle worked for the council there.

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk

Fascinating.

When I was a teenager (1977), we lived briefly in a rented house on Highlands Boulevard after moving to the Southend area.

I had no idea of the tram history!

[Big Nick]

Southend Trams were an odd design because they had to run under the pier and a low railway bridge. This was too low for a proper double deck design so that route had to use open topped trams.
There is or was a tram museum in the pier, it may have moved elsewhere.

There are websites about this!

Sent from my SM-A320FL using Tapatalk