Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

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Peter350
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Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Peter350 »

The “highest standard roads of each classification” thread has given me some inspiration to do a similar one for the busiest and quietest stretches of road of each width category. As a reminder, the width categories are as follows:

S1/WS1
S2/WS2
S2+1/S3
S4
D1
D2/D2M
D3/D3M
D4/D4M
D5/D5M
D6/D6M

The busiest D6/D6M is too obvious so I’ll start by listing it here - M25 between J14 and J15. I don’t know if there are any other D6 roads in the country but if there are, then at least one of them will be the quietest.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by A320Driver »

At a guess the quietest D4M would have to be M23 J7-8, whilst the busiest is likely to be on M25, possibly J10-12.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by DB617 »

I'd volunteer the root of the M6 Toll northbound as the quietest D5 (SM). Five whole lanes, almost never half full. Clearly it was designed with the thought that one day most M6 traffic would pass through there, but it doesn't. At all. Coming out of the Birmingham box madness, you can't believe you haven't just driven through a portal.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by jervi »

A320Driver wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 16:38 At a guess the quietest D4M would have to be M23 J7-8, whilst the busiest is likely to be on M25, possibly J10-12.
M23 J7-J8 is a good shout. Has about 36k, so that may well be the lowest D4M

The Busiest S2 will be interesting,
The A27 at Arundel is in the region of 30-35k
The A27 at Worthing is between 30-40k
A23 between the M23 and London Boundary varies from 35-45k. May well have the one of the busiest S2 & quietest D4 right next to each other!
A303 at Stonehenge is only 25k

For quietest D2, it depends if you include short dual carriageways or not.
The A272 has bits of D2 on it (not D1) (100 metres long or so) with about 9k
The B2070 (Old A3) has bits of D2 with only 6k, also has bits of D1 too.

Finding the quietest D3 may be difficult since its not often a road gets to an D3 then bypassed on a completely different alignment, nor for a dual carriageway to be built with three lanes instead of two for no good reason.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Bryn666 »

A320Driver wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 16:38 At a guess the quietest D4M would have to be M23 J7-8, whilst the busiest is likely to be on M25, possibly J10-12.
It's only 3 lanes northbound (what would be lane 4 is marked with a solid line), 4 southbound.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Herned »

West Hill in Wandsworth is 45k and S2, I did think Hanger Lane would be high but its 'only' 31k

Quietest D3 could be the A138 in Chelmsford, at 26k
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Big L »

A320Driver wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 16:38 At a guess the quietest D4M would have to be M23 J7-8, whilst the busiest is likely to be on M25, possibly J10-12.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Osthagen »

DB617 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 17:21 I'd volunteer the root of the M6 Toll northbound as the quietest D5 (SM). Five whole lanes, almost never half full. Clearly it was designed with the thought that one day most M6 traffic would pass through there, but it doesn't. At all. Coming out of the Birmingham box madness, you can't believe you haven't just driven through a portal.
The D3M M6 through much of Cumbria is definitely another. It carries noticeably less traffic than numerous D2M routes for sure.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by R Iason »

What about the A74(M) through Dumfries and Galloway as the potentially least used D3M.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Big L »

DB617 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 17:21 I'd volunteer the root of the M6 Toll northbound as the quietest D5 (SM). Five whole lanes, almost never half full. Clearly it was designed with the thought that one day most M6 traffic would pass through there, but it doesn't. At all. Coming out of the Birmingham box madness, you can't believe you haven't just driven through a portal.
Presume the 5 lane bit you refer to is the bit that is shared with the M42, which gets stupidly busy in non-covid times.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by DB617 »

Big L wrote: Sun Aug 23, 2020 07:41
DB617 wrote: Sat Aug 22, 2020 17:21 I'd volunteer the root of the M6 Toll northbound as the quietest D5 (SM). Five whole lanes, almost never half full. Clearly it was designed with the thought that one day most M6 traffic would pass through there, but it doesn't. At all. Coming out of the Birmingham box madness, you can't believe you haven't just driven through a portal.
Presume the 5 lane bit you refer to is the bit that is shared with the M42, which gets stupidly busy in non-covid times.
Yeah, that bit. I've never passed through when it's been anything other than an expanse of empty tarmac to my right, but that was always on Sunday afternoons and even then it wasn't completely dead in the M42 lanes, so I guess I could stand corrected there. There's definitely a noticeable drop in traffic between the M6 offslips and the M6 Toll diverge, for the nominal capacity of that piece of road.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Peter350 »

On the lines of the M6 Toll, I suppose the toll booth approaches could be a contender for the quietest D10 carriageway anywhere in the world.
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by jackal »

For motorways these were the highest in their categories a few years back (viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36384):

262,800 for D6M (M25 J14-15)
186,900 for D5M (M25 J13-14)
195,300 for D4M (M60 J13-12)

For AP there are some pretty beefy numbers on the A406 (from Jayck in the same thread):

161,247 for D5 (A104-M11)
154,002 for D4 (M11-A12)
139,018 for D3 (A1009-A112)
103,997 for D2 (through M11 junction)
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Herned »

Peter350 wrote: Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:56 On the lines of the M6 Toll, I suppose the toll booth approaches could be a contender for the quietest D10 carriageway anywhere in the world.
Have a look at an aerial view of Qatar if want to see huge empty motorways!
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by jabbaboy »

What's the rules for the quietest roads, do they have to be classified etc?

Otherwise surely stuff like Marine Drive in Edinburgh will take D2 (1805) and something like the old A9 from Kirkliston towards the Airport which has been butchered in half will take the S2. Unless we can go further and count roads into some abandoned industrial estate etc.

If these are allowed there's also a very short D1 down in Newcastle Quayside over the Ouseburn.

Also S4 - Tyne Bridge is 56k
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by skiddaw05 »

The western end of the A1270 Broadland Northway (aka Norwich nothern distributor road or NDR) as it reaches the A1067 is a very quiet D2. There doesn't seem to be a count for it but the A1067 looks like it takes just over 10k beyond here and that is going to be split between the NDR and the A1067 towards Norwich (very little traffic joins the NDR from the Norwich diection) so at a guess it will be about 7k at most.

Admittedly the NDR isn't finished as such as the link to the A47 is still at the planning stage
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by ais523 »

Peter350 wrote: Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:56 On the lines of the M6 Toll, I suppose the toll booth approaches could be a contender for the quietest D10 carriageway anywhere in the world.
The tollbooths aren't in the same place on both carriageways, though, so it never reaches D10 (only D10+3).
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Scratchwood »

If you took all the parking spaces out, Portland Place in London (A4201) would presumably count as a D4, a very quiet one...

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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by SteveA30 »

D2M M48 from Chepstow to Magor.
S4 A48 near Castleton, if it is still S4

D2 Old A12 towards Copdock
D2 Old A47 at Walpole Highway
D2 Old A74 at Lesmahagow?
Not sure if these are still dualled though.

S2 A30 west of Sutton Scotney
old A30 east of Sutton Scotney
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Re: Busiest and quietest stretches of road from each width category

Post by Owain »

SteveA30 wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2020 15:27 D2M M48 from Chepstow to Magor.
S4 A48 near Castleton, if it is still S4
I believe it is, Steve. I drove it about a year ago, and it was then.
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