solocle wrote: ↑Mon Sep 27, 2021 18:27
Yes, it makes sense from the standpoint of "we have to provide NMU improvements within the scheme boundary". But the scheme boundary is determined by the bottlenecks of motor traffic. Meanwhile you end up with white elephant NMU provision that isn't used, simple because it goes nowhere. There's no movement to rectify past mistakes, instead National Highways England just throw NMUs onto the 1960s-1990s dual carriageways.
You'd think that a company in charge of managing a transport network would understand that, you know, it needs to be a network.
And even within current scheme boundaries they fail. Just look at Appleby - Brough. 1.6 miles to the B6259 junction. 2.4 miles to connect up with the old A66.
And sure, it might be unconventional to redo existing sections, but when you have a road like the A66, confined by the Pennines? It's the shortest, flattest route between Cumbria and Darlington, Middlesborough... Heck, it's easily the easiest route from York.
As it is, it's a thoroughly unpleasant road. Reminded me of the A303 around my parts.
Capture.jpg
Again from LEJOG. A bank holiday monday. I cycled on both single and dual carriageway sections (the latter being about a mile). Unpleasant, but at no time was it utterly terrifying, and it saved quite a bit of extra climbing.
But the A34, for instance, is a whole different league. I once had the misfortune to end up on that road at rush hour (Bicester-Oxford, sat nav went haywire). That was truly, utterly horrifying. I'd probably have been far safer going the one other way that I knew home - down the M40's hard shoulder, off to Wheatley, cycleway from there.
The A66 is going to move from being like the A303 to more like the A34. What long distance cyclists there are are either going to carry on riding it, or just not. But some will cycle it, and people will die as a result of this scheme.
It's about £1 million for a km of cycle superhighway. The section from Brough to Bowes is just over 20 km.
Let's call it £30 mn. Next to the £1 billion being spent on this project.
The A34 in that regard is like many other non motorway D2 strategic roads including most of of the A1, A2, A3, A4, A6, A12, A14, A47, A50, A64 etc
I am not saying its right but that is how it is. By all means make your comment's but dont expect anything to happen.
As for costing the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner is 50 miles and very little of that has NMU provision. I suspect you are also considerably underestimating the cost if you figure in the cost of improving junctions. There are a lot like this.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.51553 ... 6656?hl=en
The climate at Stainmore is not good and its going to be at least 30 miles from the nearest construction compound which adds a fair bit of cost compared with working in less remote areas. The main issue though is HE do not want to set a precedent and nor I suspect do the DfT.