A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

The study of British and Irish roads - their construction, numbering, history, mapping, past and future official roads proposals and general roads musings.

There is a separate forum for Street Furniture (traffic lights, street lights, road signs etc).

Registered users get access to other forums including discussions about other forms of transport, driving, fantasy roads and wishlists, and roads quizzes.

Moderator: Site Management Team

Post Reply
User avatar
Truvelo
Member
Posts: 17467
Joined: Wed May 29, 2002 21:10
Location: Staffordshire
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Truvelo »

Alderpoint wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 19:04
Chris5156 wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 18:54
Alderpoint wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 17:39 Walsgrave junction preferred route announcement.

Direct link to PDF.
This is fine, I think, though there’s no especially good reason why the northbound off-slip can’t be near the location of the current roundabout. The western roundabout of the dumbbell pair could then be eliminated with the northbound on-slip just peeling off the local road connection. But I suspect that hasn’t been done because it provides no scope for new development to be connected to the junction!
The accouncement does say:
Access to the hospital
We’re aware of aspirations for a direct link from
the new junction to the hospital and this was a key
theme raised in consultation feedback.
At the next stage of design, we’ll work closely with
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire,
Coventry City Council and other stakeholders to
investigate the possibility of a link.
If such a link does happen (in addition to the current access) then that will be a great improvement for hospital access and a good reason for the northbound slip where they have it.
Even with the hospital link the proposed layout will add extra distance for traffic from the south wanting to use Tesco for example.
How would you like your grade separations, Sir?
Big and complex.
ais523
Member
Posts: 1139
Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2015 19:52
Location: Birmingham

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by ais523 »

Might it not make sense to have two northbound offslips, one connecting to the dumbbell and one further south that merges into the westbound link road? That would save traffic making left turns from having to drive up to the dumbbell and back down again, which seems like it'd be an improvement along every axis (journey times / congestion / fuel usage / air pollution). Although I'm not 100% sure, I think it would be far enough before the junction that the consecutive diverges would be safe (and the second exit slip road wouldn't need to be opened until something else connected to the dumbbell, and could be signed as leading to that thing only).
User avatar
jackal
Member
Posts: 7549
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 23:33
Location: M6

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by jackal »

A second slip would be an additional cost, presumably for not very much benefit (making the connection to a B road a bit more direct).

To be honest the prospect of a hospital link does change things as it would benefit from the slip being where it is rather than further south (which would require an extra at-grade junction to be traversed).

While not perfect the design does do the job.
2 Sheds
Member
Posts: 506
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 19:32

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by 2 Sheds »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:01 A second slip would be an additional cost, presumably for not very much benefit (making the connection to a B road a bit more direct).

To be honest the prospect of a hospital link does change things as it would benefit from the slip being where it is rather than further south (which would require an extra at-grade junction to be traversed).

While not perfect the design does do the job.
I hope they’ve remodelled the traffic flows to allow for the Binley Mega Chippy traffic.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:01 A second slip would be an additional cost, presumably for not very much benefit (making the connection to a B road a bit more direct).

To be honest the prospect of a hospital link does change things as it would benefit from the slip being where it is rather than further south (which would require an extra at-grade junction to be traversed).

While not perfect the design does do the job.
Having two links to the old road would be bad news though, presumably the hospital access will be for traffic coming from the A46 side only if it is built. The other side should be for buses/cycling/walking, otherwise you've just got a rat-run through a hospital which is exactly what we have at Bolton and it is dangerous with people routinely ignoring the 15 limit and crossings: https://goo.gl/maps/GrwKNDsB8BVbyzyG7 - a simple bus gate would resolve all these issues.

Suppose car dependency is still a drug people need weaning off, I mean £2 a litre for petrol and people still think the answer is more cars. Madness.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
jackal
Member
Posts: 7549
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 23:33
Location: M6

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by jackal »

Bryn666 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:32
jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:01 A second slip would be an additional cost, presumably for not very much benefit (making the connection to a B road a bit more direct).

To be honest the prospect of a hospital link does change things as it would benefit from the slip being where it is rather than further south (which would require an extra at-grade junction to be traversed).

While not perfect the design does do the job.
Having two links to the old road would be bad news though, presumably the hospital access will be for traffic coming from the A46 side only if it is built. The other side should be for buses/cycling/walking
And ambulances!
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 20:58
Bryn666 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:32
jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:01 A second slip would be an additional cost, presumably for not very much benefit (making the connection to a B road a bit more direct).

To be honest the prospect of a hospital link does change things as it would benefit from the slip being where it is rather than further south (which would require an extra at-grade junction to be traversed).

While not perfect the design does do the job.
Having two links to the old road would be bad news though, presumably the hospital access will be for traffic coming from the A46 side only if it is built. The other side should be for buses/cycling/walking
And ambulances!
That's a given :D but you get the general point; that's a classic example of a link road that will bring all kinds of unintended consequences.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
jackal
Member
Posts: 7549
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 23:33
Location: M6

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by jackal »

Bryn666 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 21:07
jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 20:58
Bryn666 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 16:32

Having two links to the old road would be bad news though, presumably the hospital access will be for traffic coming from the A46 side only if it is built. The other side should be for buses/cycling/walking
And ambulances!
That's a given :D but you get the general point; that's a classic example of a link road that will bring all kinds of unintended consequences.
Absolutely - that Bolton example is ridiculous. I guess that is a legacy layout and a new development like this will be more draconian about rat running. Though they could potentially have a car park on the A46 side of the barrier - a hospital is one place where some people have to drive or be driven.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 21:20
Bryn666 wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 21:07
jackal wrote: Wed Jun 15, 2022 20:58
And ambulances!
That's a given :D but you get the general point; that's a classic example of a link road that will bring all kinds of unintended consequences.
Absolutely - that Bolton example is ridiculous. I guess that is a legacy layout and a new development like this will be more draconian about rat running. Though they could potentially have a car park on the A46 side of the barrier - a hospital is one place where some people have to drive or be driven.
Agreed - it's not a hardship for visitors arriving by car to have to travel down the A46, a purpose built high quality road, than to expect them to traverse urban streets. Obviously anyone going there in an emergency will be in an ambulance anyway and get there by whatever means necessary.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
danfw194
Member
Posts: 925
Joined: Sat May 26, 2018 23:26
Location: Leicester

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by danfw194 »

Alderpoint wrote: Tue Jun 14, 2022 17:39 Walsgrave junction preferred route announcement.

Direct link to PDF.
That'll do, does the job. 50 is going to feel very slow once all the work has been done here and at Binley. Especially if SPECS are put up along the whole distance.
danfw194 wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 08:52 Could also be an opportunity to put in a Park and Ride location either side of the dumbbell. I don't have enough knowledge of Coventry to know if the demand is there, but location wise it's pretty good at least.
I still think this would be a decent idea. ^
mikehindsonevans
Member
Posts: 1359
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:44
Location: Cheshire, but working week time in Cambridge

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by mikehindsonevans »

An imaginative solution to the existing problems. I spent a decade working in and around Coventry. We still use this A56 occasionally.

The current alignment of the entry snd exit points of the roundabout are seriously suboptimal - and will deteriorate further once Binley Woods is opened.

This proposal takes the problems forward and is an improvement. Nevertheless, a 50mph limit on a route which is acknowledged (in the leaflet) as a strategic road just smacks of a limited imagination.

Is this really the best that this country can produce?
Mike Hindson-Evans.
Never argue with a conspiracy theorist.
They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
User avatar
Alderpoint
Member
Posts: 1682
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2015 14:25
Location: Leamington Spa

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Alderpoint »

mikehindsonevans wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 22:25 Nevertheless, a 50mph limit on a route which is acknowledged (in the leaflet) as a strategic road just smacks of a limited imagination.
See also the A46 stretch from Binley through to Stivichall, the A465 Heads of the Valley road west of Gilwern, and probably many others too.
Let it snow.
User avatar
jackal
Member
Posts: 7549
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 23:33
Location: M6

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by jackal »

Look how close it is to houses at Binley and ask yourself if you'd like to live there with 70mph traffic thundering past. The issue is not that there is some 50mph but the extent of it.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Bryn666 »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:51 Look how close it is to houses at Binley and ask yourself if you'd like to live there with 70mph traffic thundering past. The issue is not that there is some 50mph but the extent of it.
The real failure of imagination is building a road like the A46 there at grade in the first place. I can't think of any other country that would think a city the size of Coventry would be fine surrounded by a development generating at-grade bypass. The A45 at least has the excuse of being nearly 100 years old.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
6637
Member
Posts: 660
Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:14
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by 6637 »

mikehindsonevans wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 22:25 This proposal takes the problems forward and is an improvement. Nevertheless, a 50mph limit on a route which is acknowledged (in the leaflet) as a strategic road just smacks of a limited imagination.

Is this really the best that this country can produce?
It wouldn't have even required much imagination, all you'd have had to do is swap the locations of the A46 and B4082 from their actual proposal, along the lines of this...

Wonder if they considered anything like that or not. I can't find the other proposed routes other than the selected one on the site.

EDIT: I've found the other proposed routes. Their proposed "route 6" was the same as my idea except with the B4082 on a new course running west of the A46 rather than using the existing old A46 carriageway... and it was shortlisted but discarded because said B4082 route would have gone through a floodplain. Rather farcical.
A46.png
User avatar
Mapper89062
Member
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2021 21:25
Location: on your map

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Mapper89062 »

6637 wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 14:05
mikehindsonevans wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 22:25 This proposal takes the problems forward and is an improvement. Nevertheless, a 50mph limit on a route which is acknowledged (in the leaflet) as a strategic road just smacks of a limited imagination.

Is this really the best that this country can produce?
It wouldn't have even required much imagination, all you'd have had to do is swap the locations of the A46 and B4082 from their actual proposal, along the lines of this...

Wonder if they considered anything like that or not. I can't find the other proposed routes other than the selected one on the site.

EDIT: I've found the other proposed routes. Their proposed "route 6" was the same as my idea except with the B4082 on a new course running west of the A46 rather than using the existing old A46 carriageway... and it was shortlisted but discarded because said B4082 route would have gone through a floodplain. Rather farcical.

A46.png
I expect your design wasn't considered because it needs an extra bridge, adding to costs and complexity.
Just your average mapper, bringing you a map-focused take on today's world
User avatar
Alderpoint
Member
Posts: 1682
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2015 14:25
Location: Leamington Spa

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Alderpoint »

jackal wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:51 Look how close it is to houses at Binley and ask yourself if you'd like to live there with 70mph traffic thundering past. The issue is not that there is some 50mph but the extent of it.
When the Coventry Eastern Bypass was first built it was pretty much green fields both sides of it, some parts of it were in Coventry and other parts in Rugby/Warwickshire. A few years later the boundary was realigned along the bypass, with a number of land swaps between them. Over the next 10 years, most of the land on the Coventry side was built on, either commercial/warehousing (at Walsgrave triangle) and all those houses around Binley so close to the A46.

Coventry is now severely constrained by the city boundary - the government have told them they need to provide a additional 15,000 homes, but there is very few large sites available on which to build. So much so that they are now looking to offload a large number of these to Warwickshire in the form of the King's Hill development immediately north of the (currently being rebuilt) A46 Stoneleigh junction.
Let it snow.
User avatar
Alderpoint
Member
Posts: 1682
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2015 14:25
Location: Leamington Spa

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Alderpoint »

The flyovers at Binley opened over the weekend. Not had reason to go up that way yet, will have to invent something....
Let it snow.
User avatar
Bryn666
Elected Committee Member
Posts: 35755
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2002 20:54
Contact:

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by Bryn666 »

Alderpoint wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 13:32 The flyovers at Binley opened over the weekend. Not had reason to go up that way yet, will have to invent something....
It looked very close to completion a couple of Fridays ago when I was passing through. Hopefully this doesn't turn the next roundabout into a nightmare pending its own replacement.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.

Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
User avatar
danfw194
Member
Posts: 925
Joined: Sat May 26, 2018 23:26
Location: Leicester

Re: A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade

Post by danfw194 »

Bryn666 wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 13:44 It looked very close to completion a couple of Fridays ago when I was passing through. Hopefully this doesn't turn the next roundabout into a nightmare pending its own replacement.
Feels like it could. Anyone wishing to join the A46 southbound from the B4082 is now likely to have to take more of a risk, because the flow up the A46 from Binley will now be uninterrupted. I anticipate accidents.
Post Reply