Towns with an HQDC through the middle

[Chris5156]

If motorways had been intended, it would surely have been in the first post or the subject title.

I'm fine with motorways being included

[trickstat]

Camberley - M3.

It occurred to me a few days back that the M3 in this area is in a cutting with residential areas nearby on both sides. Having done a little research, I have established that while most of the town lies to the north-west of the motorway, there is an area on the south-west side which is also part of Camberley.

[BOH]

Appreciate that some of these listed below don't quite fit the category of the OP (because some are 50MPH limited) but I wonder what the chances are of these towns / cities being bypassed again - to take the busy dual carriages out of the town centre? These I list below are old fashioned dual-carriageways that split up a conurbation by going straight through a major suburb or even the centre.

So, will we ever see new roads that takes the them properly round the outside of the whole conurbation (as was done with Newbury in the late 1990s) for the A31 thru Ringwood,the A3-Guildford, A38-Plymouth and the A34-Oxford?

[wallmeerkat]

Tenous perhaps, as Newtownabbey was designed as bringing together a group of smaller villages and connecting them with new residential and commercial units, but the M2(NI) cuts through Newtownabbey dividing Glengormley from Mallusk for example. 70mph D3M with a lane drop.

[trickstat]

Port Talbot - M4. Most of the town is to the south but some parts lie to the north of the motorway, which I believe is largely elevated.

[Owain]

Port Talbot - M4. Most of the town is to the south but some parts lie to the north of the motorway, which I believe is largely elevated.

It's no longer NSL though. Somebody went and stuck a 50 limit on it. Spoilsports!

[trickstat]

Port Talbot - M4. Most of the town is to the south but some parts lie to the north of the motorway, which I believe is largely elevated.

It's no longer NSL though. Somebody went and stuck a 50 limit on it. Spoilsports!

Oh well. I must admit I haven't ventured further west along the M4 than the Newport junction (and that was a long time ago).

[Vierwielen]

Camberley - M3.

It occurred to me a few days back that the M3 in this area is in a cutting with residential areas nearby on both sides. Having done a little research, I have established that while most of the town lies to the north-west of the motorway, there is an area on the south-west side which is also part of Camberley.

… and the southern side of Camberley is joined seamlessly with Frimley.

[Bryn666]

Port Talbot - M4. Most of the town is to the south but some parts lie to the north of the motorway, which I believe is largely elevated.

It's no longer NSL though. Somebody went and stuck a 50 limit on it. Spoilsports!

It was never NSL from what I can gather, although the start and end points have lengthened over the years.

[A303Chris]

Port Talbot - M4. Most of the town is to the south but some parts lie to the north of the motorway, which I believe is largely elevated.

It's no longer NSL though. Somebody went and stuck a 50 limit on it. Spoilsports!

It was never NSL from what I can gather, although the start and end points have lengthened over the years.

I think you are right, IIRC, the middle section was 60mph in the 70's when I went through as a kid.

[A320Driver]

It's not NSL (and 50 is quite justified due to the substandard width), but the A12 Gorleston-on-Sea throughpass is quite a distinctive one as it only opened in the 1990s. It's got a GSJ and several bridges, and used a disused railway alignment.

Another could-have-been one that was more recent than most was the alternative option for the A12 at Chelmsford, which would have seen the inner bypass upgraded to expressway standard.

I don’t know the area but in a moment of dullness I did find this website:

http://www.berneyarms.co.uk/html/yarmou ... efroad.htm

[Owain]

It's no longer NSL though. Somebody went and stuck a 50 limit on it. Spoilsports!

It was never NSL from what I can gather, although the start and end points have lengthened over the years.

I think you are right, IIRC, the middle section was 60mph in the 70's when I went through as a kid.

I think I've only ever driven it once in each direction:
- eastbound in 2014/15, when it was definitely 50
- westbound in 1994 on my first-ever drive on a motorway (Chepstow-Swansea); my memory of that exciting occasion is not good enough to recall what it would've been then!

[trickstat]

What's the current situation with the speed limit on the M6 between the M42 and M5? Looking online it appears that there was a 60 limit introduced to improve air quality which either has, or is going to be, removed. If that is true, Birmingham qualifies with areas like Erdington lying north of the motorway.

[Chris Bertram]

What's the current situation with the speed limit on the M6 between the M42 and M5? Looking online it appears that there was a 60 limit introduced to improve air quality which either has, or is going to be, removed. If that is true, Birmingham qualifies with areas like Erdington lying north of the motorway.

I think that's been discontinued. However there's a permanent 60 limit on M5 between J1 and J3 for that reason.

[A303Chris]

What's the current situation with the speed limit on the M6 between the M42 and M5? Looking online it appears that there was a 60 limit introduced to improve air quality which either has, or is going to be, removed. If that is true, Birmingham qualifies with areas like Erdington lying north of the motorway.

I think that's been discontinued. However there's a permanent 60 limit on M5 between J1 and J3 for that reason.

Has that been extended? The last time I went through in December it still started about a mile before J2 and ended under J1.

[Bryn666]

What's the current situation with the speed limit on the M6 between the M42 and M5? Looking online it appears that there was a 60 limit introduced to improve air quality which either has, or is going to be, removed. If that is true, Birmingham qualifies with areas like Erdington lying north of the motorway.

I think that's been discontinued. However there's a permanent 60 limit on M5 between J1 and J3 for that reason.

Has that been extended? The last time I went through in December it still started about a mile before J2 and ended under J1.

It crept slightly further southwards from J2 but the general extents are the same.

To be honest given the sharp bends and lower design standards employed I'm surprised this bit of the M5 wasn't reduced to 60 years ago.

[A303Chris]

I think that's been discontinued. However there's a permanent 60 limit on M5 between J1 and J3 for that reason.

Has that been extended? The last time I went through in December it still started about a mile before J2 and ended under J1.

It crept slightly further southwards from J2 but the general extents are the same.

To be honest given the sharp bends and lower design standards employed I'm surprised this bit of the M5 wasn't reduced to 60 years ago.

Agree, the 60mph speed limit seems fair given the alignment. All the bends have had a max speed 50mph sign since I first drove through there in the late 80's. That's a sure sign that DfT / Highways England / National Highways, wanted to protect themselves if someone lost it on a bend at 70mph.

[Big L]

There's a 50 limit from just south of the southern extent of the 60 to just north of J2 for roadworks currently.

[Bryn666]

Has that been extended? The last time I went through in December it still started about a mile before J2 and ended under J1.

It crept slightly further southwards from J2 but the general extents are the same.

To be honest given the sharp bends and lower design standards employed I'm surprised this bit of the M5 wasn't reduced to 60 years ago.

Agree, the 60mph speed limit seems fair given the alignment. All the bends have had a max speed 50mph sign since I first drove through there in the late 80's. That's a sure sign that DfT / Highways England / National Highways, wanted to protect themselves if someone lost it on a bend at 70mph.

The advisory 50s have now been removed - presumably someone thought it was too confusing to have mandatory and advisory limits together.