The M11 extension that never happened

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

Glenn A
Member
Posts: 9776
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 19:31
Location: Cumbria

The M11 extension that never happened

Post by Glenn A »

Going back 20 years or so, I do remember reading in The Yorkshire Post that Labour, if they were to be elected in 1987, were planning to extend the M11 from Cambridge to the Humber Bridge. The idea behind this was to remove pressure on the A1 and to allow faster access from Hull, then suffering very high unemployment, to the South East and revitalise the Humberside economy.
Not that a lot Labour said in the eighties was worth listening to, but the plan to extend the M11 was a good idea that should have been followed through.
User avatar
Arcuarius
Member
Posts: 4664
Joined: Tue Jun 13, 2006 17:14
Location: Sherwood

Post by Arcuarius »

I always thought the M11 could have been something more than it really is. Extending it to Hull would have been a good idea as it only really serves Cambridge and Stansted now, and it seems a waste. Even diverting it along the A11 corridor would have been good. Then perhaps there'd be no excuse not to make the A14 a motorway.
"Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty."
- some extreme-right nutcase


1973-2007 Never forgotten
Glenn A
Member
Posts: 9776
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2005 19:31
Location: Cumbria

Post by Glenn A »

Mister_Storm wrote:I always thought the M11 could have been something more than it really is. Extending it to Hull would have been a good idea as it only really serves Cambridge and Stansted now, and it seems a waste. Even diverting it along the A11 corridor would have been good. Then perhaps there'd be no excuse not to make the A14 a motorway.
A case of yet another blown opportunity, although the case for extending it to the Humber Bridge was more based on the fact that Hull had far worse unemployment than the A11 corridor.
User avatar
owen b
Member
Posts: 9861
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 15:22
Location: Luton

Post by owen b »

This has come up before, in fact I asked the question myself : http://www.uk-roads.org.uk/forum/viewto ... +extension
Owen
BobSykes
Member
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2002 19:43

Post by BobSykes »

Oh no, not this old chestnut again!...

:roll:
User avatar
Halstead
Member
Posts: 3093
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 16:46
Location: A21 Bromley, Kent
Contact:

Post by Halstead »

I once looked at the M11 months ago and was pondering of a fantasy extension to Lincolnshire but I didn't think of Hull but the M11 could have left an area between Cambridge and Alconbury to go further north. :mway:
6 years...
User avatar
ABeaton
Member
Posts: 1960
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 21:58
Location: Dartford, Kent

Post by ABeaton »

here is my lastesat strip map, a fanstey M11 map on the current A11. The orignail M11 is now M6.

Image
Dartford, the town with 4 by-passes.
User avatar
moogal
Member
Posts: 603
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 02:14
Location: London
Contact:

Post by moogal »

ABeaton wrote:The orignail M11 is now M6.
And as for the original M6?

I'd have thought that the M11 extension could keep the M11 designation, assuming it starts off at the current j9, and the bit of the original between there and the A14 could be renamed as a spur - how about M114?
User avatar
owen b
Member
Posts: 9861
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2003 15:22
Location: Luton

Post by owen b »

Where are junctions 7 and 8 in relation to the existing A11 and A14? Why the need for NE<->E slips at J7? What is the A1199 and how does it relate to the existing road network?
Owen
User avatar
Halstead
Member
Posts: 3093
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 16:46
Location: A21 Bromley, Kent
Contact:

Post by Halstead »

I'm assuming that ABeaton had extended the M6 in Cathorpe through a fantasy way along the A14 although I think he forgot about what happens when it crashes near Alconbury. It would be beneficial if there was a fantasy map (A-z, OS) that had his routes on it.
6 years...
User avatar
Sunil_of_Yoxley
Member
Posts: 1770
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2003 12:14
Location: Ilford, East London
Contact:

Post by Sunil_of_Yoxley »

owen b wrote:What is the A1199 and how does it relate to the existing road network?
There are already two A1199s in Greater London!
My London railway station photos on Wikimedia Commons
WHBM
Member
Posts: 9706
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 18:01
Location: London

Post by WHBM »

Mister_Storm wrote:the M11 ....... it only really serves Cambridge and Stansted now, and it seems a waste.
Not at all. From where I am in London (near Canary Wharf) it is far and away the most effective route to the north, Yorkshire, etc. From the Dartford tunnel direction it similarly carries a lot of long-distance traffic. Of the continental-registered trucks coming south on the A1 most turn off at Alconbury and route to the Channel ports via the M11.
User avatar
roadtester
Member
Posts: 31475
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 18:05
Location: Cambridgeshire

Post by roadtester »

WHBM wrote:From the Dartford tunnel direction it similarly carries a lot of long-distance traffic. Of the continental-registered trucks coming south on the A1 most turn off at Alconbury and route to the Channel ports via the M11.
I think this shows in part the importance of blue lines on the map to the many users of our roads who don't get into the detail of the network - which is why a lot of our better A roads could be usefully upgraded or even just reclassified as Ms, given their quality, in order the share traffic around a bit more evenly (although the option of a simple reclassification doesn't really apply in this case where the A1 south of Alconbury is mostly not up to standard)
Electrophorus Electricus

Check out #davidsdailycar on Mastodon
User avatar
firefly
Member
Posts: 1779
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2005 21:28
Contact:

Post by firefly »

roadtester wrote:I think this shows in part the importance of blue lines on the map to the many users of our roads who don't get into the detail of the network - which is why a lot of our better A roads could be usefully upgraded or even just reclassified as Ms, given their quality, in order the share traffic around a bit more evenly (although the option of a simple reclassification doesn't really apply in this case where the A1 south of Alconbury is mostly not up to standard)
I don't think that this is particularly a matter of blue vs green lines on the maps. The M11 is simply part of the shortest way from Kent to Yorkshire. Therefor it will always be the prefered route.
However, I wonder where all these high standard A roads are that would be worth reclassifying as motorways. The first two roads that come to my mind would be the A14 and A34. But even they are interfered by roundabouts and interchange with motorways in the most ridiculous way.
User avatar
Birchington
Member
Posts: 900
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2004 18:58

Post by Birchington »

ABeaton: Solham is actually Soham. Please check your spellings to increase the accuracy on your already excellent maps.
Cheers, Birchington
User avatar
roadtester
Member
Posts: 31475
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 18:05
Location: Cambridgeshire

Post by roadtester »

firefly wrote:However, I wonder where all these high standard A roads are that would be worth reclassifying as motorways. The first two roads that come to my mind would be the A14 and A34. But even they are interfered by roundabouts and interchange with motorways in the most ridiculous way.
I said 'upgraded or even just reclassified' - the emphasis was on upgrading not reclassifying, although there would be some candidates for that.
Electrophorus Electricus

Check out #davidsdailycar on Mastodon
User avatar
Chris5156
Deputy Treasurer
Posts: 16908
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2001 21:50
Location: Hampshire
Contact:

Post by Chris5156 »

firefly wrote:
roadtester wrote:I think this shows in part the importance of blue lines on the map to the many users of our roads who don't get into the detail of the network - which is why a lot of our better A roads could be usefully upgraded or even just reclassified as Ms, given their quality, in order the share traffic around a bit more evenly (although the option of a simple reclassification doesn't really apply in this case where the A1 south of Alconbury is mostly not up to standard)
I don't think that this is particularly a matter of blue vs green lines on the maps. The M11 is simply part of the shortest way from Kent to Yorkshire. Therefor it will always be the prefered route.
However, I wonder where all these high standard A roads are that would be worth reclassifying as motorways. The first two roads that come to my mind would be the A14 and A34. But even they are interfered by roundabouts and interchange with motorways in the most ridiculous way.
I'd love to know where all these empty HQDC's are - as far as I'm aware, roads like the A14 and A34 are choked as it is, and the A1 is definitely not motorway standard.
Rillington
Member
Posts: 1976
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2006 19:10
Location: Manchester

Post by Rillington »

I remember this from about 1990 and the plan was to make the road run from Cambridge to the north east and was dubbed the "east coast motorway." The route proposed would have taken the road to within a mile from where I used to live when I lived in east Yorkshire. The road would have returned the A1079 back into a safe local road rather than the dangerous route that it has now become. I recall that the road would have cost around £900 million at 1990 prices. They chose to pursue the A1M project instead.
M11 Man
Member
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2005 22:05
Location: Cambridge

Post by M11 Man »

With ABeaton's M11 not being an overly long motorway, probably only about 15 miles if that, M110 would probably be a better number, so the original M11 could stay the same.

And junction 4 should be all access, as your route would greatly inconvenience residents of nearby villages such as Fulbourn, Balsham, and Little & Great Wilbraham, with the junctions being closed off, but I agree these junctions should be closed off. But should any resident of these villages want to get onto the M14(E) they would have to double-back
Mackem
New Member
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Jun 02, 2007 20:14
Location: Sheffield - but it could be anywhere

Post by Mackem »

Rillington wrote:I remember this from about 1990 and the plan was to make the road run from Cambridge to the north east and was dubbed the "east coast motorway." The route proposed would have taken the road to within a mile from where I used to live when I lived in east Yorkshire. The road would have returned the A1079 back into a safe local road rather than the dangerous route that it has now become. I recall that the road would have cost around £900 million at 1990 prices. They chose to pursue the A1M project instead.
I remember the debate at the time. The North East chambers of commerce were offered the choice of A1 upgrade or east Coast M'way. Probably best that they chose the A1, as the other option wouldn't have got very far judging by progress on the A1 upgrade.
Post Reply