A1 Western bypass widening

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Stevie D
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Stevie D »

jackal wrote:I'm not sure why you think widening is the gold standard here. Expanding a substandard alignment like this is very much the 'budget option' compared to a new alignment built to modern standards with fewer junctions. At D4 it would still have the inherent limitation of tightly spaced junctions, and the regular lane drops you suggest would make the weaving worse still.
Exactly. Any upgrade of the Westtoon Bypass must have as one of its features a reduction in the number of access points. With 14 junctions in 13 miles, it is absolute chaos along there, and that is just unsustainable with an improved, higher-capacity, higher-speed road. There are far too many junctions that don't serve a strategic purpose, and really need to be linked by a local distributor/relief road instead of giving direct access onto the A1.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Mark Hewitt »

At least there is now a separated access lane from the A184 to the Team Valley North junction.
djw1981
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by djw1981 »

Whilst I acknowledge the topography isn't ideal, a new offline route leaving current A1(M) just north of A693 junction, heading between Birtley and Ouston and then between Sunniside and MArley Hill, curving south of Whickham and then straight onto the existing Western Bypass Bridge.

To deal with the congestion on North of river, you;d need to go South of Blaydon, crossing the river ona new crossing near Newburn, going west of Westerhope, crossing A696 at Wolsington (with Airport junction) and join A1 at the current A19 junction.

For this tow ork there needs to be only 4-5 key jucntions

This would then maintain current alignment for local journeys.

The cost would be huge.
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jackal
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by jackal »

djw1981 wrote:Whilst I acknowledge the topography isn't ideal, a new offline route leaving current A1(M) just north of A693 junction, heading between Birtley and Ouston and then between Sunniside and MArley Hill, curving south of Whickham and then straight onto the existing Western Bypass Bridge.

To deal with the congestion on North of river, you;d need to go South of Blaydon, crossing the river ona new crossing near Newburn, going west of Westerhope, crossing A696 at Wolsington (with Airport junction) and join A1 at the current A19 junction.

For this tow ork there needs to be only 4-5 key jucntions

This would then maintain current alignment for local journeys.

The cost would be huge.
Long term I could see a complete orbital expressway consisting of a new section between Seaton Burn and the A194(M), and then the existing A194(M), A194 and A19 (which would need a few junction improvements).
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jackal
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by jackal »

I suppose this is also the place to discuss the Scotswood to North Brunton scheme: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-p ... th-Brunton

This will most likely be the option discussed in the stage 3 report:
J74 – J79 PROVISION OF 3 NARROW LANES (SCHEME LENGTH = 4.5 MILES)
• Provision of three narrow lanes between J74 – J78;
• Widening to three full lanes between J78 – J79;
• Lane gain/drop between junctions; and
• 50mph speed limit for narrow lanes section (for safety reasons).
I'm a bit confused as I thought much of this section was already D3 between junctions...
Glenn A
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Glenn A »

The western by pass should have been D3M from Scotswood to the B1318. Indeed, experience from Gateshead's western by pass showed D2 wasn't good enough, and logically both by passes should have been D3M by the time the project was completed in 1991.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Mark Hewitt »

Most of the road Newcastle and Gateshead has been D2 between junctions but more often than not with a 3 lane cross section due to lane gains and drops.

It should indeed have been built with a continuous three lanes from the start. But perhaps they were still thinking of the Tyne Tunnel as the main route then.
Glenn A
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Glenn A »

Mark Hewitt wrote:Most of the road Newcastle and Gateshead has been D2 between junctions but more often than not with a 3 lane cross section due to lane gains and drops.

It should indeed have been built with a continuous three lanes from the start. But perhaps they were still thinking of the Tyne Tunnel as the main route then.
Maybe, but this road was intended to replace the A1 through Newcastle and Gateshead and take airport traffic away from Silver Lonnen and Ponteland Rd, so a D3M should have been in place as it was by passing a city of 300,000 people.
I know this isn't totally on topic, but on the North East forum of Skyscraper City, it shows you before and after photos of West Denton, where the A1 is in a cutting. Prior to the by pass, you had Denton Square, the old trolleybus terminus and used as a bus terminus until 1987, and Copperas Lane, a long row of houses divided by a wide field about half a mile long where impromptu football matches and dog walking were popular.
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Gav
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Gav »

I wonder if they were to replace the scotswood bridge and then realign and sort out the approaches they could integrate some CD roads over a short section and then provide an A1 realignment..... try to seperate the long distance traffic and provide more capacity south of the tyne ?
AndrewH
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by AndrewH »

Having squeezed three lanes into what used to be two there are some unprotected pillars for the overbridges right up against the edges of the carriageway at the moment, round Lobley Hill/Dunston area near the Metrocentre. I don't know what the final finished product will be but they look a tad dodgy at the moment.youve basically got pillars directly in the middle of 6 lanes of Tarmac.
a_c_skinner
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by a_c_skinner »

One must hope people steer round them!

I've been motoring up and down this set of roadworks for what seems like ages and wondering what they would do, the three lanes look pretty tight but the alternative was several new bridges. I guess they will be OK.

Actually it looked at several points as if all they needed to do to get rid of the congestion was to impose the 40mph limits and do little more.
a_c_skinner
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by a_c_skinner »

Up there again I took a more intelligent interest in it.

Firstly it looks very close to being finished. Secondly, yes there are three lanes having shaved as much as possible off the bridge supports both centre and at the sides. Thirdly this arrangement has been in place near the Metrocentre for some time, though IIRC only for a single over bridge, without obvious trouble. Finally the signs are going up and these show a 6'6'' width limit in lane 3.
Glenn A
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Glenn A »

Gav wrote:I wonder if they were to replace the scotswood bridge and then realign and sort out the approaches they could integrate some CD roads over a short section and then provide an A1 realignment..... try to seperate the long distance traffic and provide more capacity south of the tyne ?
Prior to the A1 being built, the Scotswood Bridge had become overloaded as you had the A695 traffic for Newcastle city centre and Blaydon, the A69 traffic for Hexham to the north and to the A1 and Gateshead town centre to the south. The Scotswood Bridge was retained as it was needed for the A695.
Rob590
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Rob590 »

A friend of mine who works for the DfT has just put up a couple of 'official opening' photos onto his Facebook for the Coal House to Metrocentre works. Glad to see the back of them and I'll look froward to using the completed road soon!
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wrinkly
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by wrinkly »

Rob590 wrote:A friend of mine who works for the DfT has just put up a couple of 'official opening' photos onto his Facebook for the Coal House to Metrocentre works. Glad to see the back of them and I'll look froward to using the completed road soon!
Are they being opened despite the hole in the road?
Rob590
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Rob590 »

There's a stretch which will have lane closures for a while I believe, but the scheme is otherwise opened.
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wrinkly
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by wrinkly »

Press release

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mill ... a1-upgrade

Doesn't even mention the hole.
Orillion
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Orillion »

Left Seaton Burn at four o'clock this afternoon and got to Chester-le-Street at twenty-five past. This journey usually took 50-55 minutes before the upgrade. The lane drop at Coal House caught a few people out, causing them to execute last-minute lane changes. To be fair, it is clearly signposted.

It's a shame about the narrow lanes under the various bridges, but I suppose it's simply cost management.

I wasn't brave enough to use the uprated section for my journey to work, but I'll attempt it next week.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by Mark Hewitt »

There is considerable latent demand there I won't be surprised if it fills up quickly.
a_c_skinner
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Re: A1 Western bypass widening

Post by a_c_skinner »

I think the works were removed last weekend (2nd/3rd July). It is all open and traffic is moving freely. One of the over bridges seems a bit narrower that ideal, but the others are reasonably spacious, lane 3 is width limited. There looks to be some tidying up left and perhaps a bit of concrete left to spray.

As above it will soon fill up with traffic because demand was so limited by the old road. There is no easy solution to this old chestnut.
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