M6 J10 Improvements

[Big L]

I saw a man doing some gardening within the roundabout a week or two ago.

Everything looks pretty much done except the temporary lights are still in use and the r/h circulatory lane is coned off. I assume there’s some issue with the installation or commissioning of the new permanent traffic lights.

[ReissOmari]

Really frustrating!

Well, looks like NH have finally given some sort of reasoning for the delay, with a predicted opening timeframe of "Summer", great.

Earlier this year, we told you that we expected the new layouts for the junction 10 roundabout, the Black Country Route and Bloxwich Lane junction to be open to traffic this spring.

We’re now in the final stages of our work on the M6 junction 10 roundabout however we have some outstanding tasks to complete which means that we’ll need to continue working on the roundabout into the summer.

The reason for this delay to opening the junction is that we’ve encountered some unexpected challenges, including the need to take on some additional unplanned work to maintain existing infrastructure, such as urgent repairs to streetlight cabling and the drainage system. As this work is outside the original scope of the project, this has unfortunately pushed back our completion date. By doing this work now, it’ll limit further disruption as it’ll remove the need for us to return to carry out these repairs in the future.

We’ll open the roundabout in the daytime this summer and complete the remaining work - which includes landscaping - overnight when the roads are quieter. In addition to this, once we’ve assessed our programme of work we’ll provide an update on the rest of the scheme, including our work on the M6 mainline and aesthetic work such as fencing, when all lanes on the roundabout are open to traffic.

https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-road ... provement/

[Truvelo]

There's still some scaffolding under the bridges and incomplete armco in places.

[brummie_rob]

An update today, quite shocking really:

We’ve now completed a full assessment of our programme and can confirm that we expect to fully complete this improvement scheme in spring 2024. We appreciate this is disappointing news for road users and the local community as we’ll be opening this junction significantly later than originally planned. The reason for the delay is that we’ve encountered a number of challenges, including the need to complete additional work to maintain existing infrastructure. This involves repairs to drainage at multiple sites within the scheme boundary and the replacement / upgrade of 2 kilometres of streetlight cabling.

[Big L]

They announce this over two years in to the job that should have been finished last year sometime, and extend it by another year plus? Competence in abundance.

[Bryn666]

They announce this over two years in to the job that should have been finished last year sometime, and extend it by another year plus? Competence in abundance.

And at the end of all this M6 J10 is still a signalised roundabout. Why didn't they just be honest and say it was simply a major maintenance scheme to replace two knackered bridges and not some magical upgrade to the network?

[M42_J10]

They announce this over two years in to the job that should have been finished last year sometime, and extend it by another year plus? Competence in abundance.

And at the end of all this M6 J10 is still a signalised roundabout. Why didn't they just be honest and say it was simply a major maintenance scheme to replace two knackered bridges and not some magical upgrade to the network?

To be fair they did double the width of the roundabout and widen several approaches. I go through there every day and it has improved things, despite not quite being finished. Even with some parts still coned off and temporary lights it's a lot less painful leaving the M6 n/b in the morning. I even forgive them leaving the approach from Wolverhampton on the A454 as 2 lanes.

[Peter Freeman]

And at the end of all this M6 J10 is still a signalised roundabout. Why didn't they just be honest and say it was simply a major maintenance scheme to replace two knackered bridges and not some magical upgrade to the network?

To be fair they did double the width of the roundabout and widen several approaches. I go through there every day and it has improved things, despite not quite being finished. Even with some parts still coned off and temporary lights it's a lot less painful leaving the M6 n/b in the morning. I even forgive them leaving the approach from Wolverhampton on the A454 as 2 lanes.

Of course "it has improved things". But you are too forgiving.

This is the usual, predictable result of the usual, unimaginative action:
1. Capacity has been increased by a moderate amount (so everybody notices a short-lived improvement and thinks they've been well-served).
2. Driveability has been further reduced by a small amount (many drivers find large multilane roundabouts stressful and confusing).
3. Two aging structures have been removed from the network (but were they really unsound?).
4. The project is over, minor gains achieved, lots of $$ spent, and the new structures have >50 years lifetime so they won't be touched again no matter how congested they become.

M6 passing north of Birmingham is Britain's #1 strategic congestion problem, and the Black Country Route is a well-designed and future-proofed DC capable of significant enhancement. J10 is their important interchange and deserves better treatment than this.

(and its neighbour, J11, is poised for the same mis-treatment)

[chaseracer]

(and its neighbour, J11, is poised for the same mis-treatment)

Great...*

[M42_J10]

Of course "it has improved things". But you are too forgiving.

Look I'm just happy that something has been improved. They could plausibly have made it a tiny dumbbell instead...

[Graham]

the new structures have >50 years lifetime so they won't be touched again no matter how congested they become.

Don't worry, though - the M6 Toll contract only has about 30 years left to run, so things should start to improve in 2054 once ownership of that road returns to public hands...

[Ruperts Trooper]

the new structures have >50 years lifetime so they won't be touched again no matter how congested they become.

Don't worry, though - the M6 Toll contract only has about 30 years left to run, so things should start to improve in 2054 once ownership of that road returns to public hands...

If/when that happens, the M42 from J8 to J9/T1 will become even more congested than it already is if M6 through traffic is added to the current peak volumes.

[Truvelo]

Look I'm just happy that something has been improved. They could plausibly have made it a tiny dumbbell instead...

The original proposals in the 1950s was just that.

[ReissOmari]

So if the issue lies with street lighting and drainage, what's the reason that the permanent traffic signals haven't fully be installed and turned on? Also, does this affect the Bloxwich Lane junction too? A two year delay is ridiculous, the most annoying part is, there's no newsletter or updates so it just feels like they're purposely dragging it.

[Peter Freeman]

the new structures have >50 years lifetime so they won't be touched again no matter how congested they become.

Don't worry, though - the M6 Toll contract only has about 30 years left to run, so things should start to improve in 2054 once ownership of that road returns to public hands...

When the tolls end, the flows on the two routes will automatically find a natural balance. Presumably more traffic will take the M6T route, but whatever the outcome, it will be an improvement on the present distorted balance.

The tolls will end when the franchise expires or when the government, by agreement or compulsorily, buys out the operation. Meanwhile, a partial re-balance could be achieved by the government subsidising toll payers. While that might be expensive, it's probably less so than building a new road or adding significant new structures to those existing.

If/when that happens, the M42 from J8 to J9/T1 will become even more congested than it already is if M6 through traffic is added to the current peak volumes.

No matter. Traffic will adjust. Then, with a natural balance, the required actions, if any, for further improvement will become clear.

[RichardA35]

the new structures have >50 years lifetime so they won't be touched again no matter how congested they become.

Don't worry, though - the M6 Toll contract only has about 30 years left to run, so things should start to improve in 2054 once ownership of that road returns to public hands...

When the tolls end, the flows on the two routes will automatically find a natural balance. Presumably more traffic will take the M6T route, but whatever the outcome, it will be an improvement on the present distorted balance.

The tolls will end when the franchise expires or when the government, by agreement or compulsorily, buys out the operation. Meanwhile, a partial re-balance could be achieved by the government subsidising toll payers. While that might be expensive, it's probably less so than building a new road or adding significant new structures to those existing.

If/when that happens, the M42 from J8 to J9/T1 will become even more congested than it already is if M6 through traffic is added to the current peak volumes.

No matter. Traffic will adjust. Then, with a natural balance, the required actions, if any, for further improvement will become clear.

Does anyone have any evidence beyond the aecdotal that the balance is unduly distorted?
IIRC the traffic forecasting for the M6Toll was only in the region of 30,000 vpd which was the forecast long distance traffic attraction from the M6 between the M42 and north of the M54 and this is broadly borne out by the recent usage figures perhaps even distorted in the opposite direction by smart motorway implementations on the M6.

[Peter Freeman]

^ I have no evidence, but distortion of route choice is intrinsic to road tolling. Toll operators spend time, before the operation begins and during its tenure (so far as the franchise conditions allow), tuning the toll rates between attracting and deterring customers. 'Shun-piking' (toll avoidance) obviously exists and is legitimate, so distortion is inevitable.

There's nothing wrong with this. It's inherent in the concept.

"... distorted in the opposite direction by smart motorway implementations on the M6?" - undoubtedly. The toll operator would have a right to be aggrieved by this only if the franchise agreement prohibited or limited it. Some (only a few) toll road projects in Australia have contained such 'fairness' clauses. These might limit improvements to the non-toll route, and/or impose degradations (which confer public benefit to that route in other ways).

[Chris5156]

When the tolls end, the flows on the two routes will automatically find a natural balance. Presumably more traffic will take the M6T route, but whatever the outcome, it will be an improvement on the present distorted balance.

The tolls will end when the franchise expires or when the government, by agreement or compulsorily, buys out the operation.

You seem absolutely certain that the tolls will end when the franchise ends, if not before. I find it hard to share that!

[Peter Freeman]

^ You're right, that's just my assumption, and I may be wrong.

Even in AU, a government could continue to toll after franchise expiry, but generally they don't. A government could slap a toll on any of its roads whenever it likes, but they don't because there are elections to consider. The UK, unlike AU, doesn't toll roads (historical oddities aside) except for major structures across estuaries. M6Toll is a one-off, and is not well-liked. Hence my assumption.

[jackal]

Of course the tolls on both Seven Bridges were recently removed after franchise expiry. It seems a safe assumption for the end of the M6 Toll concession.

One effect of massive highway construction inflation is that non-construction investments look better value by comparison. Purchasing the M6 Toll and making it free, relieving the M6, is one such investment that could be made.