Diversions 2022

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Hdeng16
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by Hdeng16 »

solocle wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 16:19
Hdeng16 wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 15:55
Chris Bertram wrote: Mon Aug 01, 2022 12:58 Ah, that wasn't clear. And this isn't Strava, so the appearance of a bike in almost every shot is, perhaps, unexpected.
I'm confused too. This thread is called "Diversions 2022" and does what it says on the tin usually. I don't get why you solocle chose this thread to post a photo blog about a bike trip. I agree it's not strava - but perhaps in the Unleashed areas it would have hit the mark. Here... it's just a bit odd.
Because the roads involved are prime diversion routes if there's a snarl up. The A30 and A33 were both posted further upthread. Obviously the M3 is a no-no, but the A33 was actually a diversion to avoid the A303.
Image
I thought it was worth having some pics of these roads in their normal life, when about the only traffic avoiding the trunk roads was me.
That’s quite a leap pal, but thanks for the explanation.
SteveA30
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

At least with planned closures, I can be ready and waiting for the show to begin. M3 closed all weekend. J4-3. J5-4 Fri 9pm to Sat 6am and again Sun 9pm to Mon 6am so, operating now. Except it didn't, until 11.30pm at J5. The team coned off J5 on-slip at 9 as instructed, they didn't know when the M3 would close. Locals stopped on the rbt to ask why traffic was whizzing past below. No sign of anything until a car with orange flashing light stopped in the V of the off-slip for half an hour about 11pm before the cone lorries showed up. The A30 was well covered with yellow div signs at all junctions and even on open stretches. Slight problem, no signs at J5 itself. I assumed they would be put in place at the last minute to avoid confusion, nope. :facepalm: Traffic streamed off the M3 around the signalised rbt, twice, pausing to look for signs. Some took the A287 to Farnham, some the correct A287 to the A30, where nice diversion signs were waiting patiently to direct them to turn right. Some the old A32 into Hook, now B3349, to join the A30 there. No signs there from that direction. so, not for the first time, I had to put things right. As often happens, a local div was also in operation. A sign for A30 west to B3349 north was also there. At about midnight, I moved it to B3349 north to A30 east, on the rbt itself. Minor problem solved but, this was caused by the bigger problem of no signs at J5. I had informed the crew at the closed on-slip earlier and they went on the phone to tell someone. An hour later nothing had changed. Earlier during an initial drive along the A30 towards Camberley when it was light, I noticed a yellow Diversion sign on the A323 at Hartley Wintney, which is closed from Fleet. I needed a sign pointing left so yep, I went to HW, loaded the div sign in the car, took it to J5 and plonked it on the verge at the A287 exit to A30, next to the direction signs, at 1am. Instant result, the next lot off the M3, on getting the green headed left. A few didn't though, perhaps they actually did want the A287 to Odiham. Job done, I went to HW and sat on a bench seat that I used in 1969/70 to watch holiday traffic, as the HGV convoys and a few holidaymakers rumbled through. Tiredness crept in after the frenzy of activity so, a nice undisturbed kip on Hartley Common by the church for about 3 hours, while the distant sound of lorries across the common, rumbling and clattering through continued, waking the villagers. :shhh: You're welcome. Up at dawn, as this bit ended at 6am. A stroll around the deserted village, the peace shattered by even more traffic, as it started to build up on this August Saturday morning. Back to J5 to see if new signs had arrived, nope. Mine was still doing its job.

Change of shirt and, off to Camberley for the main event. Most signals seemed to be on sensors, as we sailed through most of them on green, as side roads were still quiet. To Bagshot for an 06.30 opening of the Costa and a most welcome coffee and croissant, admiring the view of the A30 traffic, by now a continuous stream.

Part 2 coming soon to a forum near you..........
Attachments
This became a rbt in 1960, from a V shaped T junction, freeflow for A30 traffic in both directions. Now of course, signalised.
This became a rbt in 1960, from a V shaped T junction, freeflow for A30 traffic in both directions. Now of course, signalised.
Between Bagshot and Camberley
Between Bagshot and Camberley
Spotted while walking along London Rd.
Spotted while walking along London Rd.
Last edited by SteveA30 on Mon Aug 08, 2022 05:46, edited 3 times in total.
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SteveA30
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

When I left at about 1pm, there was still no official sign at J5. The A323 was coned off at HW, access only, which is what the sign was for. Those on here who know who was doing the job, could perhaps find out why J5 was not signed. there was nothing on the slip that I could see. It seemed as if the route diversion signing is done by one firm but, motorway junctions by another, with no co-ordination. The slip road cone team had no knowledge either.

By 10am, the A30, A331 and A325 were solid for most of their length. Locals must have been rat running all over the place.
Attachments
Bagshot bypass
Bagshot bypass
A30 Camberley, when the lights are green. There is a Francis Frith photo from this exact spot, taken in 1965
A30 Camberley, when the lights are green. There is a Francis Frith photo from this exact spot, taken in 1965
When the lights are red.
When the lights are red.
Last edited by SteveA30 on Mon Aug 08, 2022 05:15, edited 2 times in total.
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solocle
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by solocle »

Blimey, I have a very near match with that milestone in my archive:
C2DD4CE4-85FF-46F9-BA00-2FB619F72022.jpeg
Interesting that it's Hyde Park Corner rather than Charing X or The City
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Chris5156
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by Chris5156 »

solocle wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 22:54Interesting that it's Hyde Park Corner rather than Charing X or The City
Until the 1950s, distances to London were measured to one of six or seven points depending on which way you were approaching. From the west and south west it was Hyde Park Corner. Distances have been measured to Charing Cross since about 1951.
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solocle
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by solocle »

Chris5156 wrote: Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:39
solocle wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 22:54Interesting that it's Hyde Park Corner rather than Charing X or The City
Until the 1950s, distances to London were measured to one of six or seven points depending on which way you were approaching. From the west and south west it was Hyde Park Corner. Distances have been measured to Charing Cross since about 1951.
Ah, found a nice little map of the Turnpikes over here - http://www.turnpikes.org.uk/
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Hdeng16
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by Hdeng16 »

SteveA30 wrote: Sun Aug 07, 2022 21:29 At least with planned closures, I can be ready and waiting for the show to begin. M3 closed all weekend. J4-3. J5-4 Fri 9pm to Sat 6am and again Sun 9pm to Mon 6am so, operating now. Except it didn't, until 11.30pm at J5. The team coned off J5 on-slip at 9 as instructed, they didn't know when the M3 would close. Locals stopped on the rbt to ask why traffic was whizzing past below. No sign of anything until a car with orange flashing light stopped in the V of the off-slip for half an hour about 11pm before the cone lorries showed up. The A30 was well covered with yellow div signs at all junctions and even on open stretches. Slight problem, no signs at J5 itself. I assumed they would be put in place at the last minute to avoid confusion, nope. :facepalm: Traffic streamed off the M3 around the signalised rbt, twice, pausing to look for signs. Some took the A287 to Farnham, some the correct A287 to the A30, where nice diversion signs were waiting patiently to direct them to turn right. Some the old A32 into Hook, now B3349, to join the A30 there. No signs there from that direction. so, not for the first time, I had to put things right. As often happens, a local div was also in operation. A sign for A30 west to B3349 north was also there. At about midnight, I moved it to B3349 north to A30 east, on the rbt itself. Minor problem solved but, this was caused by the bigger problem of no signs at J5. I had informed the crew at the closed on-slip earlier and they went on the phone to tell someone. An hour later nothing had changed. Earlier during an initial drive along the A30 towards Camberley when it was light, I noticed a yellow Diversion sign on the A323 at Hartley Wintney, which is closed from Fleet. I needed a sign pointing left so yep, I went to HW, loaded the div sign in the car, took it to J5 and plonked it on the verge at the A287 exit to A30, next to the direction signs, at 1am. Instant result, the next lot off the M3, on getting the green headed left. A few didn't though, perhaps they actually did want the A287 to Odiham. Job done, I went to HW and sat on a bench seat that I used in 1969/70 to watch holiday traffic, as the HGV convoys and a few holidaymakers rumbled through. Tiredness crept in after the frenzy of activity so, a nice undisturbed kip on Hartley Common by the church for about 3 hours, while the distant sound of lorries across the common, rumbling and clattering through continued, waking the villagers. :shhh: You're welcome. Up at dawn, as this bit ended at 6am. A stroll around the deserted village, the peace shattered by even more traffic, as it started to build up on this August Saturday morning. Back to J5 to see if new signs had arrived, nope. Mine was still doing its job.

I guess this has been brought up before and you probably have an answer.. but moving signs? Not for me... only takes a few more of you to think you know best (not arguing if you do, or do not) and chaos reigns. Plus you could find yourself in hot water if someone claims an accident was down to signage mistakes, locations, etc. What's your view?
SteveA30
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Sometimes, I see a gap in continuity. There was a full set all along the A30 to Bagshot, every junction and repeat ones on open stretches, a very thorough job. Nothing at J5, I took the M3 from J6 before 9pm and well after. No indication of anything happening, no signs or cones. There was a flashing sign in the central reservation, showing the 2 outside lanes closed. About 2 hours later, that actually happened. The on-slip was as outlined above, 9pm on the dot, 21/2 hours later the M3 closed. The rest as described above. No sign as it were of any other signage apart from mine, at the rbt or off-slip. It seemed as if the motorway junction signage was the responsibility of a different team from those that covered the div route. I can't imagine they would do all that and forget the M3 itself. VMS gantries miles away were warning of the closure but, nothing at J5, that I saw. I have a photo of yellow div signs pointing in opposite directions in Devon but, can't remember which folder it is in.
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Sometimes a festival prevents a div trip, this time, a festival created one. Beautiful Days at Escot Park, west of Honiton saw fans directed along the old A30 via Fairmile from the west and via Fenny Bridges from the east. Thursday August 18 saw the gates open and they came in droves. Those who viewed the YouTube video I took circa 1998/9 from Honiton to Exeter and back may even recognise it.
Beautiful Days is organised by the Levellers. They will be on about now, Sunday 9pm.

As they sang on One Way, 'there's only one way of life and that's on the old A30'
I think that's how it went.........
Attachments
Heading east down to Fairmile
Heading east down to Fairmile
Dropping down into Fairmile
Dropping down into Fairmile
Looking east towards Fenny Bridges, at the opposite flow of traffic
Looking east towards Fenny Bridges, at the opposite flow of traffic
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SteveA30
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Went in 2010, good vibes, as they used to say I believe. The entrance to the festival was at the Feniton junction but, wisely, traffic was sent along the old road to avoid conflict on the new. 1 mile festival jams on the A30 mixed with August traffic would have created 5 mile queues I expect. The junction was open though and very handy for zipping back and forth in the opposite direction to the festival goers.
Attachments
Heading west at Fairmile as the opposite side queues
Heading west at Fairmile as the opposite side queues
Fairmile 2022
Fairmile 2022
Fairmile 1990
Fairmile 1990
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brummie_rob
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by brummie_rob »

Piggybacking onto this as its relevant but this weekends closure of the M6 SB from J33-J32 is causing 5-6 hour queues from J34-J34 and the diversion route is at least another hour or so.

There are a few failures here from my perspective:

1) It may be September but quite a few people will have taken the last week off for holidays due to kids not doing much the first couple of days back at school so effectively you have a load of holiday traffic who don't prepare and check there routing before they travel; they just join the hoardes and get stuck.

2) Google Maps is not displaying the closure and lots of people use this to navigate. With no closure displayed it's routing people straight into the back of the queue.

3) There is a lack of matrix signs on the Lake District section meaning most joining around Kendal only see one or two signs before the closure. Perhaps some yellow signage would have been better along these sections. It is signed on the matrix signs back to the Scottish borders though where they can.

4) The traffic lights in Garstang seem to be the main culprit, perhaps police should have gone down to help move traffic.

5) For the traditional people, there hasn't been much travel news on local radio due to the Queens death therefore this may also factor in.
SteveA30
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Traffic lights on diversion routes are never adjusted for changed flows, at least not on any that I've seen. Police seem entirely disconnected from such events these days.

In the early years of the Ilminster bypass, from 1988 into the 90's, they would very smartly put out yellow cones in Ilminster to stop any more locals parking. This helped to keep traffic flowing if slowly. Then, at some point this stopped, resulting in total chaos when it was a diversion in both directions, as lorries could not pass each other where parking was allowed. I was puzzled by this and managed surprisingly to get through to the Ilminster Police Station. The nice chap with a local accent, told me that all the cones had been sold to the Bridgwater Carnival Committee. They no longer had any involvement in traffic management.
Changing signals to a 'Diversion' setting and preventing parking are the minimum that should be done.

Talking of which, an old road that is mercifully free of lights is the A38 from J27 to 26, which has just seen 17 hours of M5 traffic n/bnd. Sheer weight of traffic caused an orange or red line on maps for about half the length. Showing great restraint, I only took 162 photos. Finally cleared at about 8.15pm.
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by Bendo »

brummie_rob wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 18:09 Piggybacking onto this as its relevant but this weekends closure of the M6 SB from J33-J32 is causing 5-6 hour queues from J34-J34 and the diversion route is at least another hour or so.
It was worse than that. A colleague has posted it took him about 9 hours to get though with a screenshot from Google maps showing 10 hours to cover 61 miles. And I once thought 10 hours to travel to Devon on Christmas Eve was excessive.
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

As can be seen in the link, NH only reports the reason for congestion when it is an accident or similar. Roadworks don't get a mention. The M6 has a 3hr delay - at 12.30am - but, they won't tell you why......... Only Unplanned congestion gets an explanation, Planned doesn't. Bizarre.
Link updated so no mention of M6 now, until tomorrow morning probably....
https://www.trafficengland.com/traffic-alerts
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brummie_rob
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by brummie_rob »

Bendo wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 23:52
brummie_rob wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 18:09 Piggybacking onto this as its relevant but this weekends closure of the M6 SB from J33-J32 is causing 5-6 hour queues from J34-J34 and the diversion route is at least another hour or so.
It was worse than that. A colleague has posted it took him about 9 hours to get though with a screenshot from Google maps showing 10 hours to cover 61 miles. And I once thought 10 hours to travel to Devon on Christmas Eve was excessive.
Yes it appears lots on Twitter spent in excess of 7-10 hours stuck in it. This afternoon/evening could be a problem as Lakes traffic heads back south.
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Even at 09.20, the reason for the queue is clear, the lights at the 6 way junction on the A6. Flowing well after that. It's so basic, alter the sequencing/staging/phasing. Locals have other routes available as can be seen on the map. By lunchtime, this will be total chaos. Road management, why can't they do it? Why don't NH and LA's talk to each other?

Edit - 10.40am Why would there be normal traffic conditions between 11.00 and 11.15? It's a weekend closure!! Total disconnect from reality.
Road Type Severity Description
M6 Congestion Severe Location : The M6 southbound between junctions J34 and J33
Reason : Congestion
Status : Currently Active
Return To Normal : Normal traffic conditions are expected between 11:00 and 11:15 on 11 September 2022
Cause : Roadworks
Delay : There are currently delays of 1 hour against expected traffic
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9.20am Sunday Sept 11 2022
9.20am Sunday Sept 11 2022
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solocle
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by solocle »

Bendo wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 23:52
brummie_rob wrote: Sat Sep 10, 2022 18:09 Piggybacking onto this as its relevant but this weekends closure of the M6 SB from J33-J32 is causing 5-6 hour queues from J34-J34 and the diversion route is at least another hour or so.
It was worse than that. A colleague has posted it took him about 9 hours to get though with a screenshot from Google maps showing 10 hours to cover 61 miles. And I once thought 10 hours to travel to Devon on Christmas Eve was excessive.
Coming South from Skye yesterday. We went across the A66 and down the A1(M) to avoid it!
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SouthWest Philip
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SouthWest Philip »

The M6 situation this weekend seems to have been a major failure by HE, and really someone at the organisation should take responsibility.

Also overdependence on Google Maps by motorists seemed to have played a part too. Google didn't show the closure, but did show the delays leading up to it and continuing down the A6. Plenty of stories of motorists being directed by Google in circles back to the start of the closure. So a pretty major failure by Google too.
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by Ambosc79 »

Driven back home from Glasgow today, went A65-A682-M65 then down the M61 to avoid the miles of roadworks around Wigan that I encountered on the way up on Friday, and were showing with red lines on AA website today.

And a bizarre sight of "For M56W (also closed!) take M62/M6S" yellow signs on the southbound/ac M60 that first appear just south of the junction with the M62 and carry on all the way to the M56 exit....

6 1/2 hours and I think I was very lucky reading some of those stories from people who took the M6/A6 route!
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Re: Diversions 2022

Post by SteveA30 »

Season Roundup.
Another peak summer season comes to an end so, time for analysis from the panel......me.
Generally, a disappointing season when compared to 2021 and especially 2020. With foreign travel banned or very difficult, 2020 saw record turnouts. 2021 was also very good. 2022 has been very lacklustre. The Premier Diversion contains A30, A38 and A303. Diversion 1 has A4, A31,A35, A361, A20. Diversion 2 has A33, A34, A25, rarely do these score highly.

A30 has as usual scored the most divs, including roadworks and overspill. Tedburn, Pathfinder and Okehampton always consistent, plus Camberley and Hook in the east. A303 is fading, Ilminster is reliable and will continue to be but Ilchester and Mere haven't scored for ages. A303 may end up relegated to Diversion 2 after Sparkford is transferred, leaving the team one road down. A38 would have been relegated this week were it not for a late rally only yesterday, with an excellent high scoring div near Wellington. Thornbury had failed to score apart from in early June and Mendip had also underperformed all season, especially Churchill, which was well down on the previous 2 years. The best showing until this weekend, was from B3181, who is only a substitute but scored well in June at Willand. Wellington has saved them this time. Scenes from yesterday's late rally below.
Attachments
Proper A38 - 1
Proper A38 - 1
Proper A38 - 2
Proper A38 - 2
Proper A38 - 3
Proper A38 - 3
Last edited by SteveA30 on Mon Sep 12, 2022 00:26, edited 1 time in total.
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