As somebody who was often at my grans house in East Stoke when it was the A46 I have to say this scheme made an unbelievable difference! Her lounge used to be dark light dark light from the constant lorries passing the house with only a narrow footway, the house would shake, a constant rumble…… I was actually there for a week when it opened, it was very surreal, the road fell quiet, the A46 gone forever, the small village is now so peaceful it’s actually quite hard to imagine it was ever like it was, it’s actually crazy some communities still have to deal with heavy traffic, especially routes with a large percentage of HGV’s.
Biggest improvement personally
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Re: Biggest improvement personally
Re: Biggest improvement personally
The A69 Haydon Bridge by pass, try sitting outside The Anchor( yellow painted hotel near the bridge) to have a meal before the village was by passed. The traffic noise would make you demented and the pollution had turned the yellow paint nearly black. A couple of years I had a meal outside the hotel and an old man commented on how quiet and less stressful Haydon Bridge had become since it was by passed in 2008.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
M9 Spur/A8000 replacement has made a huge difference.
While the Queensferry crossing was needed due to the state of the bridge, most of the time it's a like for like replacement so not a significant change in what you experience driving over.
While the Queensferry crossing was needed due to the state of the bridge, most of the time it's a like for like replacement so not a significant change in what you experience driving over.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
The Howgate- Distington by pass on the A595, probably knocked ten minutes off my commute to work every morning and removed such annoyances as roadworks on the old A595, where a pair of temporary traffic lights could cause massive tailbacks, or an accident could cripple the local road network.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
Couldn't really come up with anything for this. If I needed to travel very regularly to and from Royston or Cambridge I would say the A505 Baldock bypass. However, personally it is a mixed blessing as I think it has definitely increased the traffic at peak times on Letchworth Gate. In the great scheme of things the improvements to journey times for people and the people of Baldock pretty much getting their town centre back outweighs that, but this thread is about personal improvements.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
The new Great Yorkshire Way in Doncaster. Improved motorway and airport access a lot. I use it a lot as well. Also knocked off a ton of traffic which previously used the A638 which caused major holdups
Re: Biggest improvement personally
Minor in the great scheme of things, but the A595 Hensingham by pass( half a mile from me) has drastically improved the quality of life for anyone living in Hensingham Square and along the old A595. I reckon it's removed 80% of traffic from the old A595, the notorious Hensingham Rd section has been turned into a quiet cul de sac, and parking is far easier.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
I wish I could say the grade separation of Uttoxeter's A50 junctions, but they've not been done.
I would say the A500 Shavington Bypass, were it not for its two tiny at-grade roundabouts with modern deflections, wholly inappropriate for a 70 mph dual carriageway.
Instead then, I'll vote for the A6 Alvaston Bypass - worked wonders for getting out of the east side of Derby.
I would say the A500 Shavington Bypass, were it not for its two tiny at-grade roundabouts with modern deflections, wholly inappropriate for a 70 mph dual carriageway.
Instead then, I'll vote for the A6 Alvaston Bypass - worked wonders for getting out of the east side of Derby.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
It has, although ideally that roundabout would be replaced thus allowing a continuous eastern bypass. We love leaving random bottlenecks in otherwise free-flow routes don't we?deadly wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:02 I wish I could say the grade separation of Uttoxeter's A50 junctions, but they've not been done.
I would say the A500 Shavington Bypass, were it not for its two tiny at-grade roundabouts with modern deflections, wholly inappropriate for a 70 mph dual carriageway.
Instead then, I'll vote for the A6 Alvaston Bypass - worked wonders for getting out of the east side of Derby.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
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Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Re: Biggest improvement personally
The one at the B5071 would be easy to GSJ using the adjacent bridge, but how long until the required space is gobbled up by the Taylor Wimpey estate or similar?
Re: Biggest improvement personally
They built bridges adjacent to both junctions anyway, so I can't see how putting roundabouts in saved any money.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
This was the start of the classic "we don't know how to design roads for anyone but developers" output. Roundabouts = multiple developer accesses. GSJs = harder to plug into.deadly wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 15:03They built bridges adjacent to both junctions anyway, so I can't see how putting roundabouts in saved any money.
Bryn
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already.
She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
Blog - https://showmeasign.online/
X - https://twitter.com/ShowMeASignBryn
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@BrynBuck
Re: Biggest improvement personally
That one's both interesting and rather disturbing.
When the A500 was built the B5071 did indeed use the bridge but for some reason it was connected to the new road via a roundabout and slip road. It's only (more) recently that the dual carriageway to the north was built, thus taking the B5071 off the bridge and removing the GSJ completely.
Given that the bridge, the most expensive bit of a GSJ, was indeed built, it does make you wonder who came up with the original and present junction design.
"If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed." - Sylvia Plath
Re: Biggest improvement personally
Weymouth Relief Road, A354 Dorset. Before it opened going to Weymouth for any reason was a nightmare, especially in the summer.
My latest Road Photos https://flic.kr/s/aHsktQHcMB
Re: Biggest improvement personally
I can remember sitting in traffic for 40 minutes trying to get to the harbour on this road in 1995.
Re: Biggest improvement personally
The completion of Glasgow’s motorway network made a huge difference to me when I lived there. I still benefit from it when travelling north or east from Ayrshire. Firstly, the M77 extension removed the horrible 4-lane single carriageway of the A77 where fatal accidents were too common. Then when I reach the M77/M8 junction I’m able to avoid the Kingston Bridge thanks to the alternative route provided by the M74 Completion. And if my satnav warns me of queues on the M77 I can avoid them by coming off at Newton Mearns and going GSO>East Kilbride expressway > M8, which is not something I would have considered doing before the Raith underpass and M8 Baillieston to Newhouse were built.