residences on rural DCs

[exiled]

I was wondering how many of these are left where there are houses and shops, not fuel stations and services which have to be there, right on the side of a DC and often where the only main access is via that DC.

These are a few I remember

A 38 Devon, A 77 Ayrshire, N13 Dept de la Manche, France, and N4, Namur, Belgium

I also remember them on the A1 which I suspect have the highest number of vehicles passing by.

[IAN]

I was wondering how many of these are left where there are houses and shops, not fuel stations and services which have to be there, right on the side of a DC and often where the only main access is via that DC.

These are a few I remember

A 38 Devon, A 77 Ayrshire, N13 Dept de la Manche, France, and N4, Namur, Belgium

I also remember them on the A1 which I suspect have the highest number of vehicles passing by.

There are quite a few around this area. https://www.google.com/maps/@51.8841898 ... ?entry=ttu

[Bryn666]

Until the rebuild of the A14 there used to be houses alongside the slip road at Girton interchange - they've now been realigned to face away from the road and a noise fence is in their place. Presumably this was CPO, rebuild, sell back to buyers?

[wallmeerkat]

Some houses right on the hard shoulder of the A8 (NI)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.83463 ... ?entry=ttu

House on A1 (NI)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.27492 ... ?entry=ttu

Slightly more tenous examples:

Houses with front garden backing onto A26 (NI)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.75658 ... ?entry=ttu


Row of houses on the A92 Glenrothes, albeit a dividing parking lane

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@56.22124 ... ?entry=ttu

House on A8 (NI)

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.72383 ... ?entry=ttu

and further along a farm https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.83116 ... ?entry=ttu

[Sirsquinn]

Nice cottage here on the A64

https://maps.app.goo.gl/pXhBmE3CDpQzYPSV6

[skiddaw05]

A1 at Sandy

[trickstat]

On the 'hairy' stretch of the A505 between the Baldock and Royston bypasses:


https://maps.app.goo.gl/JYM8WpuoaUv58Uhr8

[AnOrdinarySABREUser]

There are tons of examples on the A249:

(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9)

This is a clear demonstration of why the A249 is simply not fit for purpose between Maidstone and Stockbury.

Edit: copyediting

[Chris5156]

A1 at Sandy

I think that’s in a 50 limit rather than NSL, which is a slight improvement over some of the others in this thread!

[orudge]

You'll find a good few on the A90 between Dundee and Aberdeen, though some sections (e.g. Brechin and Stonehaven bypasses) are of a higher quality and avoid this. Random example and another.

[tom66]

A1 at Sandy

I went to see this house when we were looking for somewhere to buy:
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.1956319 ... ?entry=ttu

The A1 is just behind it, but at least it doesn't back directly onto it. The noise was quite unattractive, which was enough to put me off. It was listed cheaply, but with clear consideration for the environment it was in, some 20% cheaper than an equivalent property in St Neots proper. This bit is 60 mph and heavily trafficked being at the junction with Black Cat and the A428. I imagine the forthcoming Black Cat bypass will improve things a little.

At a guess both examples existed when the A1 was a single carriageway and had far lower traffic. When it was dualled, little thought was given to the residents. There is no access to this property except by the A1, and to go the other way you have to loop at the roundabout. Nearby conveniences include a petrol station with a McDonalds and, for the brave, there's a pub on the other side (at least, there was at one point.)

But for new examples you have this new-build estate (go back in time on Street View):
https://www.google.com/maps/@52.5103438 ... ?entry=ttu

It ended up in a national tabloid, as apparently some who had purchased it, hadn't realised how loud living next to a 70 mph dual carriageway would be... I do wonder how the council gave permission to build here. I am generally a YIMBY, but this is one case where planners should not have allowed residences to exist. The lack of any crash barrier between the back garden and the road is terrifying IMO, if I had kids, I would not let them play there.

[wallmeerkat]

A8 Edinburgh

https://www.google.com/maps/@55.9377647 ... ?entry=ttu

In terms of backing onto DCs, the A77 there are a few houses close by

https://www.google.com/maps/@55.5884564 ... ?entry=ttu

[solocle]

A31 in the New Forest. A couple of miles from the end of the M27, 60K AADF.


For some footage of passing them, 1:41:06

[jervi]

I think most rural DCs do have frequent houses located on, or have sole access from it. It's only really the motorways & newly constructed routes which don't have any direct accesses.
The A23 has a few, but this must be one of the most exposed houses directly off of a D3. ADDT of 82k+ https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.87539 ... ?entry=ttu

[multiraider2]

It is still just about rural here on the A127 but Wickford, Basildon, Laindon, Rayleigh overspill developments have been slowly creeping towards the road since I remember it from the late 60s. Still NSL here.

[ravenbluemoon]

Until the rebuild of the A14 there used to be houses alongside the slip road at Girton interchange - they've now been realigned to face away from the road and a noise fence is in their place. Presumably this was CPO, rebuild, sell back to buyers?

As far as I know the residents stayed put throughout. I did the topo survey for the new fence line and access to a LAR that they built in the fields behind the houses. Before the A14 improvements they used a single shared driveway and in reality the "front" of the houses faced onto this.

[WHBM]

Knew someone who lived in such a house, on the rural derestricted A540 dual carriageway from Chester to Heswall. The adjacent junction (with a country lane) is signalled now, but then was a plain junction.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.27917 ... ?entry=ttu

Their principal issue was with people broken down up and down the main road, who would come to their door, some with a significant entitlement attitude over assistance, shelter, use of telephone, broken down vehicles left in their driveway (one was abandoned there) etc.

About once every year or two they would get involved with an RTA at the junction, or on the mainline, when there was an extension of all this. They were disappointed in the comparable entitlement attitude of (a minority) of the emergency services and recovery staff. During one such incident an ornament of theirs was stolen from their front hallway.

[solocle]

I think most rural DCs do have frequent houses located on, or have sole access from it. It's only really the motorways & newly constructed routes which don't have any direct accesses.
The A23 has a few, but this must be one of the most exposed houses directly off of a D3. ADDT of 82k+ https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.87539 ... ?entry=ttu

Oh, that's a juicy one. I've actually ridden past them too, but I didn't really notice, and the A31 is much more local to me. Also the left lane was coned off at the time.

The North Circular does have some frontages, but well below NSL. AADF is 111K though...

Count Point

[Mapper89062]

The A12 is NSL and still has quite a few property frontages along it. The most prominent is the soon to be bypassed section bisecting Rivenhall End, but there's several staying north of Colchester:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.99382 ... ?entry=ttu
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.98876 ... ?entry=ttu

The A14 has a few more properties east of Bury St Edmunds which are only exitable onto the A14, and are unusual in that they have a private GSJ:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.23594 ... ?entry=ttu

[jackal]

Are there any examples of properties being bought by HA/HE/NH and demolished in order to remove their frontages from trunk roads?

Surely this would often be far better value for money than building a new road. Even 10 £500,000 properties is only £5m, a fraction of the cost of the shortest realignment.

Yet it seems very rare if it happens at all. Maybe NH are so used to thinking of demolition as a means to the end of construction that they don't usually consider whether it might in itself be an improvement.

We have previously discussed the related case of buying and demolishing properties next to the M6 as environmental mitigation for the J21a to J26 scheme, though obviously there was no frontage on the M6 here.