A616 Stocksbridge Bypass

[Paul]

Some colleagues here at work have just started talking spontaneously about the A57 and A616. There's a dip in the A616 near the A6012 Deepcar junction, which is apparently haunted. Very cold spot, even in summer, and older cars can conk out there. Haunted because it's allegedly the site of an former monastery. That, and the 24 or so people who've died on this notorious strecth of 3-lane single-carriageway would explain the 'bad vibes' (as Brad would no doubt say).

http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dl ... 05&A=Y&Z=3

Regards,
Paul

[PeterA5145]

I understand why it's dangerous, but if you catch it at a quietish time (like last Sunday morning, 8 am) it's a great road to drive along, a marvellous fast switchback.
Unfortunately, the b*stards are planning to put cameras along it. Obviously that will solve the safety problem.
You're in the middle of an overtake.
"**** - there's a Gatso!"
Lift off abruptly.
"**** - I've run out of road!"
Really, it should have been a 4-lane grade-separated dual carriageway from Day 1. As should the entire route from the end of the M67 at Mottram to Sheffield. They could even call the whole thing the M67.
Regards,
Peter

[PeterA5145]

<<Unfortunately, the b*stards are planning to put cameras along it. Obviously that will solve the safety problem.
You're in the middle of an overtake.
"**** - there's a Gatso!"
Lift off abruptly.
"**** - I've run out of road!">>
It was reported today on uk.rec.driving that the cameras have been installed in the past week, to go live some time during December. The road remains NSL as far as I know.
Comments above still stand.
Regards,
Peter

[t1(M)]

Exactly the same nasty trick is evident on the A303, at Chicklade if I remember corerctly. A short three lane section, with the overtaking lane ending at the brow of the hill, and a GATSO half way up. So you overtake the caravan, lift off when you see the GATSO, andthen realise that you and the caravan will reach the lane merge together (the "road narrows" sign having been obscured by the caravan).
Make sure that the thing you are overtaking is tall enough to hide you from the GATSO!

[jim]

By the way the bypass is hanted by a monk who used to live in the monestary. I saw a programme about it once. Construction workers and many drivers had several scary sightings.
Jim

[PeterA5145]

<<It was reported today on uk.rec.driving that the cameras have been installed in the past week, to go live some time during December. The road remains NSL as far as I know.>>
http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/press_r ... 1_2002.htm

=======================================

Work is also progressing on the installation of an £800,000 digital safety
camera system announced by Transport Minister John Spellar in July. The
cameras, which aim to improve safety on the bypass, will allow speeds to be
monitored along the full length of the road.

Ducting for the new cables is in place and work is now underway to install
the supports and cameras. The new system is expected to be ready for
operation in December.

Additional safety measures associated with the camera system will be carried
out during the resurfacing work. These measures include:

* A widened centre line with ladder markings to reinforce the existing
double white "no overtaking" lines

* Speed sensitive "noisy" surfacing at the approaches to the speed cameras

* Speed camera warning signs

=======================================
Will these cameras improve safety? Is Ian Paisley a Catholic?
Regards,
Peter

[Roadtripper_Ian]

When I was at Sheffield University doing my Journalism we all had to go off and do TV news items. One crew went out to the latest fatal smash on the A616 and spoke to Inspector Plod.
Plod said that the bypass was so dangerous because most accidents were of the head-on overtaking kind. The worst spot of all worst spots is the blind summit east of the A629 junction, where the eastbound crawler lane stops on the summit. At the same time the westbound crawler lane stops at the summit. In the same place. On a three-lane-wide carriageway. A few years ago they modified the layout to try and avoid the risk of head on crashes. It still has the two overtaking lanes separated by only a double white line as both merge in. Get it wrong and you're over teh double white line and head on into the guy doing 80 the other way.
Speed is not the issue. Restrict people to 60mph and you have a collision speed of only 120mph, so obviously thats much safer than 160 mph. The obvious solution, and the one Plod advocated, was to cut both overtaking lanes short of the summit, have a full blown traffic island in the middle, and big separation between the lanes over the top.
There are other bad spots, such as the sweepy s-bends above Stocksbridge, but that could be solved by banning overtakes completely on this section. Its simple- if you can't see don't overtake. Its almost impossible to see far enough ahead on this bit, so double-white-line it. Speed cameras, and SPECS cameras especially are a bad idea. Leave the dangerous overtaking spots alone but add even more indecision to the mind of the driver? Are they mad? Why not go the whole hog and remove the white line completely a la Wiltshire?
Ian

[c2R]

<<The obvious solution, and the one Plod advocated, was to cut both overtaking lanes short of the summit, have a full blown traffic island in the middle, and big separation between the lanes over the top.>>
Yes, I've come across many places like this in France, where crawler lanes are extensively used on the national route network. Their solution seems to be to take one of the crawler lanes over the brow of the hill, and put a hatched zone of a few car lengths as well as having arrows telling drivers to merge back into their lane for about 300m before the point where the crawler lanes switch over. I would say that it works well, but as we all know, France's road safety record isn't that brilliant....
Chris.