M1 roadworks (Leeds and Chesterfield)

[medusa 16]

yes they do, sometimes they need to be able to do things across the whole motorway. closing the motorway during a normal weekeday will cause far more disruption than doing it at night

 

 

I do understand that they need to close the motorway completely at times, but honestly, I must have had 20 journeys in the last 6 months which have come up against one of these closures and my sister has had a similar number, and as I said, one of them it was closed in 2 separate places only 10 miles apart, neither with a proper diversion signed.

 

If you're going to close the road and it's a planned closure then at least you can help out the thousands of people that the work is going to inconvenience with a few road signs.

[andyofborg 11]

What I don't understand is why when I drove along there one evening this summer there was only one lane open and they were demolishing the concrete central reservation that they had built only a few years ago. They've since rebuilt it.

 

What a waste.

 

there was a problem with some of the concrete - there is a thread about it somewhere

[tinfoilhat 11]

I do understand that they need to close the motorway completely at times, but honestly, I must have had 20 journeys in the last 6 months which have come up against one of these closures and my sister has had a similar number, and as I said, one of them it was closed in 2 separate places only 10 miles apart, neither with a proper diversion signed.

 

If you're going to close the road and it's a planned closure then at least you can help out the thousands of people that the work is going to inconvenience with a few road signs.

 

I understand why they have road closures - I get it. But please, for the love of God, tell my RAC app. Tell radio 2. Tell my sat nav. Tell someone. Don't let me just roll up to a junction only to find a no entry sign. They wouldn't get away with it during the day.

[cytine 40]

What exactly is a "Smart" motorway?

[Onthetyne 10]

They habe had to redo a fair few bits of the central reservation

[top4718 838]

It hasn't been that long I assure you. It's not even been three years. And it's not just doing a bit of resurfacing either. It's an upgrade to smart motorways which has involved more than you'd think. That said, it really should have been done by now.

 

You did have road works widening the m1 from 28 to 25 but that finished a few years ago.

 

It most certainly has been 3yrs.

[medusa 16]

I understand why they have road closures - I get it. But please, for the love of God, tell my RAC app. Tell radio 2. Tell my sat nav. Tell someone. Don't let me just roll up to a junction only to find a no entry sign. They wouldn't get away with it during the day.

 

Exactly! 8pm is not exactly late and there are still an awful lot of drivers on the motorway at that time, and all of them need to take their cars somewhere once you close the motorway.

[geared 306]

I thought the M1 roadworks south of Sheffield were nearer 30 miles?

 

I thought they started not long after Donnington services and continued all the way to the M1/M18 junction at Sheffield??

 

---------- Post added 24-09-2015 at 22:25 ----------

 

What exactly is a "Smart" motorway?

 

Like the M62 at rush hour between Leeds and Bradford.

They open up the hard shoulder and put in a 50 mph speed limit in some places.

 

You end up with 3 lanes doing 30mph and no-one in the hard shoulder lane where you can happily do 50 till a junction comes along.

[tinfoilhat 11]

It most certainly has been 3yrs.

 

That's interesting. I have some business interests at 29a. I timed it from my house in S21 (so I'm joining at jct 30). There were no roadworks or cameras on that stretch. That was April 7th 2013. The cameras and cones turned up not long after that (end of May, early June I think).

[Maldav 10]

the roadworks will have gone on monday

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/roadworks-to-be-removed-on-m1-in-yorkshire-and-the-east-midlands

 

So the Government makes a statement one day and lo and behold a section of the motorway is having the roadworks removed a day later. Doesn't this suggest they could have done this weeks ago, but only a kick up the backside has made them open this stretch fully.

 

Roadworks have been going on between junction 29 and 26 almost constantly for at least 6 years now, on one stretch or another, maybe a couple of months were free, I cant remember.

[ANGELFIRE1 10]

What exactly is a "Smart" motorway?

 

Simple answer, to install traffic lights on Motorway junctions and variable speed signs on the motorway itself. Designed to actually slow traffic down, which we are told actually speeds the motorway up. Insane, I would say so.

 

Angel1.

[cytine 40]

Thank you Geared and Angel. Does that mean they will also be adding humps and chicanes to keep traffic moving and make the motorway safer?