Unbuilt Roads that would be useful today.

[Bletchleyite]

Give me a ring road anyday.

Though some are a bit useless, e.g. I find it is always quicker to go through Bicester than round the ring road.

A motorway instead of the A50 is an interesting idea, it might well have rendered the M6 Toll unnecessary.

 

[S&CLER]

This map of a once-proposed ultimate layout at Switch Island was posted on SABRE by Steven:

File:Maghull interchange.jpg - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki

www.sabre-roads.org.uk

That's fascinating, thanks for posting it. It seems the M58 would have used the old Southport and Cheshire Lines embankment alongside Old Roan station.

 

[Factotum]

An A6 High Lane and Disley bypass would be very useful but I doubt that will ever happen.

The A6 Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge bypass has not reduced traffic in those towns.

 

[ABB125]

The A6 Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge bypass has not reduced traffic in those towns.

How much new, car-dependent housing has been built on the old road though?

 

[Acfb]

The A6 Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge bypass has not reduced traffic in those towns.

I spend a lot of time in Whaley Bridge and am well aware of that. Traffic will get worse due to the new houses up near Taxal. My point though was just about Disley and High Lane in particular where traffic can be bad late afternoon and especially when there's roadworks. There are also more HGVs than ever (Lomas vehicles etc).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Is it only the North West which has its "bypasses" running right through the middle of towns? Macclesfield being another example?

The original Ossett bypass in West Yorkshire is very built up now, but that's because the town outgrew it. A second, more substantial dual-carriageway bypass was added later- known locally as "The Mad Mile".

 

[Titfield]

Newbury bypass?

Bournemouth has an atrocious road network, a direct link between Purewell and Cooper Dean would take much traffic off Barrack Rd and Iford, but the council propose to make matters worse by narrowing the existing road to create a cyclepath on either side

It would be fascinating to have some sort of size / density of population to provision of dual carriageway ratio.

My gut feel tells me that the BCP Conurbation (Bmth Christchurch Poole Council area) would have one of the worst ratios in the uk.

As 341o2 has stated the road network in Bournemouth is atrocious.

It is hard to define just what the problem is other than there simply arent enough dual carriageways with grade separated junctions. Many of the roads are A roads punctuated by frequent traffic lights and or roundabouts.

A classic example of the poor provision is the Wessex way (dual carriageway) to becomes a single carriageway at Cambridge road, round the back of Westbourne and then ends at County gates. Going west it is through Branksome and Upper Parkstone which is just a standard road.

 

[silverfoxcc]

The extension of the A329M, cutting the SW corner of the M25. The Pathetic Motorways website is quite a good source of info on what might have been, good or bad, as is the Map Men video on Londons mainly never built ringways

If you look at the map ,you will notice that as the A329 goes over the A3290 the road takes a nice curve. I was assured by a friend that this was built to accommodate the proposed M4/A329M/M3 link to join up with the M3 either at much rebuilt J3 or a proposed J3A a bit further south. Great thinking by the brain dead, then and now, road planners who look after that part of the UK as they didn't take into account that a lot of it would take up a huge part of the Crown Estate. Since there has been substantial new home build at the edge of it, the idea has now died a natural BFC puts 24/7 lights on roundabouts that should really have peak hour use only. then redesign said roundabout to stop traffic rear ending those heading from the minor roads and getting caught up with the lights. PLUS it is really non eco friendly to sit there waiting for a two minute cycle of lights and not see another vehicle. Road planners i would shoot the lot , like high rise architects they do not live near the chaos they create, and dont get me started on so called smart motorways and breathe ..... lol

 

[bramling]

You'd have though by now that National Highways would know that. Oh wait, that assumes NH is a logical organisation which learns from best practice etc...

A prime example of this is the M25/A3 junction. Currently a 3-level roundabout with traffic lights, the preferred upgrade is... a slightly bigger 3-level roundabout with traffic lights. What an imaginative idea! It'll definitely solve all the problems...

This is an interesting point. Round here (Hertfordshire) there’s been the ongoing saga of the Welwyn-Stevenage section of the A1M, which is, except for some tinkering with markings, unchanged since the 1980s despite carrying more and more vehicles. Covid has given it a bit of respite, but before that it was essentially a black spot, when barely a week passing without at least one serious accident, and gridlock to the whole surrounding area in the event of the slightest problem.

In this instance I suspect widening wouldn’t totally remove the issues, as what would happen is a lot of traffic which currently avoids the motorway by way of other routes, including country lanes, would simply revert to the motorway.

There might be a slight improvement where for example at the moment there are regular holdups simply because a 2-Lane motorway can’t cope with the volume of joining traffic, but without some works to surrounding roads layouts these would simply become the limiting factor. No point enhancing the capacity of a motorway if the surrounding roundabouts can’t take the traffic.

Having said all that, they should just get in with widening this section, one way or other it needs it. It should be a proper widening too, not just a smart conversion, but I bet the latter is what will happen.

 

[Bald Rick]

Having said all that, they should just get in with widening this section, one way or other it needs it. It should be a proper widening too, not just a smart conversion, but I bet the latter is what will happen.

the latter is certainly what is proposed in the Roads Investment Strategy (2), subject to the ‘pause’ to assess Smart Motorways.

 

[bramling]

the latter is certainly what is proposed in the Roads Investment Strategy (2), subject to the ‘pause’ to assess Smart Motorways.

It will be another case where the slightest breakdown will cause issues, and probably back to one or more serious accidents per week.

But for John Prescott and New Labour in the late 90s, this section would no doubt already be widened.

 

[ABB125]

But for John Prescott and New Labour in the late 90s, this section would no doubt already be widened.

As would the whole of the rest of the A1. I believe the plan in "Roads to Prosperity" was a full upgrade to motorway for the entire A1. The only legacy of that plan is the A1(M) Huntingdon-Peterborough bit.

 

[Bald Rick]

The only legacy of that plan is the A1(M) Huntingdon-Peterborough bit.

not forgetting the majority of the A1(M) north of Darrington.

 

[ABB125]

not forgetting the majority of the A1(M) north of Darrington.

Is the (fairly recent) A1(M) in Yorkshire pretty much the same as was planned (assuming there were plans!) in the "we will turn it into a motorway" Roads for Prosperity era? It's certainly been built in a rather piecemeal way, which I doubt was the RfP plan!

 

[bramling]

not forgetting the majority of the A1(M) north of Darrington.

One presumes that *any* upgrading to the remaining non-motorway A1 between Baldock and Ferrybridge is now essentially off the agenda? Apart from Black Cat of course.

I’ve mixed thoughts on this, as being honest I do quite like the A1 as it is, especially now a lot of the flat junctions have been blocked off. My only gripe is the amount of lorries around the Doncaster area, which is something which needs addressing. Removal of the remaining roundabouts at the London end would also be nice.

 

[ABB125]

One presumes that *any* upgrading to the remaining non-motorway A1 between Baldock and Ferrybridge is now essentially off the agenda? Apart from Black Cat of course.

I’ve mixed thoughts on this, as being honest I do quite like the A1 as it is, especially now a lot of the flat junctions have been blocked off. My only gripe is the amount of lorries around the Doncaster area, which is something which needs addressing. Removal of the remaining roundabouts at the London end would also be nice.

The Doncaster bypass and remaining non-motorway bit of the A1 north thereof are due to be upgraded and widened in the coming years (though how it will be done, especially with some bits of the Doncaster bypass, remains to be seen!).
Other than that, I'm not aware of any further upgrades (bar a few relatively minor dualling schemes in Northumberland).

 

[Bald Rick]

Is the (fairly recent) A1(M) in Yorkshire pretty much the same as was planned (assuming there were plans!) in the "we will turn it into a motorway" Roads for Prosperity era? It's certainly been built in a rather piecemeal way, which I doubt was the RfP plan!

yes, pretty much. And almost all motorways were built piecemeal. I went on the M25 on the day it opened … 4 times!

 

[snowball]

Roads for Prosperity was a burst of enthusiasm, never a credible, costed, scheduled plan. It was subject to several rounds of cutbacks over the next few years of Tory governments before a further round when Labour came in.

 

[DM352]

M23 to Croydon, perhaps using more tunnels than what was planned

 

[Mikey C]

There's a collection of 136 articles about unbuilt roads on the SABRE (Society of All British Road Enthusiasts) website. Some may have been more useful than others!

Stirling Corner Link - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki

www.sabre-roads.org.uk

This would definitely have been really useful, as a major flaw of the M1 is that south of Watford it's impossible for traffic to enter it southbound, and as a result it's underused, with all the traffic going along the inadequate A1/A41 multiplex through Mill Hill.

 

[Bald Rick]

Stirling Corner Link - Roader's Digest: The SABRE Wiki

www.sabre-roads.org.uk

This would definitely have been really useful, as a major flaw of the M1 is that south of Watford it's impossible for traffic to enter it southbound, and as a result it's underused, with all the traffic going along the inadequate A1/A41 multiplex through Mill Hill.

small matter of a 40 metre height difference to be resolved within about 7-800m, ie a gradient of 5%+. Not insurmountable, but highly unusual on the strategic road network (nominal maximum is 3%)

 

[nlogax]

I do wish the full M31 had been built, and not just the vaguely ok five mile stretch between Bracknell and s/e of Reading commonly known as the A329(M). Back in times when I was commuting between the Thames valley and SW London getting on or off the M3 at Jct 3 was a nightmare.

 

[Mikey C]

small matter of a 40 metre height difference to be resolved within about 7-800m, ie a gradient of 5%+. Not insurmountable, but highly unusual on the strategic road network (nominal maximum is 3%)

Indeed that is a major issue, and it also would require a very expensive tunnel under the woods!

But the thread wasn't about practicality or value for money

 

[ABB125]

But the thread wasn't about practicality or value for money

In which case, bring on the Ringways!

(I can't remember if I've mentioned this before.)

 

[Meerkat]

The extension of the A329M, cutting the SW corner of the M25. The Pathetic Motorways website is quite a good source of info on what might have been, good or bad, as is the Map Men video on Londons mainly never built ringways

The M31 proposal looks utterly laughable now considering what it would carve through, but would be unbelievably useful - bypassing one of the worst bits of the M25 and cutting a big corner off.

 

[tspaul26]

Having said all that, they should just get in with widening this section, one way or other it needs it.

One more lane will fix it…

Would closing some roads help then?

If so, which ones?

Closing roads can help, yes. It is a phenomenon referred to as Braess’s Paradox.

Potentially Blackfriars Bridge in London.

This paper explains in more detail.