East of England Roadworks Update 20/05/2011
East of England Roadworks Update: Monday 23 – Sunday 29 May
NEW WORK
REMINDER – M1 J10 -J13 BEDFORDSHIRE GANTRY INSTALLATION Work will be carried out overnight on Saturday 21 May to install a gantry over the M1 between junctions 10 and 11. In order to carry out the work the traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction after 10pm. Once this has taken place Bedfordshire Police will start a rolling road block which will slow traffic down and bring it to a stop for approximately 20 minutes while the gantry is lifted and bolted into place. This is expected to take place between midnight and 3am, when traffic flows are at their lowest. The gantry is to be installed as part of the M1 J10 to J13 Managed Motorway scheme to provide additional capacity by opening up the hard shoulder as a running lane. Further gantries will be installed during June.
ROUTINE GRASS CUTTING MAINTENANCE ACROSS THE EAST OF ENGLAND
From Monday May 23 routine grass cutting of the verges and central reservations will be carried out on the A12(N) around Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the A47 in Norfolk. Routine grass cutting will continue throughout June and part of July across the trunk road network in the East of England. The work will be carried out overnight between 8pm and 6am on weekday nights with single lane closures past the works area.
A5 FLAMSTEAD RESURFACING WORK
A scheme to resurface sections of worn-out carriageway on the A5 between Chequers Hill and Friars Wash will start on Monday 23 May. The work will be carried out overnight between 8pm and 6am for four nights on both carriageways with convoy working in place through the works area.
A14 SUFFOLK IMPROVEMENTS AT COPDOCK AND DOCK SPUR INTERCHANGES
A scheme to improve the A14/A12 Copdock Interchange near Ipswich and the A14/A154 Dock Spur Roundabout at Felixstowe will start on Monday 23 May. The work will be carried out 24 hours a day and will continue for seven months. During the work a temporary 40mph speed limit will be in force at both junctions, with a 50mph speed limit on the junction approaches. At the southern exit from the Dock Spur roundabout the offside lane of the A14 will be closed. There will be lane closures in place most nights and on a limited number of nights there will be convoy working, with dates to be published once confirmed. The scheme has been designed to accommodate additional traffic generated by the Port of Felixstowe expansion and is being funded by the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company.
A5 MAINTENANCE WORK AT MILTON KEYNES
Overnight work to replace road studs and repaint road markings on the A5 will continue until Tuesday 24 May between the Sheep Lane roundabout and Hockliffe. A diversion route will be in place via the A4146 and A505 for southbound traffic and the A4012, A5130 and A421 for northbound traffic. All work will take place between 8pm and 6am.
ONGOING WORK
M1 MILTON KEYNES PARAPET REPLACEMENT
Work to replace existing parapets on three bridges over the M1 between junctions 13 and 15 near Milton Keynes started in January. The work is currently being carried out 24 hours a day on Brogborough Interchange (junction 13) with two lanes running, one in each direction. The work is due to be completed by early summer.
M1 J10 TO J13 BEDFORDSHIRE – HARD SHOULDER RUNNING SCHEME
There will be overnight entry sliproad closures on the northbound carriageway at junction 12 from Monday 23 through to Thursday 26 May.
A contraflow is in operation on the M1 between Junctions 12 and 13. During peak hours three lanes will remain open in both directions. A contraflow remains in operation from north of Junction 11 to Junction 10, diverting a lane of southbound traffic onto the northbound carriageway. Traffic on the northbound carriageway is using the hard shoulder as an additional lane. This allows for three lanes of traffic in each direction during the day whilst work takes place. This will continue until July 2011. There are currently hard shoulder closures between Junctions 11 and 12, with a speed restriction of 50 mph. This 50mph speed restriction is now in place 24 hours a day between Junctions 10 and 13. The enforced 50mph speed limit is there for the safety of the travelling public and the workforce on site. This traffic management is in place for the work on the Hard Shoulder Running scheme to reduce congestion and improve safety on the 15 mile stretch of the M1 in Bedfordshire. Motorists are advised to allow extra time for their journeys whilst the road works are taking place.
A14 SUFFOLK – A14 CORRIDOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SCHEME UPDATE
Work to install the final stage of the £70m jam-busting technology project for the A14 began in Needham Market in September. The project will see an electronic messaging system operating from the M1 at Catthorpe in Leicestershire through to the Port of Felixstowe. The final stage covers from Needham Market to Felixstowe. Commissioning of the signs and traffic detectors has commenced. The public may notice some of the signs being switched on during this period, they may display ‘sign under test’ or a message stating ‘workforce in road’ with its associated pictogram while testing takes place. It is anticipated that system will be fully commissioned by the end of June. One further total road closure is anticipated to install the final sign. The date of this is yet to be confirmed.
The technology will benefit road users by providing them with advanced warnings of queuing or stationery traffic ahead. The signs will also provide information about expected journey times and information on diversions when they are necessary. The use of CCTV cameras will provide information to help improve traffic flow and monitor major incidents including improving response times to incidents by the emergency services.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Issued by COI News and PR East on behalf of the Highways Agency. For further information please contact Jenny Thompson 01223 370784 or Karen Dowle 01223 370786. Media enquiries out of hours should be made to the Highways Agency National Press Office (24hrs) on 0207 081 7443.
The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England’s motorways and other strategic roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Maintenance and improvement projects: We plan maintenance and improvement projects carefully to allow road works to be completed safely, in a cost effective way while keeping disruption to road users to a minimum. We do as much work as possible overnight and when roads are less busy in order to keep more lanes open for road users at peak travel times. Drivers are advised to check their route for road works and allow extra time for their journeys where needed. We have a variety of journey planning tools that road users can use to check travel conditions on the roads we manage, and we will do all we can to keep road users informed.
Safety at roadworks: The Highways Agency is working with the industry and road users to reduce the risks of working on the roads. For the safety of road workers and all road users, when you are approaching roadworks:
- Keep within the speed limit – it is there for your safety.
- Get into the correct lane in good time – don’t keep switching.
- Concentrate on the road ahead, not the roadworks.
- Be alert for works’ traffic leaving or entering roadworks.
- Keep a safe distance – there could be queues in front.
- Observe all signs – they are there to help you.
Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and other strategic roads is available:
- From the web at www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or www.highways.gov.uk/mobile if using a phone or mobile device.
- By phone from the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 at any time. (Calls to 0300 numbers will cost no more than 5p per minute from a standard BT residential landline. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary, but will be no more than a standard geographic call and will be included in all inclusive minutes and discount schemes).
- Before using any mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency. Make sure it’s safe and legal before you call.
- From our Traffic Radio service, available on DAB digital radio and the internet at www.trafficradio.org.uk To tune into the DAB service, simply press the “scan” button on your radio. The radio will tune into all available channels and you can select the new service by scrolling through the channels until you reach “Traffic Radio”.
Receive our national and regional press releases by RSS and get the latest headlines straight to your desktop the moment we publish them to our website. Choose to receive a national press feed or one of our regionalised feeds – go to www.highways.gov.uk/rssnews for more information.
Issued by COI News and PR East on behalf of the Highways Agency. For further information please contact Jenny Thompson 01223 370784 or Karen Dowle 01223 370786. Media enquiries out of hours should be made to the Highways Agency National Press Office (24hrs) on 0207 081 7443.
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