19 December 2011
The Highways Agency is set to help people travelling during this year’s holiday period, with plans in place to complete more than 500 miles of roadworks on England’s motorways and trunk roads next week. The following information summarises the work being carried out this coming week. It is correct as of the above date but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.
NEW WORK
A47 KING’S LYNN SADDLEBOW INTERCHANGE RESURFACING WORK
Work to improve the carriageway surface of the Saddlebow Interchange on the A47 near King’s Lynn will take place over two nights on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 December. The work will be carried out between 9pm and 5am. On Monday 19 December eastbound traffic will follow a 50mph convoy from the A47 Pullover Roundabout to the start of the exit sliproad of Saddlebow interchange, then at 10mph through the works area and released at the entry sliproad to resume normal travel eastbound. On Tuesday 20 December on the westbound carriageway there will be a full closure of the A47/A10 Hardwick roundabout flyover with traffic diverted on to the Hardwick roundabout to follow a 50mph convoy to the start of works at Saddlebow where it will be reduced to a 10mph convoy and then released at the centre of the interchange to resume normal travel westbound. One lane of the eastbound carriageway will be closed on Tuesday night.
ONGOING WORK
M1 JUNCTION 10 TO 13 BEDFORDSHIRE GANTRY REMOVAL
Work continues overnight until Thursday 21 December on the M1 between junctions 10 and 12 to remove some of the gantries for remedial work that a number of them require. No work will take place on Sunday night. 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 up to 20 minutes while the gantry is unbolted and lifted down. This is expected to take place between midnight and 3am, when traffic flows are at their lowest. All lanes will be open by 6am on a weekday and Saturday and 8am on a Sunday. Drivers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys if using this section of the M1 overnight. At a date to be confirmed, the gantries will be reinstalled.
M11 ESSEX JUNCTIONS 7 – 8 OVERNIGHT CARRIAGEWAY REPAIRS
Work to repair cracks in the carriageway and carry out resurfacing started on Monday 5 December on both north and southbound carriageways of the M11 between junction 7 (Harlow) and junction 8 (Birchanger). The work will be carried out overnight between 10pm and 5am Mondays to Fridays and will involve lane closures and a 50mph speed restriction past the works area. Work continues for one night on the northbound carriageway on Monday 19 December, moving to the southbound carriageway for one night on Tuesday 20 December.
M1 J6a to J10 HERTFORDSHIRE SIGN INSTALLATION WORK
Work to install remote controlled signs for temporary traffic management on the central reservation of the M1 started on Monday 5 December. Installation of the signs, which will allow clearer warning of temporary lane closures for roadworks, will be carried out overnight on Monday nights only between 10pm and 5am for nine nights, with completion due in mid February. There will be no work carried out on Monday 12 and 26 December, and Monday 2 January 2012. While the overnight work is taking place there will be lane closures on the M1 between junction 6a and junction 9 (Harpenden).
M1 J10 TO J13 BEDFORDSHIRE HARD SHOULDER RUNNING SCHEME
The following work is being carried out 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. There will be overnight sliproad closures at Junctions 11 and 13 as follows:
Junction 11, Northbound entry sliproad: Monday 19 December.
Junction 13, Northbound exit sliproad: Monday 19 December.
Junction 11, Southbound exit sliproad: Thursday 22 December.
A rolling road block will also be in place for gantry removal – see above.
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 12, 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 November 2011. Between Junction 10 and 11 there are currently three lanes of traffic in each direction during the day utilising the hardshoulder, lane 1 and lane 2 to allow access to the works in the central reserve. There is a 50mph speed restriction in force 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.
A1 BEDS/HERTS DRAINAGE SYSTEM MAINTENANCE WORK
Work will be suspended during the holiday period to clean drainage to reduce flooding and survey the drainage system. The work will be carried out overnight only between 8pm and 6am on Mondays to Fridays until completion in late January. There will be lane closures and a 50 mph speed restriction in place during the lane closures. There will also be sliproad closures at the following locations: Edworth Turn southbound, Edworth Road northbound, Astwick Road, northbound, Hinxworth Turn southbound, Taylors Road northbound, Stotfold Road southbound and Wrayfields Road northbound. There will be clearly signed diversions for each sliproad closure.
A1 BEDFORDSHIRE RENEWAL OF LIGHTING COLUMNS
Work continues until Friday 23 December then will be suspended during the holiday period to replace the lighting columns and associated cabling between columns on the A1 between the Sandy Roundabout and Astwick. The work will take place overnight between 8pm and 6am, Mondays to Fridays only, until mid January with the third phase taking place from Monday 12 December through to Thursday 12 January. This phase will involve lane closures on both the north and southbound carriageways between Sandy Roundabout and the Biggleswade North roundabout.
A1 BLACK CAT ROUNDABOUT TO SANDY DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS
A scheme to repair and replace the existing drainage system and improve the ditch embankments on the A1 northbound between the Black Cat roundabout and Sandy started on Monday 5 December. The work will be carried out over 14 days with shifts between 7am and 4pm Mondays to Thursdays and between 7am and 1pm on Fridays. One lane of the northbound carriageway will be closed while the work is taking place.
SPEED LIMIT ON A1 SOUTHBOUND AND NORTHBOUND NEAR PETERBOROUGH
A 50mph speed restriction has been introduced on the southbound and northbound carriageway of the A1 at Water Newton for safety reasons.
A14 CAMBRIDGESHIRE DRAINAGE MAINTENANCE WORK
Work started on Monday 14 November on the A14 between St Ives (junction 26) and Fen Ditton (junction 34) to survey and cleanse the drainage system alongside the carriageway. The work will be carried out overnight only on Mondays to Fridays with lane closures and a 50mph speed restriction where the lane closures are in place. Sliproads will also be closed one at a time for one night only where the work is taking place. The work will take place over 27 nights with expected completion in January 2012. This work will be suspended during the holiday period.
A14 SUFFOLK SPEED RESTRICTION AT TRIMLEY INTERCHANGE
A 50mph speed restriction has been introduced on the eastbound and westbound carriageways of the A14 at Trimley Interchange (junction 59) while investigations are carried out on both nearside verges and central reservation.
A14/A12 COPDOCK INTERCHANGE & A14/A154 DOCK SPUR ROUNDABOUT IMPROVEMENTS
The traffic signals at both Copdock Interchange and the Dock Spur Roundabout are now operational and traffic management and speed restrictions have been removed. The timings of the signals have been subject to an initial review to minimize queuing and a further review will be undertaken once traffic flows have settled and road users are accustomed to the new road configuration. There will be occasional night time lane closures over the next few weeks at both junctions as necessary to complete outstanding works. 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.
A47 NORWICH - MAINTENANCE WORK ON POSTWICK INTERCHANGE
Work continues on a scheme to strengthen the embankment on the Postwick interchange (A47/A1042) on Monday 19 December during off peak daytime hours to remove the traffic management.
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