[GB] Motorways in the United Kingdom

[GrubyNH]

A1 Newry Bypass - Beech Hill to Cloghogue
Photos by Aubrey Dale


Drainage being installed along part of the new road near canrbane ind. est.


The bridge that will carry the new A1 over Tandragee Road


The twin carraigeways of the future A1 very evident looking south from what will be Carnbane junction


Cloghogue roundabout seen looking towards Dublin


Tandragee Road bridge carrying the future A1, seen from Carnbane


View north from the railway station


View south from the railway station

[Mateusz]

Recently I drove on M1 up North and widening goes on in many places. Widened sections are much more comfortable to drive than those 2X3

[Cosmin]

Is there a thread here specifically for A roads? I love A roads.

[jandeczentar]

A-Roads are rubbish. I should know, I live right next to one. It has the traffic volume of a motorway but is only 2x2 lanes and has no hard shoulders. It also has crap junctions all along its route. Slip-roads are too short, too close together or, in some cases, non-existant. Some are just basic T-junctions with "Give Way" signs at the end. That's no way to join a carriageway of fast moving traffic (not safely anyway). However, because it is an A-Road and not a Motorway there is no legal imperative to do anything about it. Major A-Roads, in my experience, are just Motorways that carry the same volume but are built cheaper and crapier.

[geogregor]

Originally Posted by jandeczentar

Major A-Roads, in my experience, are just Motorways that carry the same volume but are built cheaper and crapier.

Well, this is also A-road, can't see huge volume of traffic.

[jandeczentar]

Perhaps you're looking at the wrong A-Road. This is the A12 in Essex. Unusually, it has a hard-shoulder, at least down one carriageway.





The problem with A-Roads is that there is a vast disparity between different types but they are all governed by the same rules. If it was up to me (which it isn't unfortunately) I would make large, inter-city A-Roads (eg. A3, A14) subject to the same laws as motorways, as should have been done decades ago when Britain's road strategy was first being planned.

In the event that the images don't appear, here are the URL's.

http://img38.imageshack.us/i/pd2385892.jpg/

http://img38.imageshack.us/i/pd2385891.jpg/

[Mateusz]

Originally Posted by jandeczentar

A-Roads are rubbish. I should know, I live right next to one. It has the traffic volume of a motorway but is only 2x2 lanes and has no hard shoulders. It also has crap junctions all along its route. Slip-roads are too short, too close together or, in some cases, non-existant. Some are just basic T-junctions with "Give Way" signs at the end. That's no way to join a carriageway of fast moving traffic (not safely anyway). However, because it is an A-Road and not a Motorway there is no legal imperative to do anything about it. Major A-Roads, in my experience, are just Motorways that carry the same volume but are built cheaper and crapier.

A1 has a really bad traffic Should be widenend and converted to motorway but thats rather impossible because there is not enough space for that, close to settlements etc.

[GrubyNH]

Map of a section under construction
http://roadimprovements.roadsni.gov...._cloghogue.pdf

Information about junctions
http://applications.drdni.gov.uk/pub...sp?docid=14394


We start from Belfast direction to Dublin

Sheepbridge Junction























Bridge over Newry River and Tandragee Road A27
















Carnbane Junction














Bridge over Bessbrook River







Craigmore Viaduct







Camlough Road Junction


















Next part will be soon

[Comfortably Numb]

Nice. This basically looks like a motorway, complete with hard shoulder. I see it becoming the A1(M) at some point

[Highwaycrazy]

Originally Posted by GrubyNH

Map of a section under construction
http://roadimprovements.roadsni.gov...._cloghogue.pdf

Information about junctions
http://applications.drdni.gov.uk/pub...sp?docid=14394


We start from Belfast direction to Dublin

Sheepbridge Junction




:

LOL, Look at their spelling of Downpatrick on the sign

And people thought the UK government gets everything perfect..!

[andrelot]

Each new small strecht of motorway is a win of rationality of NIMBYsm and BANANA-ism.

[DanielFigFoz]

The Northen Irish photos are very intersting. Is heavy congeston expected?

[ChrisZwolle]

Today it's 44 years ago a speed limit was introduced in the United Kingdom: 70 mph on motorways and rural roads. Before that, there was no speed limit.

[Danielk2]

So, in the years before 1965, there was no speed limit anywhere in the UK??

[scragend]

Originally Posted by Danielk2

So, in the years before 1965, there was no speed limit anywhere in the UK??

Since 1934 the speed limit has been 30 mph in built-up areas, but there was no limit on other roads until 1965.

[ChrisZwolle]

Originally Posted by Danielk2

So, in the years before 1965, there was no speed limit anywhere in the UK??

In 1957, a 30 mph (50km/h) speed limit was introduced within city limits in the Netherlands. A 60 mph (100 km/h) speed limit was introduced in 1974 on motorways.

So the first speed limit in the Netherlands on motorways was introduced 9 years after the British speed limit came into effect. Prior to 1974, the Dutch motorways had no speed limit.

[DanielFigFoz]

During late Victorian times, the speed limit was 5 or so.

[Danielk2]

5 mph?? damn that's slow! Actually, i've seen lower. In Poland, at the D/PL border Crossing from Germany. The speed limit for trucks when there's water on the road is 5km/h (3mph).

[Kjello0]

From Wiki,
The first maximum speed limit was the 10 mph (16 km/h) limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861.

The first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK was Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent. On January 28, 1896 he was fined for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h). He was fined 1 shilling plus costs.

[poshbakerloo]

LMAO!!!