Why are the many more night road closures these days? Is it a safety thing? They’re becoming absolutely absurd. Even planning a completely different route will be fraught with closures. Though some are not too bad, other diversion routes are a joke, an absolute joke. Some of them are miles and miles. Is this not costing the industry silly amounts? I did 530 km last night instead of my usual 470. That must have cost £30 extra in diesel. Not to mention the extra time, which is not good for job-and-finish drivers. I saw a photo on here where some driver came up against a road closure on a diversion route, and so had a diversion within a diversion. Surely one lane can be kept open? Who is responsible for closing all these roads? Can they not be approached?
Soon, we won’t be able to do the job. Add all this silly strapping on top and a regular night trunk is slowly becoming a stressful 15 hour shift. We may have a safe country, but at what cost? Because currently it isn’t much fun to actually live in.
It’s stupid mate, I went to Swindon the other day, Peterborough park way (think it’s called Frank Perkins way) shut so divert all the way back to the A47, there was no warning at the A47 before turning off to save me 15/20 mins.
Then traveling down the A43, I come to a road closure, diverts me about 20 odd miles to come out about 2 miles further down the A43. A journey with a conservative eta of 3hrs 40mins drive turned into just backing on a bay with a minute to spare, on a 4hr 30min drive.
Another one, was on the way to Weston Super Mare, traveling down the A46 southbound from Grantham, got to the A605 junction and got diverted off, joined up with the A52, and diverted all the way to Jc 25 of the M1 because the A453 is shut at night, which added loads of time onto the journey meaning I couldn’t get to my delivery in one hit.
When the A14 westbound was shut between J1 and the M6/M1 a while ago, they were sending us up to J1, then off there and back along the A14 eastbound to J2, then off there and up through Market Harborough to Lutterworth. There was no warning that they would be doing this at J2, so the A14 was full of irritated lorry drivers all retracing their steps and chuntering to themselves.
Then later on when they closed it at J2, they were diverting traffic from J2 all the way back to Kettering and the A509, to go down to the A45 at Wellingborough and back to the M1 at Northampton. There was a big sign at J2 saying “No A14 traffic via Market Harborough”, which I chose to ignore. Well, there’s no weight limit and the only height limit diversion is well signposted … I didn’t see that there was any legal reason for me to obey the signs.
Anyway, the OP is right: the road closures are ridiculous nowadays.
Rhythm Thief:
when they closed it at J2, they were diverting traffic from J2 all the way back to Kettering and the A509, to go down to the A45 at Wellingborough and back to the M1 at Northampton.
That’s an outrageous diversion. That’s got to be well over an hour.
It’s the time of year also. Councils are spending every last penny of their budget so the get the same next year, you’ll notice temporary roadworks in virtually every town ATM too.
maga:
It’s the time of year also. Councils are spending every last penny of their budget so the get the same next year, you’ll notice temporary roadworks in virtually every town ATM too.
It’s not just the time of year it’s a permanent issue at nights nowadays. Take look at this lot the other night at 3am in the morning.
I have said it before the Highways Agency have become a standing joke amongst the overnight trunking companies.
How on earth you are supposed to run an efficient overnight time sensitive delivery business using the motorway network is beyond me it seem these last three years that the overnight closures on our major roads has got totally out of hand. The Highways Agency should be held accountable to some one but it seems that they are a law totally unto themselves.
Only the other week the M6 North was closed overnight in three separate locations 1 to 2, 3 to 4 and 15 to 16 all on the same night! If you remember not so long ago closures started at 10pm then they moved it forward to 9.30pm now its 9.00pm when the traffic flow is still very busy resulting in long tailbacks trying to get off in to one lane, its an absolute joke!
I email over 200 companies each week with the closures in my area (M1 J1-14) and also the M25 J23-27. This not only gives FULL closure info, but it also assisted Wigglesworth fighting TfL fines.
Anyone can sign up to receive daily bulletins from the HA. These list all works, lane closures etc and times.
Do you think these closures are implemented every night, just so road workers can risk their lives placing out traffic management, or get abused on a daily basis which ranges to being called every name you can think of, having bottles of ■■■■ thrown at them, to drivers deliberately swerving towards them??
Everyone moans about pot holes and poor road surfaces then moans because roads are closed.
maga:
It’s the time of year also. Councils are spending every last penny of their budget so the get the same next year, you’ll notice temporary roadworks in virtually every town ATM too.
Yes. Double yellow lines / road markings being repainted everywhere around here at the moment for exactly this reason. With hindsight I should have avoided this time of year to do C+E; one of the test routes is dug up for 13 weeks!
In fairness, I don’t think anyone is denying that the roads need maintaining, nor indeed that the night time is the least disruptive time to do this. But sometimes there seems to be a lack of joined up thinking. In the examples I quoted above, why was the diversion not signed at A14 J2, instead of letting drivers go all the way to J1 then have to double back on themselves? And (on a later occasion), why is it that sometimes both the A14 and the A45 - the obvious diversion route to the M1 south - are closed at the same time?
NewLad:
Another one, was on the way to Weston Super Mare, traveling down the A46 southbound from Grantham, got to the A605 junction and got diverted off, joined up with the A52, and diverted all the way to Jc 25 of the M1 because the A453 is shut at night, which added loads of time onto the journey meaning I couldn’t get to my delivery in one hit.
That diversion from the A46 should have been A46 → A606 to Melton Mowbray then the A607 toward Leicester, bring you back into the A46 at East Goscote, just before the big roundabout at Thurmaston.
NewLad:
Another one, was on the way to Weston Super Mare, traveling down the A46 southbound from Grantham, got to the A605 junction and got diverted off, joined up with the A52, and diverted all the way to Jc 25 of the M1 because the A453 is shut at night, which added loads of time onto the journey meaning I couldn’t get to my delivery in one hit.
That diversion from the A46 should have been A46 → A606 to Melton Mowbray then the A607 toward Leicester, bring you back into the A46 at East Goscote, just before the big roundabout at Thurmaston.
that’s the way it was last night 31-3-14 MM was coming back down from Newark.
He said there’s always some where on his route that has 2 or 3 even more diversions ’
Rhythm thief, you are correct. One night recently the M25 was closed, as usual, J23-25. The same night, the M25 was going to be closed J10-9 so any Southbound traffic, especially for Dover, had a diversion, whichever way they went. I believe the west section closure was postponed eventually!!
Was signs up last week M6 south closed J2-J1 charming as already been kicked off J6-J5 got closer no signs then last sign before J2 said it was closed and it wasnt sailed straight thro .
You cant go anywhere on the motorway now without seeing “this road will be shut from” signs as for central barrier work M6, M5, M1 they’re all at it
ezydriver:
Why are the many more night road closures these days? …which is not good for job-and-finish drivers.
Its probably better for the majority of the working population who are in bed of a night.
Maybe shutting them of a day and making the majority wait in queues so the job and finish night drivers can get done might be more of an option?
I see it as a bit of a challenge some times. Like to see if any of the route is closed and look for an alternative. Gives you options for later when theres accidents and stuff.
Catches you out sometimes tho, just last night gets to bottom of the A38 to find the A5 closed… no notification on the matrix beforehand… missed the posted diversion and on my way into Titan Wolves joined the Q down the road of drivers out of time
Just took me the best part of an hour to get from junc 13 to junc 12 on the M6 southbound all because of roadworks (well I say roadworks no one was working on them) and junc 12 exit was closed and what do they do? Put it down to one lane There was no ■■■■■■ working on the roadworks FFS!
Over the last 7 years of night trunking i have been diverted of every junction on the M5 between jCT 1 AND jCT31. I quite enjoy the feel of going a different way after months or weeks of going up and down the same route. Its nice to use the gearbox and brakes again , plus the extra time is usually paid at time and half so its not so much a bind for me as it could be for others
SteveBarnsleytrucker:
Just took me the best part of an hour to get from junc 13 to junc 12 on the M6 southbound all because of roadworks (well I say roadworks no one was working on them) and junc 12 exit was closed and what do they do? Put it down to one lane There was no [zb] working on the roadworks FFS!
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