SteveBarnsleytrucker:
How much are the lads on who work on the recovery who doss in a caravan and maybe go out to a breakdown maybe twice a week?
I did that about 3 or 4 years back. I lived on the Tinsley viaduct for 8 weeks, the M18 for 6 weeks and just off the h/s A1 M southbound for 2 weeks. I did probably 15 jobs in all that time and was on £90 per day, 7 days a week regardless of how many or how few hours I did.
Hopefully they’ve binned that expensive cash cowtype of working off now to cut costs, There’s enough rota garage operators in the area to be there quick + the TO’s to shift a breakdown out of the way quicker which didn’t happen in the good old days
When the lads on the M56 were in the caravan they had at least 2 vehicles crashed that went through the cones and nearly took the blokes out sleeping in the vans they ended up putting up concrete barriers behind the vans.
Armagedon:
3 Years to do a 17 mile stretch,they’re having a laugh.An article I wrote for Commercial Motor,not yet printed,was based on my belief that the
Fraud Squad should investigate the relationship between the Highways Agency and Road Contractors this is just more evidence.
There’s over 5 different main contractors and joint ventures splitting the scheme between them which will be subcontracted down and down.
I was in London the other week with a contractor who moaned they couldn’t even compete with the price that won the contract, the only problem is now the winning contractor has cut resources and cannot really do the work so everything takes longer to reopen the motorway.
the maoster:
Good point. Especially when you consider that a few years back after an earthquake the Japanese completely reconstructed a full motorway in under a week, and that included destroyed elevated sections too!
There only working 8 hrs a day overnight I suppose they could triple the workforce, close lanes during the peak periods rather than just doing nights and have it done in a year ?
I wonder how much traffic was going past when works were going on in Japan ?
I noticed a bitumen tanker spill on the M6 a few years ago from the bitumen being cool enough to shift the truck it took about 3 and a half hrs to plane, resurface and white line 7 lanes of carriageway over about 200m and repair all the central res and clear the drains, I thought that was pretty good going,
I don’t think they have that capability any more due to constant contract cost cutting.
I have no doubt that you are totally correct about it all being down to price Speedyguy, and I also have no doubt that we possess in this country the necessary skills to complete these works in a fraction of the time currently taken. You do have to question however the stupidity and lack of foresight of those in charge when everything comes down to the cheapest common denominator when we are constantly told how much traffic delays costs British industry per annum. Not really joined up thinking is it?
the maoster:
You do have to question however the stupidity and lack of foresight of those in charge
I try every day there is a large hole in my desk now where I smash my head on it everyday
the maoster:
when everything comes down to the cheapest common denominator when we are constantly told how much traffic delays costs British industry per annum. Not really joined up thinking is it?
But that’s what everyone wants the cheapest ?,
A few months ago on here sometime posted a screenshot of the closures on the HA network at night asking how you are supposed to trunk around it,
I have used it recently and posed the question, we’ll see what response I get, if any
It will probably be something like short term pain for long term gain
I suppose it’s a bit like closing the railways over bank holidays to do works when people want to travel but the railways are much quieter, someone somewhere loses out but they don’t see the overall bigger picture ?
moomooland:
Well here we go again just when you thought you had a clear run across the M62.
17 miles of roadworks with 50mph limit for the next three years between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale.
Thats all we need!!!
Seventeen miles travelling around 50mph will take in the region of 20 minutes. You are down on travelling at 56mph by about 10 percent. By my reckoning that is only going to add two or three minutes onto a journey time at the lower speed?
moomooland:
Well here we go again just when you thought you had a clear run across the M62.
17 miles of roadworks with 50mph limit for the next three years between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale.
Thats all we need!!!
Seventeen miles travelling around 50mph will take in the region of 20 minutes. You are down on travelling at 56mph by about 10 percent. By my reckoning that is only going to add two or three minutes onto a journey time at the lower speed?
I very much doubt you’ll be doing 50mph for the 17 miles on that stretch of road when the roadworks are on it’s like a car park every day at morning and evening rush hour anyway the roadworks will just make it worse with all the breakdowns and accidents that usually happen in them.
Slightly off subject, but still the same moan i guess. What is happening on the M5 at Junction 4 southbound, where you are reduced to 40mph then about 1 mile later you are up to 50mph. It is certainly confusing some car drivers. In total that is almost 10 miles of roadworks between junction 4 to just before junction 6!
Thank ■■■■ i’m working nights these days Although there will doubtless be endless night closures.
I don’t know the ins and outs of motorway engineering and whatever, but i’d love for somebody in the know to explain why it takes so long. Maybe, just maybe, one day we’ll be able to do a decent motorway journey in this country without running into a blasted 50mph zone.
An incredible lot of work is involved. The H/S was never designed to take constant heavy use, and as anyone who has passed that on the M5 recently, the H/S has been completely dug up and remade, right from the very base. All the drains need to be removed and re-sited, all the present electrical cabling plus the future cabling involved needs to be accommodated. New refuge area’s need to be made, along with new SOS boxes & wiring, New barriers need to be installed, bankings may need to be strengthened or cut back depending on if they are a supporting bank etc. The central barrier & reservation will be completely dug up and a new concrete barrier installed along with surface water drains, New signal gantries & signals plus CCTV needs to be installed, over bridges may need to be lifted. Entry & Exit sliproads will probably need re-configuring.
The real Biffo:
An incredible lot of work is involved. The H/S was never designed to take constant heavy use, and as anyone who has passed that on the M5 recently, the H/S has been completely dug up and remade, right from the very base. All the drains need to be removed and re-sited, all the present electrical cabling plus the future cabling involved needs to be accommodated. New refuge area’s need to be made, along with new SOS boxes & wiring, New barriers need to be installed, bankings may need to be strengthened or cut back depending on if they are a supporting bank etc. The central barrier & reservation will be completely dug up and a new concrete barrier installed along with surface water drains, New signal gantries & signals plus CCTV needs to be installed, over bridges may need to be lifted. Entry & Exit sliproads will probably need re-configuring.
Cheers. I figured there might be loads going on that’s not entirely visible from our average speed check misery as we pass.
Just feels like an awful lot of faffing about over a scheme that in my experience, doesn’t particularly work that well or improve journey times that considerably. As a regular user of the M60 in this area, it does need some junction improvements made around the Eccles Interchange without doubt so I do welcome action being taken. Whether there is any need for an all singing & dancing ‘smart motorway’ & all the expense that goes with it is something i’m not so sure about.
One more thing… what is the crack with the speed cameras inside the gantries through the variable speed limits? Gotta be honest, I have gone through ones unnecessarily reading 40/50 when the roads clear and not been flashed yet. Are they active?
Armagedon:
3 Years to do a 17 mile stretch,they’re having a laugh.An article I wrote for Commercial Motor,not yet printed,was based on my belief that the
Fraud Squad should investigate the relationship between the Highways Agency and Road Contractors this is just more evidence.
Glad im not the only one who has always thought this.
You got to laugh havent you.You pay your road tax to keep the big lumbering pieces of crap rolling up and down our motorways(which do most of the road damage) then the stupid moaning buggers bleat when they have to repair the roads they chew up!
Why cart containers from Felixstowe to Manchester by road when you could do it by train cheaper,reduce road damage and stop these bleating bloody truck drivers whining about all the bloody road works.
Just put the buggers on the dole and free up the highways,
Bking:
You got to laugh havent you.You pay your road tax to keep the big lumbering pieces of crap rolling up and down our motorways(which do most of the road damage) then the stupid moaning buggers bleat when they have to repair the roads they chew up!
Why cart containers from Felixstowe to Manchester by road when you could do it by train cheaper,reduce road damage and stop these bleating bloody truck drivers whining about all the bloody road works.
Just put the buggers on the dole and free up the highways,
■■■■■■ yeah chuck us all on the dole, free up the highways and see how it goes with no supplies getting through to supermarkets etc. Oh and the last time I checked we didn’t have railway sidings in every town,city and next to Tescos, Asda and Morrisons how would you get your containers off the train and to the RDC’S and Supermarkets?
Maybe we could replace trucks all together and get about 20 transit vans to do the work of one truck, how’s that sound?
Bking:
Why cart containers from Felixstowe to Manchester by road when you could do it by train cheaper,reduce road damage and stop these bleating bloody truck drivers whining about all the bloody road works.
A lot of freight DID used to travel by rail, but started to fall into decline in the late 1950’s due to competition from the road transport industry. The Beeching cuts in the 1960’s resulted in many rail lines being closed, with an even bigger reduction in rail freight.
In the meantime road traffic has increased dramatically with the increase on car ownership and the fact that people commute further to work than they ever did. Children being driven to school rather than walking and everyone driving all over the place to do their shopping. The road networks as a result end up choked with traffic in many areas with far more wear and tear on the roads than was ever intended. As a result of all this, the congestion, the endless roadworks and subsequent delays are only ever going to get worse in the future.
Bking:
You got to laugh havent you.You pay your road tax to keep the big lumbering pieces of crap rolling up and down our motorways(which do most of the road damage) then the stupid moaning buggers bleat when they have to repair the roads they chew up!
Why cart containers from Felixstowe to Manchester by road when you could do it by train cheaper,reduce road damage and stop these bleating bloody truck drivers whining about all the bloody road works.
Just put the buggers on the dole and free up the highways,
When was this anything to do with road damage caused by trucks? The works are happening to increase capacity/improve traffic flow on the motorway due to the vast increase in largely car traffic over the years. Sit in the bottle neck on the M60W on the approach to the M62 and count the number of cars vs trucks… removing the trucks from the equation would hardly solve the problem.
I’m all for getting freight onto the railways where possible, but if they built a train line that ran from Felixstowe - Manchester the containers would still need moving onto customers premises from the hub. This movement will always largely require a truck going on the road & that truck will in all likelihood need to use the M60.
Although there will doubtless be endless night closures. 
