Road building why are we so BAD at it?

Bennys_was_a_mob

Bennys_was_a_mob

Well-known member
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
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I agree 100% just can’t see it solving the traffic problems getting to/from M55.
Just can’t see the point in making a dual carriageway when both ends still merge into single carriageway’s. 🤷‍♂️
The only people benefitting from this when it’s all finished are the people living on mains lane where it will be a lot lot quieter.
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
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Didn't see any cones when I went from Cleveleys to South Ribble via Edith Rigby Way yesterday!

In fact, I didn't even see an ice cream van
 
The UK seems to have lost its way on Capital Projects. From local roads to HS2, via Scottish Ferries, we seem incapable of delivering anything on time at cost . Years ago, as a project mamanger at a vastly lower level, I was expected to, and did, deliver what was promised, when and at or below budget. I totally get that these are hugely more complex, but why can other countries deliver?

Is it planning authorities, H&S, poor budgeting, overoptimistic timescales to win contracts, corruption?

Irrespective of political parties, I think it is something which needs some serious investigation. Moving to a lower carbon economy needs big infrastructure projects, and we cannot afford, in the most literal sense, to see these stall and double in cost.
 
I always think that it is interesting that the construction materials and method of road building hasn’t changed in a couple of hundred years. We still haven’t found or created a material surface that doesn’t degrade as quickly.
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...

I wondered the same when I saw the coned off lanes, but they were actually just mowing the verges.

Health and safety mad
 
The obvious solution for Skippool was to go diagonally across to meet the motorway roundabout (avoiding Singleton village). From roundabout to roundabout. They’ve built a massive new junction with traffic lights which is already causing daily tailback chaos. They’ve rebuilt the Windy Harbour junction which was perfectly fine and didn’t need changing. They’ve built a massively over-engineered footbridge which nobody will ever use (when a pedestrian crossing would have sufficed). They’ve built the level of tarmac ridiculously high, for no obvious reason and the road slopes more than it should. Did nobody check it? No wonder they are over budget. Could have built the full bypass for the money they could have saved elsewhere.
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...
The roadworks outside Lidl at Poulton sum this thread up perfectly.
All last week the junction outside Lidl on Garstang road was coned off at Moorland road and 4 way temporary traffic lights were installed allowing about 4-5 cars at a time to go though it caused absolute chaos yet nothing at all happened not a single workman was seen all week after hundreds of complaints the council acted and made Cadent (sub contractors) remove the traffic lights on Friday just absolute madness.
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...
The Romans were pretty good at it
 
tangerine_neil said:
The obvious solution for Skippool was to go diagonally across to meet the motorway roundabout (avoiding Singleton village). From roundabout to roundabout. They’ve built a massive new junction with traffic lights which is already causing daily tailback chaos. They’ve rebuilt the Windy Harbour junction which was perfectly fine and didn’t need changing. They’ve built a massively over-engineered footbridge which nobody will ever use (when a pedestrian crossing would have sufficed). They’ve built the level of tarmac ridiculously high, for no obvious reason and the road slopes more than it should. Did nobody check it? No wonder they are over budget. Could have built the full bypass for the money they could have saved elsewhere.
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Before any works commenced, the head of the above project was questioned about how this would benefit Over Wyre traffic, given the route proposal.... the answer... “sorry madam where’s Over Wyre ?”😳
 
I don’t get why we’ve now got a complicated traffic light junction at river wyre? Is the whole point of roundabouts not to speed up traffic? If your coming up the breck towards river wyre pub it takes an age to get through when it’s busy…that’s before you get onto the new road bit which will likely just bottle neck at the other end and back up making little to no difference ….🤷‍♂️
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...
Absolutely spot on, I was thinking the same when stuck on said bypass off the M55. Why we can’t do more work at night is beyond me.
the amount of workers (lose term) on this new road through Poulton is a joke. Loads just stood around on their phones, chatting and very little work being done. Massively over budget and behind because of the lazy bastards being employed. The lack of work ethic in this country is embarrassing.
 
I'm at a loss with all these complicated roundabouts with confusing layouts & numerous traffic lights. Who in the right mind thinks they're an improvement. A simple roundabout that flows & is obvious works perfectly well. Whoever designed the new road J2 off the M55 want's shooting I've managed to take the ** wrong turn not once but 3 bloody times. I dread the next time I use it. These bizarre projects probably look great on a computer simulation. 🤬
 
Jaffa_The_Hut said:
The roadworks outside Lidl at Poulton sum this thread up perfectly.
All last week the junction outside Lidl on Garstang road was coned off at Moorland road and 4 way temporary traffic lights were installed allowing about 4-5 cars at a time to go though it caused absolute chaos yet nothing at all happened not a single workman was seen all week after hundreds of complaints the council acted and made Cadent (sub contractors) remove the traffic lights on Friday just absolute madness.
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That was madness last week. It took some of our office staff an hour just to get through Poulton.
 
911_Kirky said:
Absolutely spot on, I was thinking the same when stuck on said bypass off the M55. Why we can’t do more work at night is beyond me.
the amount of workers (lose term) on this new road through Poulton is a joke. Loads just stood around on their phones, chatting and very little work being done. Massively over budget and behind because of the lazy bastards being employed. The lack of work ethic in this country is embarrassing.
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I'm not surprised there's seemingly lack of work ethic, as by the time all the red tape is sorted out there's little enthusiasm left or much of the day.
 
911_Kirky said:
Absolutely spot on, I was thinking the same when stuck on said bypass off the M55. Why we can’t do more work at night is beyond me.
the amount of workers (lose term) on this new road through Poulton is a joke. Loads just stood around on their phones, chatting and very little work being done. Massively over budget and behind because of the lazy bastards being employed. The lack of work ethic in this country is embarrassing.
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Your last sentence hits the nail firmly on the head
 
  • Just for info, relevant, old post, from a while back...
Wrote to Highways England many moons before their Skippool to Norcross connection.
Suggested a flyover from entry to exit, with appropriate offshoots.
I mentioned a flyover would have had lower impact of works near residential areas versus a possible, two, 15 month roundabout constructions -
This could have kept local roads at Norcross areas running locally - no need for ridiculous traffic signalling & roundabout construction.
Norcross roundabout is now a crazy anathema but good luck when Skippool roundabout change begins.
I challenge anybody -
....Civil Engineer, Highway Planner : traffic Consultant : Architect :, etc.,..
....that maybe when the Skippool roundabout works have been completed, then, maybe a flyover would have been a more expedient option.
For info, I am not local to these projects, just a road user...
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...
Poor use of roundabouts and unnecessary traffic lights, where having them off is far more efficient, as shown at the Kirkham junction.

The roundabouts lanes are a bit sharp, meaning to stay in the lanes you have to slow right down or ignore the lines.

Also it was meant to be a 70mph road and they bottled it and wen to 50, which no-one sticks to.
 
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tangerine_neil said:
Another thing that annoys me: why reduce the M55 to two lanes alongside that new junction slip road?
Probably a cheaper option but it’s definitely more dangerous
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Totally agree, this is an absolutely ridiculous piece of road planning.
I've seen plenty of near misses with people on the inside lane suddenly realising they'll end up off the motorway and switching lanes without warning. There was absolutely no need for this, it's not like they didn't have the room is it 🤨. Like I said in the 1st post why are we so bloody crap at these things?
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Totally agree, this is an absolutely ridiculous piece of road planning.
I've seen plenty of near misses with people on the inside lane suddenly realising they'll end up off the motorway and switching lanes without warning. There was absolutely no need for this, it's not like they didn't have the room is it 🤨. Like I said in the 1st post why are we so bloody crap at these things?
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Exactly. They had enough room for a normal slipway and keep to 3 lanes. In the dark, I’ve seen loads of cars travelling incorrectly in the marked off lane and then suddenly veering in between the already bunched up traffic.
 
As I get older I get the thought that they actually do these ridiculous road planning ideas to deter people from bothering to drive.
It seems to have become more dangerous doing the right thing on the road nowadays, whether that's down to poor driving or stupid idiotic road designs, I do think there maybe alternate plans regarding all these shite roads in the future, and none of us will like it.
 
911_Kirky said:
Absolutely spot on, I was thinking the same when stuck on said bypass off the M55. Why we can’t do more work at night is beyond me.
the amount of workers (lose term) on this new road through Poulton is a joke. Loads just stood around on their phones, chatting and very little work being done. Massively over budget and behind because of the lazy bastards being employed. The lack of work ethic in this country is embarrassing.
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Privatised road building innit.

Bring back the British Transport Commission which ran roads, rail, canals, everything.
 
Screenshot_20231109-093211.png

From above..
"Regeneration in Blackpool is progressing well".

This is going well isn't it.....not!
This article is from June 2021 and High St. is still closed.
Priceless🤣
 
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Chunkylad said:
I always think that it is interesting that the construction materials and method of road building hasn’t changed in a couple of hundred years. We still haven’t found or created a material surface that doesn’t degrade as quickly.
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The road surfaces didn't degrade so quickly years ago because there was far less traffic on the road.
In the 'good old days' people actually used to use local and national transport networks, because on the whole, they worked!!
You've a situation now where instead of families having the one car and Dad was the taxi driver, or he let you drive it now and again if he trusted you, you have families where everyone who has passed their test has a car!!!
I remember down Henson Ave in the early 70's playing footy down the road as the only danger was the rag n bone man and he rode a horse and cart!!!
Now you can't can't see the bloody pavements either side as everything from fiat 500's to transit vans are parked down there☹️

It's not the road surfaces but the volume of traffic
 
Had to drive to ascot and back yesterday, no problems at all until I came to the lights, (I can’t remember the name) where the glass blowing place is. Stopped dead and crawled all the way to the Skipool lights
 
Bennys_was_a_mob said:
Why are we so bad at building roads in this country?
Local new road the Edith Rigby Way (off junction 2 M55) has been open for less than 6 months and the Northern route to Preston Docks is already half coned off. Surely before this road was opened that would have inspected the work and deemed it sufficient. Obviously not 🤨.
The Skippool to Windy Harbour bypass already 6 months overdue and massively over cost still looks a long way off finished. But the real question about this road (apart from the extortionate price) is what is it going to actually achieve?
The only real thing I can see is it'll get us to our next traffic jam at Windy Harbour quicker because it'll be a duel carriageway 🤔
We really are shit in this country at many such things.
Click to expand...
And the m6 smart motorway not ready til 2025 - and it’s not even that smart - in fact it’s more dangerous than it was before !
 
Wizzerboy said:
The road surfaces didn't degrade so quickly years ago because there was far less traffic on the road.
In the 'good old days' people actually used to use local and national transport networks, because on the whole, they worked!!
You've a situation now where instead of families having the one car and Dad was the taxi driver, or he let you drive it now and again if he trusted you, you have families where everyone who has passed their test has a car!!!
I remember down Henson Ave in the early 70's playing footy down the road as the only danger was the rag n bone man and he rode a horse and cart!!!
Now you can't can't see the bloody pavements either side as everything from fiat 500's to transit vans are parked down there☹️

It's not the road surfaces but the volume of traffic
Click to expand...
When you were a lad, if a car came up the road, there was a bloke walking in front of it waving a flag!🤣
 
Enjoyed reading about the £200M plus being spent on London roads repairs, bravo. The Department of Transport confirm it has come from the HS2 budget savings , badged levelling up the North

Anyone think the Civil Service is deliberately showing the Government up?
 
Wizzerboy said:
It's not the road surfaces but the volume of traffic
Click to expand...

According to a Canadian friend it is the surfaces. He's worked in the industry and says the roads over there last years and years and are done far quicker. The stuff they use here is of poorer, cheaper quality. Don't shoot the messenger just going off what he said.

RE Windy Harbour new bypass thingy. Not driven down it yet but Poulton and Thornton chat on Facebook has been an interesting read since it's been opened over the last few days🤣
 
Lewis_Winthorpe said:
According to a Canadian friend it is the surfaces. He's worked in the industry and says the roads over there last years and years and are done far quicker. The stuff they use here is of poorer, cheaper quality. Don't shoot the messenger just going off what he said.

RE Windy Harbour new bypass thingy. Not driven down it yet but Poulton and Thornton chat on Facebook has been an interesting read since it's been opened over the last few days🤣
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Not shooting anyone but having riden a bike and later driven a car in the 70's through the 90's I can honestly say I didn't see one pothole!

That's no to say there wasn't any but if you hit one you'd remember it as they were obviously few and far between.

I said it was in my opinion and I'll stick with that, that the volume of traffic must have something to do with the deterioration of road surfaces.
 
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