Nightime Roadworks

Pumpwater · 28th March 2018, 21:49

Last night I was visiting my son in Sheffield & returned to Durham in the evening, set off about 8pm after a long day, tired, fed up & wanting to be home, drink in hand, feet up you know what I mean.

The A1 was busy & we were first thrown off the motorway at Catterick, nose to tail through all the little villages & quaint pubs & ended up at Scotch Corner roundabout & desperate for a pee called in the services. Sigh of relief back on to the motorway only to be diverted off at Darlington, all round the suburbs & back on at the A68 junction.

Two junctions further on it was coned off & we were all on the hard shoulder, luckily traffic was lighter so not too bad. Finally home at 10.30pm, about 45mins delayed.

OK rant over! but just a warning, if anyone thinks they can dodge the daytime traffic by setting off overnight it's best to check, it's not always an advantage

Mike Noc · 29th March 2018, 07:40

I regularly travel long distance at night, and more often than not get held up by roadworks - multiple sets on bad nights.

Back in the day it was great to drive at night with little traffic to contend with, but not anymore.

steve-45 · 29th March 2018, 07:45

A local stretch of Dual Carriageway has been undergoing resurfacing. This is a main route out of London and when do they close it?

From 7pm to 1am, this has been going on for over a month.

Why not work until maybe 4am or 5am then you could reduce the closure period by half, or maybe move the existing hours back by 3 hours so there would be less traffic about?

planenut · 29th March 2018, 07:58

When I was a kid, along with three other families we'd travel during the night from Newmarket to North Wales with very little traffic - but no motorways.

Late last year, several very late drives from Newmarket to home, came across very poorly signed road works and long detours around the Duxford area. I never realized that so many country lanes were dead ends.

EastPete · 29th March 2018, 08:11

There are some evil daytime roadworks as well - last weekend they decided to shut the A1M south at Alconbury for the whole of Saturday and Sunday - Cambridgeshire come to virtual standstill, and it was chaos !

steve-45 · 29th March 2018, 08:51

And of course there is the bank holiday double whammy, not only all the road works but it now seems to be the norm to have a total shutdown of our rail network too.

Snetty · 29th March 2018, 10:11

I cannot fathom why they close multiple roads in one area at the same time, and the communication of these closures is virtually non existent.

steve-45 · 29th March 2018, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snetty

I cannot fathom why they close multiple roads in one area at the same time, and the communication of these closures is virtually non existent.

And when they do close them the diversion signs seem to run out before the end of the diversion ....

topman · 29th March 2018, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pumpwater

The A1 was busy & we were first thrown off the motorway at Catterick, nose to tail through all the little villages & quaint pubs & ended up at Scotch Corner roundabout & desperate for a pee called in the services. Sigh of relief back on to the motorway only to be diverted off at Darlington, all round the suburbs & back on at the A68 junction.

I can't believe that's still going on. I went past there about 18 months ago, it was in full flow and had been for some time. Must be a 5-6 year project at least?

The Rovering Member · 30th March 2018, 00:13

Welcome to my world. Sometimes you would swear that the highways department are doing their absolute damndest to stop you getting back home. Heading back to Purfleet from Warrington in the truck l've had the M6, M1, A1 & M11 all closed at the same time. Unbelievable. Bearing in mind a clear run is 4 hours 10 minutes, that particular night l just managed to get back in one (tachograph) hit using the M42, M40, A406 & A13. I pulled in the yard with 30 seconds to spare. I haven't done that run for a while & to be honest, l don't miss it at all.
It can be a nightmare at night.

28th March 2018, 21:49	#1
Pumpwater Loves to post Rover 75 CDTi Firefrost Red Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Durham Posts: 470 Thanks: 96 Thanked 55 Times in 38 Posts	Nightime Roadworks Last night I was visiting my son in Sheffield & returned to Durham in the evening, set off about 8pm after a long day, tired, fed up & wanting to be home, drink in hand, feet up you know what I mean. The A1 was busy & we were first thrown off the motorway at Catterick, nose to tail through all the little villages & quaint pubs & ended up at Scotch Corner roundabout & desperate for a pee called in the services. Sigh of relief back on to the motorway only to be diverted off at Darlington, all round the suburbs & back on at the A68 junction. Two junctions further on it was coned off & we were all on the hard shoulder, luckily traffic was lighter so not too bad. Finally home at 10.30pm, about 45mins delayed. OK rant over! but just a warning, if anyone thinks they can dodge the daytime traffic by setting off overnight it's best to check, it's not always an advantage __________________ Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow they may make it illegal.

30th March 2018, 00:13	#10
The Rovering Member I really should get out more....... Rover 75 saloon Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: London Posts: 2,958 Thanks: 263 Thanked 538 Times in 431 Posts	Welcome to my world. Sometimes you would swear that the highways department are doing their absolute damndest to stop you getting back home. Heading back to Purfleet from Warrington in the truck l've had the M6, M1, A1 & M11 all closed at the same time. Unbelievable. Bearing in mind a clear run is 4 hours 10 minutes, that particular night l just managed to get back in one (tachograph) hit using the M42, M40, A406 & A13. I pulled in the yard with 30 seconds to spare. I haven't done that run for a while & to be honest, l don't miss it at all. It can be a nightmare at night. __________________ Reducing the size of my Rover fleet by adding a 75 to it. Last edited by The Rovering Member; 30th March 2018 at 00:15..

29th March 2018, 07:40	#2
Mike Noc This is my second home Rover 75 CDT Manual Connoisseur SE, Rover 75 CDT Automatic Connoisseur SE & a Freelander Td4. Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hampshire Posts: 11,550 Thanks: 3,470 Thanked 3,119 Times in 2,247 Posts	I regularly travel long distance at night, and more often than not get held up by roadworks - multiple sets on bad nights. Back in the day it was great to drive at night with little traffic to contend with, but not anymore.

29th March 2018, 07:45	#3
steve-45 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon CDTi Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Belvedere Posts: 4,076 Thanks: 108 Thanked 1,089 Times in 774 Posts	A local stretch of Dual Carriageway has been undergoing resurfacing. This is a main route out of London and when do they close it? From 7pm to 1am, this has been going on for over a month. Why not work until maybe 4am or 5am then you could reduce the closure period by half, or maybe move the existing hours back by 3 hours so there would be less traffic about?

29th March 2018, 07:58	#4
planenut Regional Secretary Rover 1.8T Tourer Join Date: May 2007 Location: Heathrow Posts: 6,955 Thanks: 1,551 Thanked 2,036 Times in 1,264 Posts	When I was a kid, along with three other families we'd travel during the night from Newmarket to North Wales with very little traffic - but no motorways. Late last year, several very late drives from Newmarket to home, came across very poorly signed road works and long detours around the Duxford area. I never realized that so many country lanes were dead ends.

29th March 2018, 08:11	#5
EastPete Posted a thing or two Rover 75 CDTi Classic saloon, MGB GT, Skoda Yeti Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ramsey, Cambs Posts: 1,874 Thanks: 626 Thanked 635 Times in 430 Posts	There are some evil daytime roadworks as well - last weekend they decided to shut the A1M south at Alconbury for the whole of Saturday and Sunday - Cambridgeshire come to virtual standstill, and it was chaos !

29th March 2018, 08:51	#6
steve-45 This is my second home Rover 75 Saloon CDTi Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Belvedere Posts: 4,076 Thanks: 108 Thanked 1,089 Times in 774 Posts	And of course there is the bank holiday double whammy, not only all the road works but it now seems to be the norm to have a total shutdown of our rail network too.

29th March 2018, 10:11	#7
Snetty Posted a thing or two Rover 75 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ingoldisthorpe Posts: 1,114 Thanks: 731 Thanked 415 Times in 274 Posts	I cannot fathom why they close multiple roads in one area at the same time, and the communication of these closures is virtually non existent.