Motoring Discussion > A1 Closed After A14 Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 12
View Threaded 

New Mon 20 Aug 18 20:50 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Bromptonaut
Round M25 and up/down M1 to/from J16 a couple of times over weekend. Home from Dover on Saturday then to/from Central London on Sunday to pick up Mrs B's new Brompton. We're now a two Brompton household (or three if I count my original 1999 one on loan to Miss B and her Beau).

On both occasions there were repeated warnings that A1 was closed after A14 (presumably going North). Too long to be accident investigation but cannot immediately find details of major works.

Anybody know what was going on?
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Mon 20 Aug 18 21:29 
 A1 Closed After A14 - sooty123
Sunday there were still issues, i got on j14 on the m1, luckily going north. It was standing traffic as far as i could see southbound, seemed to start about 12 miles north of J14.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Mon 20 Aug 18 22:26 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Haywain
"to pick up Mrs B's new Brompton"

An electric job?
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 09:34 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Bromptonaut
>> "to pick up Mrs B's new Brompton"
>>
>> An electric job?

No, we ordered it on 7 July when the e model had just been released for demonstration. There was a steady stream of visitors taking one for a test ride but they're too heavy and expensive to appeal to us. She'll use it as a commuting tool and when we're out and about.

We knew from the outset she wanted a 6 speed with reduced gearing and a rear rack but needed to decide which of the four different handlebars. As it was a factory order she also had a choice of colour.

Went for the P (butterfly) bars as they offer multiple hand positions and a pink frame with blue extremities.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 09:53 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Haywain
"No, we ordered it on 7 July when the e model had just been released for demonstration."

Thanks, Brompt - I will transfer the discussion to the cycling corner thread .........

BTW, we came down the A1/A14 section a couple of weeks ago - I assume that you are referring to the stretch heading north to the A1 from Spittals interchange. From memory, there were roadworks that seemed to be an extension of the chaos between Spittals and Cambridge. There were also roadworks between Brampton Hut and the A1. It is difficult to know what to believe as closures and delays in the whole area just seem to pop up at any time. A few months ago, the gantries were indicating a road closure some distance ahead; we blithely carried on - and the road was open (but 40mph).
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 11:41 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Fenlander
>>> closures and delays in the whole area just seem to pop up at any time.

This A14 re-route and A1(M) interchange upgrade is a monster project which will could well run to 2021.

The complexity of lane closures, speed restrictions, complete road closures, off slip closures, on slip closures etc is utterly bewildering even to those of us that live in the thick of it and use these routes daily. In some ways trying to decipher the proposed works for any day is near impossible so I just Google the traffic immediately before passing through the stretch.

Some of the night closures and associated diversions are the worse with major road traffic being diverted along the most unlikely minor routes at times making post 9pm travel even more disrupted.

The long and short of it is until completion in 2-3yrs it is risky to take travel for granted anywhere between just west of the A14/A1 Brampton Hut interchange to the outskirts of Cambridge on the A14... and between Buckden and Alconbury on the A1/A1(M) north/south routes.

Having said that the end result will be superb... the biggest improvement to travel in the area during my lifetime.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 21 Aug 18 at 11:43
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 12:15 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Haywain
"the biggest improvement to travel in the area during my lifetime."

For our trips back to the Midlands, the completion of the A14 in the first place was the biggest improvement for us. The Spittals/Catthorpe section was wonderful when it first opened but, within a couple of years, we were asking 'why wasn't it designed with 3-lanes?'.

It is hard to believe that when we first came to East Anglia in the mid-70s, my wife used to walk children across the A45 (as the A14 was then called, iirc) from school onto the Green at Beyton for an art class.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 14:15 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Mapmaker
>>"the biggest improvement to travel in the area during my lifetime."

The A604, surely. Or the M11 - completed between 1975 and 1980.

Found this which I feel the need to share: www.pathetic.org.uk/secretive/a14m/
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 15:07 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Fenlander
>>>The A604, surely. Or the M11 - completed between 1975 and 1980.

Well the M11 for 95% of my life has gone somewhere I never needed to travel and I regard it as somewhat leading out rather than being in the area.... but yes once the new A14 is complete added to the M11 our run to Stansted will be very fast modern roads all the way bar the first and last two minutes.

Regarding the A604 I assume you mean the dualling of the old road Huntingdon to Cambridge and beyond. I wasn't driving that in its single carriageway incarnation but dad always said the moment it became dual carriageway it soon filled with more and faster traffic so any benefit soon evaporated.

I must admit that my statement was somewhat rooted in my own needs for the road system affected by the upgrade and for us travelling west to Cambridge at evening commuter time will be transformed when it's all done.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Tue 21 Aug 18 at 15:08
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 18:38 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Fenlander
>>>for us travelling west to Cambridge

If anyone was bothered and that was to make sense it should have read... "travelling from the west to Cambridge".
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 11:58 
 A1 Closed After A14 - Bromptonaut
>> BTW, we came down the A1/A14 section a couple of weeks ago - I assume
>> that you are referring to the stretch heading north to the A1 from Spittals interchange.

Not sure exactly where it referred to. When we saw it on the M25 on Saturday thought it was probably accident and aftermath. Only when it was still there on Sunday did I realise it was engineering work.

The A14/A1/M11 nexus isn't on any of my regular routes. It's the most direct way to Stansted but in reality M1/M25/M11(N) beats it hands down. However variations in M11/A14/A45 or A1/A45 are amongst my back up routes home from M25 NE quadrant if there are problems on the M1.
Reply to this message | Report message
       
New Tue 21 Aug 18 10:31 
 A1 Closed After A14 - neiltoo
<<
pink frame with blue extremities

Mrs Too has this when it's cold!

8o)
Reply to this message | Report message
      3  
New Sat 25 Aug 18 17:40 
 A1 Closed After A14 - hawkeye
>> ... my original 1999 one on loan to Miss B and her Beau).
>>

Who does the pedalling?
Reply to this message | Report message
       
Latest Forum Posts