The A1 (near metrocentre)

[528Sport]

Will the "improvements" make a difference?


3 lanes, well 2 1/2, Bottlenecks where the bridges are.....

The whole project seems like a massive missed opportunity.

For instance going south they could have easily put in an extra lane down to the team valley turnoff.

Going north the new embankment they are building, put another lane in going to the Whickham and Newcastle turn offs

When it opens will there be an improvement or not? I personally dont think it will help at all

[Big__G]

Tend to agree, unless they move the bridge supports there's going to be a lot of 3 lane 2 lane races going on which will make things worse.

[The Surveyor]

It won't be worse than before, and for the main it'll be a significant improvement. The real risk is that we will all have forgotten how bad it was due to the length of time the road works are taking.

[SHutchinson]

If anything, it'll just be nice when it's all finished.

[Little Lofty]

The new overhead gantry looks like it will have speed cameras mounted on it. I think the new lanes from Askew road to Lobley hill will be a help.

[minimoog]

Big__G said:

Tend to agree, unless they move the bridge supports there's going to be a lot of 3 lane 2 lane races going on which will make things worse.

They are squeezing in three lanes each way between the supports.

[TameRacingDriver]

It'll be better at peak times I think. Expect 50 mph limit 24 hours a day due to the width of the lanes. It will be worse to drive on than before at quiet times (when it was 70). I expect it will make queues at known pinch points marginally worse as more traffic gets to it in a shorter time. Journey time difference? Not much better than before. As said, because its been so bad during the works, it will seem great when finished, but whether it's truly THAT much better in the grand scheme remains to be seen. They had to do something with it though IMO.

[Big__G]

Little Lofty said:

The new overhead gantry looks like it will have speed cameras mounted on it. I think the new lanes from Askew road to Lobley hill will be a help.

Yes you're right, its all part of that "Smart Motoroway" rubbish. Nothing smart about it, its just cameras like the M6, etc variable speed limits according to road conditions.

[PhantomPH]

My gut feeling tells me it's going to be a fixed 50mph from the Blaydon turn off all the way to the Angel once everything is open - same as it was before. Except with fixed average cameras on it so that at 1am when I'm driving home and the only car on the road, I still get nicked.

[e46acs]

PhantomPH said:

My gut feeling tells me it's going to be a fixed 50mph from the Blaydon turn off all the way to the Angel once everything is open - same as it was before. Except with fixed average cameras on it so that at 1am when I'm driving home and the only car on the road, I still get nicked.

Yes, I think you are right.

[TameRacingDriver]

PhantomPH said:

My gut feeling tells me it's going to be a fixed 50mph from the Blaydon turn off all the way to the Angel once everything is open - same as it was before. Except with fixed average cameras on it so that at 1am when I'm driving home and the only car on the road, I still get nicked.

It's not a gut feeling. It is going to be exactly as you describe. There is also talk of them extending the scheme north when this is finished, with the A1 in the West-end of a Newcastle getting 3 narrow lanes and a 50 limit (I hope not , but I can see it happening).