Dr Hu

Concrete Central Reservation mayhem.... thoughts?

I don't think there is a Motorway anywhere in the country that is now not being dug up with endless miles of contraflows to replace Armco with these solid concrete dividers - it takes them a year plus to replace...
The scheme on the M5 near Worcester has been contraflow for seeminlgy years, and they proceed at a glacial pace, in fact it seems to have been finished months ago at this section, but the contraflow remains stubbornly in place, for miles, and miles, and miles .
Now the M42 and M40 junction is facing another 14 months + of contraflows and roadworks
The M5/M4 Interchange - same
M3 near Southmapton - same

I have my doubts as to the reasoning why this is being done, at obviously great cost.... both to the public purse and just sheer inconvenience to millions of motorists.

I always thought the Armo system on posts was deigned to act as 'rope' - it snaps off its posts and restrains any vehicles like a rope of steel, redirecting them back onto the carraiageway.
I remember watching it on Tomorrows World - hahahaha

Obviously this system incurs ongoing costs and repairs, as it is frequently hit.

My thought is they are replacing this Armco system with solid concrete NOT on any safety grounds but purely on the ongoing costs of repair.... hence the eagerness to seemingly replace it all, at any cost at the moment.

Will we ever see a day without any roadworks on the Motorway network

Thoughts?

Richy P1984

Its not just Armco replacement... its drainage works, smart motorway works, then there's all the negotiations in the background over how much extra they will get to complete the job because they low balled it in the first place etc.

IdonthaveaScooby

Havnt smart motorways been done away with ?

4evascoob

It is a ball ache with the delays. The Barriers are designed to flex and absorb believe it or not and are then replaced in individual sections rather than entire stretches in future. So will be quicker to repair not sure on cost. Steel is a fortune at the moment.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

I thought that it was proven that solid concrete barriers are safer than the deforming metal or wire rope type. The reason being is that they bounce cars back into the carriageway as opposed to deform/break and allow crashing vehicles to cross that central reservation.
I know of people that were killed M4/Heathrow when a car crossed the barriers into oncoming traffic, they being the oncoming ones. To me that's a no brainer and I'm more than happy to sit in traffic M4/M32/M5 whilst they get it done.

The Joshua Tree

The current barriers haven't stopped artics going over the barriers from one side of the motorway onto the other side, i know of 2 occasions recently where that's happened,.