As part of his autumn statement the Chancellor announced that the A1 between Leeming Bar and Scotch Corner will be upgraded to a 3 lane motorway.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20609774
Good news for regular users of course but presumably 3 more years disruption folllowing the 3 years of disruption whilst they upgraded the section from J49 to Leeming. Surely it would have been better to do the whole stretch in one go rather than cancel the northern-most part and then chnage their minds a few years later.
I wonder how they are going to deal with the possibility of flooding during the construction phase (and afterwards). Last week the A1 was flooded near Catterick for a couple of days. It was closed for a while and then down to 1 lane for some days. People were reporting 1 hour delays just to get onto the A1 at the Leeming junction. Last month it was actually closed due to floods at the same place for a few days. A couple of days of rain and the whole thing will grind to a halt.
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I believe the flooding is due to a faulty drain. With the possibility of upgrading the road in the offing, the highways Agency didn't want to fix it believing that a day or two of single lane working was acceptable in times of heavy rain. IMO the authorities didn't get the cones out quick enough.
The Dishforth to Leeming upgrade was managed with very little disruption considering the extent of the works and those that subscribed to the news emails were kept informed of road closures and so forth on a weekly basis. If they do the Leeming to Barton bit in the same manner with a similar end product, the contractors will have done well, even if they inevitably mess with my commute to Darlington.
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Well I found the 1st phase to be quite disruptive as I live in a village near Leeming and work close to Leeming. Access to the A1 was forever changing, not all of it posted on the updates we recieved at work. Towards the end of the construction road closures and alternate routes were not posted . I anticipate something similar with the new phase.
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A1 to be upgraded - hawkeye
