On BBC Radio Oxford there were reports that part of the A34 northbound between Milton and Marcham interchanges had been closed for emergency carriageway repairs, and that was causing delays of over an hour with traffic queued back to Chilton. It also brought a lot of A34 traffic through Abingdon on the Drayton Road.
Some of the traffic tried to come via St Helens Wharf.
I understand from friend that the traffic through Abingdon was pretty horrendous.Where do they expect the traffic to go when they do these things?
They expect it to go through Drayton and Abingdon. The carriageway on the A34 must be kept in a good state of repair since it is the main trunk road between the Midlands (via M40) and the southern ports.
It is far from ideal; but since the A34 is not going to be upgraded to three-lanes between Reading and Oxford, there is no alternative. I have talked on several occasions to traffic police officers who regard that stretch as very difficult; there is no hard shoulder and so all incidents occur in “live” lanes, making it extremely dangerous for one and all. There is no real possibility of running contra-flow systems, so traffic has to be diverted off the A34 onto far less suitable roads.
But as we know from recent planning applications, the planning authority are quite complacent about the situation. Those of us who live with the reality are less enchanted…
I have said for a long time, that there is a simple, non intrusive, way to upgrade the A34. You build another 4 lane carriageway alongside it, it can bypass all the “can’t do” areas such as Botley and it doesn’t HAVE to follow the existing one at all ALL the way. When that is built you divert the traffic onto that one while the central reservation is removed from the existing one. Hey presto, you now have two 4 lane carriageways! You have also created work, helped the economy, and sorted out the main trunk road to the South.
Or is that too simple?
I encountered this problem when returning to Abingdon yesterday afternoon, after taking a quick look at Google traffic I carried out a 15mile detour to get around the area affected. Given that the present road system was designed with 1970’s traffic volumes in mind how long before we experience a major gridlock event. Improvements such as the Milton interchange are just stickingplaster fixes which are often inadequate before they are started, for instance can you imagine what that junction will be like when Great Western Park has grown to full size.
The problems seen in this area now are nothing compared to what we will see in the future, either work close to where you live, cycle, walk or be prepared for a long wait twice a day, every day! It won’t be a privilege to own a car but actually getting somewhere in a reasonable time with it will.
here’s the thing….. if you are stuck in traffic, you are part of the problem – not the victim.
But… here’s the thing… as such I wasn’t stuck in traffic I circumnavigated the whole thing.
I’d guess using your name and a Supertramp lyric as a reference you use the train Rudi ?
But it wasnt “emergency works” There was a length of armco barrier that had been damaged the night before, it was next to one of the farm bridges and it was on the near side of the carriageway, not the central reservation.
It had been left perfectly safely for most of the day and the repair could easily have been carried out at night when the traffic is light.
Instead Highways England decided to carry out the repairs on a Friday afternoon which must be one of the busiest periods for the A34, to do this they understandably had to block off lane 1 to do it.
It was unnecessary and thoughtless, without a care for the ensuing traffic chaos on the surrounding roads.
Incompetence of the highest order!
i use a car – and i don’t like to be stuck in traffic, but i recognize that i’m part of the problem.
No A34 problems today – yet it took me a good 20 mins to get from Mill Road, Drayton Road to the mini roundabouts on Marcham Road/Ock St.
That new pedestrian crossing on Ock St sure didn’t come in handy.
Ah yes, the magic bullet that would cure all our traffic woes, has anyone pointed out to the council that nothing has changed and that although the magic bullet was presented as such it was actually something else bullet shaped and turned out to be an ineffective suppository which was painful to insert and has not cured our traffic ills at all.
David Nimmo-Smith is who you need to write to about this junction.
Failing that, go on to Fixmystreet .com and look on the map at the junction. You’ll see a/some reports there. You can either add to it…or, better still, add your own report. The council needs to respond to such reports….
I have already pointed this out to David Nimmo-Smith and will be requesting that there is a review of the impact and a review of whether the modelling process used was fit for purpose.