Are long-term road closures becoming more common?

[brad465]

This is something I seemed to have noticed become more of a thing this year, where by long-term, I mean at least 3 months. In Somerset there are multiple utility closures that meet this definition, while the M5 Jct 26 is currently experiencing a 3-month closure. In Kent there is also the notorious Galley Hill closure in Swanscombe, where the road collapsed after a Thames Water burst water main incident in 2023; two years later the road is still shut and estimates are that repairs, when they can finally commence, will be at least 3 years. This though is probably an exceptional incident.

Is this just my perception, or has something happened recently to make longer duration road closures more common (e.g. law change, more funding for maintenance, more maintenance problems arising)?

 

[PeterC]

On the London / Essex border we have a three month closure if Gallows Corner on the A12/A127 not helped by the fact that work on M25 J28 is ongoing. After one day of chaos with traffic diverting down residential streets to avoid queues on the official diversions I think that there will be a lot of converts to LTNs

 

[The exile]

We have no doubt reached the stage where a lot of elderly (and not so elderly) infrastructure has been coping with much higher volumes/weights than it was built for for far too long and is beginning to fail on a major scale. Add in modern safety expectations and long closures are inevitable.

 

[geoffk]

We have no doubt reached the stage where a lot of elderly (and not so elderly) infrastructure has been coping with much higher volumes/weights than it was built for for far too long and is beginning to fail on a major scale. Add in modern safety expectations and long closures are inevitable.

The Wellington link road (A38 to M5), which is currently near the start of a 3-month closure, was built only in 1974, and is described by Somerset Council as a "deteriorating 51-year-old concrete road". This comes into the "not so elderly" category.

 

[lachlan]

The Wellington link road (A38 to M5), which is currently near the start of a 3-month closure, was built only in 1974, and is described by Somerset Council as a "deteriorating 51-year-old concrete road". This comes into the "not so elderly" category.

Too bad it couldn't wait until the railway station gets built. Could have been a good way to encourage use of the new station.

 

[stuu]

The Wellington link road (A38 to M5), which is currently near the start of a 3-month closure, was built only in 1974, and is described by Somerset Council as a "deteriorating 51-year-old concrete road". This comes into the "not so elderly" category.

51 years without being resurfaced is definitely elderly

To answer the original question, I wouldn't be surprised if a combination of limited investment and putting off doing really disruptive sections is now coming home to roost

 

[DelW]

I think that, similarly to the situation on railways, pressure for better safety pushes a move towards working within road closures (or rail possessions), rather than working alongside live traffic (road or rail vehicles).

As an example, in the early 1980s, I worked on live M20 carriageways with just a double line of cones at 9m spacing, and a string of bunting on the inner cones, between us and traffic passing at 50mph. These days I think that would need a continuous solid barrier (using New Jersey blocks or similar) which is much more expensive and time consuming to install and remove. That tends to make a closure a more attractive option, especially as it avoids the logistical issues of working in a very narrow strip with limited and difficult access and egress via the open carriageway.

The benefit ought to be that the works carried out within a full closure should be completed more quickly than if they were done with lane closures, traffic signals, etc.

 

[BingMan]

This is something I seemed to have noticed become more of a thing this year, where by long-term, I mean at least 3 months. In Somerset there are multiple utility closures that meet this definition, while the M5 Jct 26 is currently experiencing a 3-month closure. In Kent there is also the notorious Galley Hill closure in Swanscombe, where the road collapsed after a Thames Water burst water main incident in 2023; two years later the road is still shut and estimates are that repairs, when they can finally commence, will be at least 3 years. This though is probably an exceptional incident.

Is this just my perception, or has something happened recently to make longer duration road closures more common (e.g. law change, more funding for maintenance, more maintenance problems arising)?

The Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield road is closed because of a sink hole that occurred last December. Cheshire East council are "hoping" to reopen it next June. They need to investigate the drainage and they can't do that because of the lack of rain.

It is an enormous inconvenience and is causing the alternative minor roads to deteriorate rapidly because of the extra heavy trafic

 

[brad465]

The Whaley Bridge to Macclesfield road is closed because of a sink hole that occurred last December. Cheshire East council are "hoping" to reopen it next June. They need to investigate the drainage and they can't do that because of the lack of rain.

It is an enormous inconvenience and is causing the alternative minor roads to deteriorate rapidly because of the extra heavy trafic

As it happens you've reminded me of the Godstone sinkhole closure on the A25, which made the national news when it occurred in February, with provisional estimates of reopening in December. The diversion isn't disastrous, going via the A22, however a couple of back single-file roads have had to be shut because they would be a shorter diversion unable to handle such traffic volumes. The main impact by far though is on the locals living there, even those lucky enough to have been allowed back to their homes.

In the context of long term road closures though, I'm not sure what can be done to prevent sinkholes, and the closure length is influenced by need to ensure the land is stable and re-route/repair any utility networks at the affected location, on top of repairing the road itself.

 

[thejuggler]

Utility networks are now getting to 50+ years old. A local street was closed in Autumn last year to undertake a drains repair, expected to finish at Christmas 24.

Once they started they found many more problems and damage at a very deep level. This also affected other utilities, in particular electricity who of course were unaware they would need to be involved so hadn't programmed the work. There was shut down until the electric works could be programmed.

The repair completion was therefore extended to Easter 25, further problems were then found and completion is now expected August 25.

I know from experience any services plans provided cannot be relied upon. Until digging starts it is always a mystery.

 

[bluenoxid]

Money and safety are huge influences. Work driven by government and local authority funding is restricted and highly controlled. There isn’t the headroom in projects to pick up another 10% because costs overrun unexpectedly without raiding limited pots and having full project reviews. Full road closures offer a level of certainty and flexibility that you don’t get with managing traffic flow through a site.

There also isn’t the direct incentive in keeping roads open. Local authorities don’t get cash based on road usage on their local roads so if a road closes and that leads to traffic going elsewhere, there isn’t a direct financial consequence.

We’ve also stopped the significant road building and upgrade programmes that took sections of A-roads and upgraded them to wider and faster roads. This means that sections of road that haven’t been upgraded are more likely to have issues.

Interventions to keep traffic moving can also backfire. I’m struggling to recall where it was but I’ve seen news articles of recent attempts to keep traffic moving and access to local businesses backfire with dangerous close passes and threats to staff who are trying to manage deliveries to the work site.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Money and safety are huge influences. Work driven by government and local authority funding is restricted and highly controlled. There isn’t the headroom in projects to pick up another 10% because costs overrun unexpectedly without raiding limited pots and having full project reviews. Full road closures offer a level of certainty and flexibility that you don’t get with managing traffic flow through a site.

There also isn’t the direct incentive in keeping roads open. Local authorities don’t get cash based on road usage on their local roads so if a road closes and that leads to traffic going elsewhere, there isn’t a direct financial consequence.

We’ve also stopped the significant road building and upgrade programmes that took sections of A-roads and upgraded them to wider and faster roads. This means that sections of road that haven’t been upgraded are more likely to have issues.

Interventions to keep traffic moving can also backfire. I’m struggling to recall where it was but I’ve seen news articles of recent attempts to keep traffic moving and access to local businesses backfire with dangerous close passes and threats to staff who are trying to manage deliveries to the work site.

This article from Stoke-on-Trent covers the subject.
Stoke-on-Trent Live article

Persistent' traffic light problems mean this Stoke-on-Trent road will shut​

Motorists have been warned a city road will be shut off for four weeks as a multi-million pound project to replace water pipes continues. Temporary lights are running on Milton Road in Sneyd Green where Severn Trent have been at work. However there have been 'persistent' problems with the lights including drivers going through on red - and the system then going into 'safe mode'. Now the road, between Ralph Drive and Noblett Road is set for a full closure.

But it is quite a common problem.

My view is that if the road needs to be closed, it needs to be closed (or temporary lights installed etc). But in doing so, once they start they should be required to get on with the job. If they need a part not in stock, fill the hole back in and re-open the road until they have the spare part required. I hate sitting for ages in a queue of traffic to then weave through some roadworks where the only member of staff present is the traffic management person sat in their van.

 

[sprunt]

I'm not sure about framing "drivers going through on red" as a problem with the lights, it sounds more like a problem with the driver to me.

 

[gswindale]

My view is that if the road needs to be closed, it needs to be closed (or temporary lights installed etc). But in doing so, once they start they should be required to get on with the job. If they need a part not in stock, fill the hole back in and re-open the road until they have the spare part required. I hate sitting for ages in a queue of traffic to then weave through some roadworks where the only member of staff present is the traffic management person sat in their van.

That will add to costs though as you'll need the material to re-fill the hole in the ground twice - notwithstanding the fact that the road may be closed for a while, then re-opened and the part arriving and then the road being closed again 2 months later at which point somebody will say "Why didn't they just keep the road closed and not dig it up twice".

What happens if you've planned for the hole to be re-filled only for the part needed turning up the night before the scheduled re-fill? Carry on with the re-fill and then dig it up again the next day?

I've been through sets of roadworks on the M4, where there were narrow lanes, contraflows etc. and no sign of workmen, but knowing the works being undertaken, I wasn't surprised as they were working on the underside of the bridge we were crossing, so just because you can only see 1 person (or less), doesn't mean that work isn't ongoing.