I see that the plans have now been lodged to upgrade the Newark bypass to a dual carriageway and note that the costs have already increased.
I wonder how much it will cost by the time it is built?
The smoke and mirrors of the way that this is being sold to us obscures the fact that this is being done not for the people of Newark but for the free flow of lorry traffic to the Humber ports.
Newark may benefit a little when the construction dust settles by removing jams on a badly designed length of road but Newark’s needs go far beyond the provision of two flyovers.
According to Midlands Connect “Newark is the missing piece of the puzzle” to “finish this vital upgrade of the Trans Midlands trade corridor”. Presumably the single carriageway Lincoln bypass and A15 don’t count.
A BBC report points to the bypass as being an accident blackspot but it does not take much reflection to realise such accidents are down to the stop start nature of the road rather than it not being a dual carriageway. Indeed, it is arguable that the faster speeds of such a road would lead to more accidents.
Midlands Connect also says the improvements would lead to a 30% reduction in journey times but fails to explain how this can be achieved by adding traffic lights to the Farndon and Winthorpe roundabouts.
Much is made of the new flyover across he A1 but what is played down is that, aside from removing some traffic, it does nothing concrete to address the inherent problems of the two roundabouts either side of the A1 junction other than a non-committal widening, improving and upgrading.
I expect this means we will lose the very useful filter lane on the Friendly Farmer roundabout.
These roundabouts represent a serious accident waiting to happen, as drivers leaving the A1 on both sides take their lives in their hands. This is especially true at A1/A46/A17 roundabout which blocks dangerously at times often creating a potentially catastrophic tailback on the A1 itself.
We need a lot more detail here about what is being done to tackle this but as it does not affect the Humber ports traffic I won’t be holding my breath.
Another thing which is not in the remit is the Farndon roundabout where the Road to Nowhere, the southern relief road, is planned to join the A46. Will this be yet another fudge which actually slows the traffic while, incidentally, adding to exhaust pollution?
My money is on yet another roundabout.
In spite of the spin the people of Newark are being sold short with little attention being paid to the issues which actually affect us more than simply hastening lorries to the Humber ports. — IAN THOMSON, Collingham.
