The Highways Agency is giving road users advance warning of a 16-hour weekend closure of the M1 between Junctions 11 (Luton north) and 13 (A421, Bedford) in Bedfordshire while a bridge over the motorway is demolished.
The closure, scheduled for between 8pm on Saturday, 30 June and noon on Sunday, 1 July, will see the 1400-tonne bridge at Junction 12 removed using hydraulic breakers: This is the same technique used to demolish the Catthorpe viaduct at J19 of the M1 in January this year – see the time-lapse video of the viaduct demolition to get an idea of how the old A5120 bridge will be taken down and why the Agency needs to close the M1 motorway.
The reinforced concrete bridge, which carries the old A5120 over the M1 and has not been used since a new bridge opened in May, needs to be demolished to make way for new slip roads at Junction 12, as part of the M1 J10 to J13 managed motorway scheme.
The first phase of managed motorway between Junctions 10 and 11 is almost complete, with testing now being carried out ahead of it becoming fully operational this summer. Once it is fully operational, variable speed limits will be displayed during busy periods and the hard shoulder will be signed as being available as an extra traffic lane, giving extra capacity to road users. See the images on Highways Agency’s flickr pages for an idea of what you will see on a managed motorway.
Highways Agency project manager Lynne Stinson said:
“Work on the managed motorway scheme is progressing very well and we’re delighted the first phase will be completed this summer, and that we’re on target for full scheme completion in spring 2013.
“Demolishing the bridge at Junction 12 is a big engineering feat, and the only way that we can remove it safely and quickly is by closing the motorway.
“The closure will unavoidably cause some disruption for road users, but to keep it to a minimum we have timed the works for a 16-hour period at the weekend when traffic flow is at its lowest and we have avoided large spectator events such as the F1 Grand Pix at Silverstone Grand Prix, the London 2012 Games and events related to the Games.
“During the weekend, we do advise that people plan ahead, leaving plenty of time for the journeys, and use an alternative route to the M1 if they can.”
The M1 will be closed in both directions between Junctions 11 and 13.
Northbound traffic will be encouraged to leave the M1 at Junction 9 to prevent the A5/A505 junction in Dunstable becoming congested. Road users will be diverted from Junction 9 along the A5 through Dunstable and Milton Keynes, where it will join the A509 Portway and re-join the M1 at Junction 14. The diversion is expected to add 25 minutes to journey times.
Southbound traffic will be diverted from Junction 13 along the A421 to the A1, down the A1/A1(M ) to the M25 and either continue its journey or go back up the M1 to Luton. People should allow up to an hour for this diversion.
The Highways Agency will continue to keep the public informed as the date of the closure approaches. Road users can keep up to date and register for updates on the scheme website http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/4482.aspx, up to date travel information is also available by calling the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000, or by following @HAtraffic_east on Twitter.
In the event of the work having to be cancelled, for example due to bad weather conditions, it will take place at the same times on the weekend of 21 and 22 July instead.
The bridge was designed by Sir Owen Williams and Partners and built in 1959 by John Laing plc. It is 17 metres wide and 41 metres long.
Notes to Editors
Issued by Regional News Network East on behalf of the Highways Agency. For further information please contact Valerie Amar-Matthews on 01223 370785. Media enquiries out of hours should be made to the Highways Agency National Press Office (24hrs) on 0844 693 1448.
1. The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England’s motorways and other strategic roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.
2. The M1 J10-13 scheme will be the first managed motorway in the East of England region. The contract was awarded to Costain-Carillion JV in September 2005 as an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) scheme. The cost estimate range for the scheme is £412 million (minimum) to £504 million (maximum). The scheme started in December 2009 and is due to be fully completed in Spring 2013.
3. Managed motorways use a range of innovative technology combined with new operating procedures to actively control traffic flow. Techniques such as varying the speed limits and opening up the hard shoulder to traffic are features of managed motorways all designed to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.
4. Key findings from research published in March 2011 shows that accidents have more than halved since hard shoulder running was introduced on 10.5 miles of M42 (J3a to J7), to the east of Birmingham; with journey times improved between the M40 J16, near Lapworth, and M6 J5, near Birmingham. See the press notice issued on 22 March 2011 for further details: http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/pressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=418738
5. The first hard shoulder running scheme was introduced on the M42 J3a-7 in 2006 as a pilot scheme. This was followed by M6 J4 to J5 scheme in 2009 and the M6 J8 to J10A scheme in 2011. The system is known as managed motorways and uses variable speed limits and opening up the hard shoulder as an additional traffic lane. The operational changes to the M40 J16-3A and M42 J7-9 which were completed in August 2009 are known as controlled motorways. This involves the use of features such as variable speed limits but without hard shoulder running.
6. Construction is underway on the M1 J10 to J13 managed motorway, with work due to be completed in 2013, and work started on the M62 J25 to J30 managed motorway on 13 October 2011 and is due to be completed in 2013/14. Main construction on the M4/M5 managed motorway scheme near Bristol was officially started on 25 January 2012.
Click here for the Highways Agency’s current roads programme: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/29356.aspx
7. Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and other strategic roads is available:
- From the web at www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or www.highways.gov.uk/mobile if using a phone or mobile device.
- By phone from the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 at any time. (Calls to 0300 numbers will cost no more than 5p per minute from a standard BT residential landline. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary, but will be no more than a standard geographic call and will be included in all inclusive minutes and discount schemes). Make sure it’s safe and legal before you call. Before using any mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency.
- On an iPhone app which will automatically select the region you are in. Free to download from the iTunes store or search for Highways Agency on your device.
- From Twitter – there are eight feeds with live traffic information provided by region. For information on roads in the East of England follow us at @HAtraffic_east or for the full index visit www.highways.gov.uk/twitter.
8. Receive our national and regional press releases by RSS and get the latest headlines straight to your desktop the moment we publish them to our website. Choose to receive a national press feed or one of our regionalised feeds - go to www.highways.gov.uk/rssnews for more information.
Issued by Regional News Network East on behalf of the Highways Agency. For further information please contact Valerie Amar-Matthews on 01223 370785. Media enquiries out of hours should be made to the Highways Agency National Press Office (24hrs) on 0844 693 1448.