M25 Circumnavigation
Posted: Sat 1 June, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Driving, London, M1, M25, People, Politics, Sociable | Tags: #clamflange |1 Comment »This weekend, I’ve driven round most of the M25. The only section I missed out was from M40 to M1 (which I do on a regular basis anyway, so no major loss) and by then I was sick of the road anyway.
It wasn’t just for fun, though. Yesterday was a drive from home (M1) to Chislehurst, in order to attend the wedding reception of Merialc. That particular run was OK, thankfully – even with the prevalence of roadworks etc. – until reaching the Dartford Crossing, which was as shafted as always, and took half an hour on its own.
Today I went round the other half, having decided to visit my parents who live off the M40. The roadworks on that section were far worse, although at least we were moving, if slowly.
It’s been a fun weekend (which I know means I need to either get a life, or get out more) but Lord above, the M25 does annoy me.
Weirdly, it’s not because of the generally shit quality of the road, the ongoing road works, or the tossbag drivers. What annoys me is that the M25 had the chance to be a great road, a great future-facing way to deal with all the possibilities relating to the increase of traffic round London for the next thirty to fifty years. And instead, it’s a lofting great white elephant. Why? Because no politicians or planners had the guts to stand up and say “Look, this is what we need, but let’s future-proof it, let’s make it all five carriageways each side, plan for a huge increase in traffic, and make it work properly”.
It could’ve been so good, and instead it’s just a bag of shit.
Sounds like the M50 around Dublin, although that’s a lot smaller. By the time it was finished about 12 years ago, it was woefully over-capacity, with junctions that caused tailbacks for miles. Thankfully, they decided to go with the boom and upgrade the entire thing adds an extra lane end-to-end and proper free-flow junctions with flyovers and slip-roads, with barrier-free automated tolls to keep it all moving. Now even in rush-hour the traffic moves at a good 80-90km/h and I haven’t been stuck in a jam on it since they finished the upgrade.
Cost a few billion, mind. I can’t even imagine how much it’d cost to do similar to the M25.