Traffic!

[Rod]

Bank holiday Friday and the traffic is already bad at 11 am!
We have to do a school run soon - Granddaughter finishes at 12 so alternative route called for.
They've been promising for years to improve Junction 9.

Rod

 

[timothyedoran]

Nothing to add apart from sympathy. I used to live in Alresford. Pronounced Allsford by those in the know.
I went to the builders yard at 7 this morning. Now I am working from home, say at my pc wishing I was with the family or workshed building.

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[AndyP]

curious to know she is at school on a bank holiday.

 

[DaveL]

curious to know she is at school on a bank holiday.

Andy,

The bank holiday is Monday, but the traffic on the Friday before is often bad.

 

[AndyP]

D'oh :eusa-doh: I should of realised that. I've have become so used to bank holidays here falling on the same date every year and not rolled over to the nearest Monday. A fact that all those in the UK who call for more BHs seem to forget.

 

[Rod]

We call the weekend before the Monday (BH) "Bank Holiday weekend" and that often includes the Friday as folks start to travel then and often Thursday evening too.
Junction 9 M3/A34 and Junction 9 M40/A34 are the last two non-free flowing junctions on the A34 ( Winchester to Preston Trunk Road) and the one near us is notorious. Really bad forward planning when they built the M3.
I always check Google Maps before setting
out from our house to check for hold ups and to decide on which route to take.
We are back home now and traffic is peeling off the A34 to drive through Winchester which is now grid locked too!
I worked on the A31 Alresford Bypass in the 80's? and the A31 Alton Bypass in 1970 to 73 - those were the days when folks were happy to have new roads built and Swampy nowhere in sight! [emoji3]

Rod

 

[timothyedoran]

We call the weekend before the Monday (BH) "Bank Holiday weekend" and that often includes the Friday as folks start to travel then and often Thursday evening too.
Junction 9 M3/A34 and Junction 9 M40/A34 are the last two non-free flowing junctions on the A34 ( Winchester to Preston Trunk Road) and the one near us is notorious. Really bad forward planning when they built the M3.
I always check Google Maps before setting
out from our house to check for hold ups and to decide on which route to take.
We are back home now and traffic is peeling off the A34 to drive through Winchester which is now grid locked too!
I worked on the A31 Alresford Bypass in the 80's? and the A31 Alton Bypass in 1970 to 73 - those were the days when folks were happy to have new roads built and Swampy nowhere in sight! [emoji3]

Rod

I am an 80s kid, and I thoroughly enjoyed the bypass, it made Alresford much nicer

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[RogerS]

Do they still have that misleading temporary motorway sign northbound on the M3 as you approach the M25 turn-off? It shows that there are TWO exits to the M25..the first to go clockwise and then the next exit a few hundred yards further on to go anti-clockwise.

The reality is that there is just the ONE exit with two lanes. The number of near misses as people realise at the last minute that the sign bears no reality to what is there.

 

[Malc2098]

Do they still have that misleading temporary motorway sign northbound on the M3 as you approach the M25 turn-off? It shows that there are TWO exits to the M25..the first to go clockwise and then the next exit a few hundred yards further on to go anti-clockwise.

The reality is that there is just the ONE exit with two lanes. The number of near misses as people realise at the last minute that the sign bears no reality to what is there.

Yes!!! Caught me out last month!!!

 

[AndyP]

Do they still have that misleading temporary motorway sign northbound on the M3 as you approach the M25 turn-off? It shows that there are TWO exits to the M25..the first to go clockwise and then the next exit a few hundred yards further on to go anti-clockwise.

The reality is that there is just the ONE exit with two lanes. The number of near misses as people realise at the last minute that the sign bears no reality to what is there.

So that was the real reason why I missed that junction.

I drove from Stonehenge to London last year, missed that junction altogether and ended up on the south circular. A route I travelled daily 30 years ago when I worked in Putney, boy has it changed. Anyway the reason I gave for missing the junction was that my daughter and I were listening to the Man City vs Leicester City match on the radio. We were so caught up in the excitement of Leicester's third goal that we sailed past the junction without ever seeing the signs.

 

[Rod]

Bank Holiday Monday and very quiet so far:

M3 Junction 2 - 1 lane (LHS) to Heathrow and the other (RH) to Gatwick, they then widen to two lanes each.

I'm pretty used to it so don't get caught out but can appreciate others can. There's often a very long queue leading to the slip off and some folks go sailing by.

Rod

 

[AndyP]

If you were to travel from Dorchester to London would you go via the A303 and Salisbury then on to the M3 or through the New Forest, M27, Winchester and on to the M3

 

[Rod]

A35, A31, M27, M3

Rod

 

[selectortone]

A35, A31, M27, M3

Rod

Dorchester to Ringwood - the journey from hell.

 

[AndyP]

A35, A31, M27, M3

Rod

Thought so, thanks.

 

[AndyP]

A35, A31, M27, M3

Rod

Dorchester to Ringwood - the journey from hell.

And I'll be doing it on a Monday around lunchtime, mid August

 

[selectortone]

Hopefully you won't be held up. It seems like every other day there is an accident on that stretch of road, often with fatalities. Apart from a couple of bypasses it hasn't changed much since the 60s when I moved down to Dorset. It's the major trunk route between Southampton and Exeter and some bits of it are like country B roads. In the summer you have artics, tractors and grockles in fast cars - not a good mix. Take care and allow lots of time.

 

[9fingers]

Maybe consider a more cross country route if it looks like there could be trouble around Ringwood

Dorchester, Blandford, Wilton, Stockbridge and join the M3 part way up

Bob

 

[AndyP]

Bob is that Blandford, Shaftesbury then A30 to Wilton A30 to Stockbridge and A30 all the way to M 3?

 

[RogerS]

A35, A31, M27, M3

Rod

Dorchester to Ringwood - the journey from hell.

And I'll be doing it on a Monday around lunchtime, mid August

I'd ditch that SatNav, Andy. Seems the wrong way to the Blue Mountains :lol:

 

[9fingers]

Bob is that Blandford, Shaftesbury then A30 to Wilton A30 to Stockbridge and A30 all the way to M 3?

I'd not bother with Shaftsbury, just go direct from Blandford to Wilton - A354 I think.
If Ringwood is OK, that that will be quicker but if it is bad it will be VERY bad and little avoiding action you can take once you are past Wimbourne Minster.

Bob

 

[AndyP]

Bob is that Blandford, Shaftesbury then A30 to Wilton A30 to Stockbridge and A30 all the way to M 3?

I'd not bother with Shaftsbury, just go direct from Blandford to Wilton - A354 I think.
If Ringwood is OK, that that will be quicker but if it is bad it will be VERY bad and little avoiding action you can take once you are past Wimbourne Minster.

Bob

I saw that route but the A354 goes south of Salisbury wheras Wilton is out to the west. I've only crossed Salisbury 3 times and it has been a nightmare every time.

 

[selectortone]

I'd not bother with Shaftsbury, just go direct from Blandford to Wilton - A354 I think.

Definitely. I lived in the Blandford area for a few years when I first moved down to Dorset and know that area well. The A345 Blandford-Salisbury road is a good straight route that doesn't attract a lot of traffic, especially during the middle of the day. From Salisbury hit the A30 Stockbridge road and stay on it until you hit the A303 just before it merges with the M3.

The Dorchester-Ringwood 'road from hell' remains the quickest if there are no holdups but as I said before, holdups are common, especially in the holiday season.

 

[selectortone]

I saw that route but the A354 goes south of Salisbury wheras Wilton is out to the west. I've only crossed Salisbury 3 times and it has been a nightmare every time.

Salisbury isn't usually too bad. There's a ring road that loops south of the town centre. Probably 15-20 mins tops from west to east coming in from Blandford.

 

[9fingers]

Bob is that Blandford, Shaftesbury then A30 to Wilton A30 to Stockbridge and A30 all the way to M 3?

I'd not bother with Shaftsbury, just go direct from Blandford to Wilton - A354 I think.
If Ringwood is OK, that that will be quicker but if it is bad it will be VERY bad and little avoiding action you can take once you are past Wimbourne Minster.

Bob

I saw that route but the A354 goes south of Salisbury wheras Wilton is out to the west. I've only crossed Salisbury 3 times and it has been a nightmare every time.

No dont go as far as Salisbury recognised as a regular hell. Instead cross country to Wilton and then skirt around Salisbury to the north and the A30.
Or once in Wilton, head to Amesbury (avoiding stonehenge) and onto A303 and A30 to M3

Stick a few way points into your satnav and you should be fine.

Bob

 

[Rod]

The A35 is a mixture of single and dual cwy stretches, A31 2 lane duals.
If traffic is moving will take 1hr 20mins to reach M3.
Other routes very scenic, mainly windy single cwys with not many overtaking places so you could get stuck behind slow moving stuff.
Salisbury at the wrong time of day can be a pain to get around.
On Bob's last suggestion the A303 runs into the M3 at Popham
Check Google Maps traffic before starting to see if the fast route is ok.

 

[Woodbloke]

Salisbury at the wrong time of day can be a pain to get around.

Yep, especially round by the Technical College, but us locals know of ways round the bottle necks to beat the traffic - Rob

 

[RogerS]

Do they still have that misleading temporary motorway sign northbound on the M3 as you approach the M25 turn-off? It shows that there are TWO exits to the M25..the first to go clockwise and then the next exit a few hundred yards further on to go anti-clockwise.

The reality is that there is just the ONE exit with two lanes. The number of near misses as people realise at the last minute that the sign bears no reality to what is there.

Yes!!! Caught me out last month!!!

I emailed Highways England about this. They told me that the 'signage follows industry practice'. So that's all good then. :evil: Richard-heads.

 

[9fingers]

Do they still have that misleading temporary motorway sign northbound on the M3 as you approach the M25 turn-off? It shows that there are TWO exits to the M25..the first to go clockwise and then the next exit a few hundred yards further on to go anti-clockwise.

The reality is that there is just the ONE exit with two lanes. The number of near misses as people realise at the last minute that the sign bears no reality to what is there.

Yes!!! Caught me out last month!!!

I emailed Highways England about this. They told me that the 'signage follows industry practice'. So that's all good then. :evil: Richard-heads.

There is quite a history to this junction. At peak times a lot of the traffic NE bound on the M3 turns off at this junction and it used to be signed like a normal junction and there were problems with rapid lane switching immediately after the turn off. they then modified it to get the heathrow traffic in lane about a mile before the junction and the gatwick people tended to stay in the middle lane and it works pretty well now.
Up until my retirement I used it regularly and honestly cant recall the signs but believe me the junction works a whole lot better than it used to.
They are now installing the smart hardshoulder scheme or what ever it is called so it could all change again soon.

Bob

 

[RogerS]

The misleading sign that I am referring to looks like this.



Quite clear that the first exit lane is for the M25 Heathrow and that a bit further on there will be another exit lane to M25 Gatwick. But there isn't.

 

[9fingers]

From memory the second exit is marked on the road. A hatched section once the Heathrow lot have moved off to the left followed by the near side lane going for gatwick.
Maybe I'm so familiar with it ever since the m25 opened I just know what to do??
Bob

 

[RogerS]

From memory the second exit is marked on the road. A hatched section once the Heathrow lot have moved off to the left followed by the near side lane going for gatwick.
Maybe I'm so familiar with it ever since the m25 opened I just know what to do??
Bob

If it's marked on the road then that's an awful waste of paint seeing as how vehicles will obscure it completely given the traffic volume !

 

[Rod]

I suppose I'm the same as I know it well so don't look at the signs that carefully.
"Queue Jumpers", those in the know and wanting to go to Heathrow etc you keep in the middle lane (Gatwick) which is normally a shorter queue then when the lanes widen to two each you switch to "Heathrow".
A naughty manoeuvre but happens all the time.

Rod

 

[RogerS]

....
A naughty manoeuvre but happens all the time.

Rod

Too damn right and basically bloody selfish. By doing that, they then have to slow down more to try and find a gap to slip into or like as not force their way into. That in turn ripples through the rest of the traffic including the outside lane and those destined for London.

Be so easy yo have an ANPR system there. clocking the same vehicle doing the same thing day-in-day-out. Summons through the post...driving without due care and consideration'.

Anyone see the bit in the press about the arrogant a*hole of a landlord who was appearing in court for various letting issues. Arrogant git parks his Ferrari on the pavement outside the court. Police get called. discover the car wasn't insured and so crushed it. Pure schadenfreude.

 

[AndyP]

I'd ditch that SatNav, Andy. Seems the wrong way to the Blue Mountains :lol:

I have two map data sets on the one App on my phone. One for Europe, the other North Eastern US. When in PA I will have to pay attention as we are staying in Dover which is just outside York with Lancaster on the other side of the river. Oh and we have to drive through Shrewsbury to get there.

 

[Phil]

....
A naughty manoeuvre but happens all the time.

Rod

Too damn right and basically bloody selfish. By doing that, they then have to slow down more to try and find a gap to slip into or like as not force their way into. That in turn ripples through the rest of the traffic including the outside lane and those destined for London.

Not quite sure what the problem is, it's the only way to drive in Africa, otherwise you will just get bumped off the road. :lol:

 

[Rod]

Well at least you are used to driving on the wrong side of the road! [emoji3]

Rod

 

[Phil]

Well at least you are used to driving on the wrong side of the road! [emoji3]

Rod

We drive on the left hand side, most of the time ...............

 

[9fingers]

I've just take a virtual drive up that bit of the M3 on streetview and it is quite clear on the overhead gantries to differentiate between Heathrow and Gatwick filters.

Sorry no sympathy for the directionally challenged here :lol:

Bob

 

[RogerS]

I've just take a virtual drive up that bit of the M3 on streetview and it is quite clear on the overhead gantries to differentiate between Heathrow and Gatwick filters.

Sorry no sympathy for the directionally challenged here :lol:

Bob

I don't see any gantries when I try Streetview..very strange. Certainly no overhead gantries when I last drove down there.