New motorway madness
Page 5
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M1 JAMS with tailbacks of up to 40 miles will bring chaos and extra cost to operators for the two weeks from July 2.
The Freight Transport Association and the Road Haulage Association are calling for operators to plan well ahead for hold ups, and the Department of Transport has said that there will be no let up on drivers' hours regulations.
It is believed that the major roadworks at Junction Eight near Hemel Hempstead will cause drivers to sit through the worst traffic jams this country has ever seen. And it is also widely agreed that there is little alternative to the MI as a main north-south route.
The Department of Transport has warned that operators must watch their drivers' hours. "In view of the consultation with industry and the publicity, it's up to operators to plan their shifts and drivers' hours accordingly. There will be no bendi g of the rules," a spokesman said.
However a police spokesman told CM that each offence that comes to light will be "reviewed in the light of the circumstances". But he stressed that the whole purpose of the advanced publicity was to warn drivers of the -mess they could run into.
The Junction Eight area is the second busiest section of the motorway in the country and carries 120,000 vehicles a day. Between July 2 and 16, works on a 200 yard stretch of the motorway is reducing flow to two lanes in both directions in a contraflow system.
In addition there is the complication of a short diversion for the M10 northbound traffic. This will be joining the M1 in the area, leaving at Junction Eight and rejoining the jam by the north slip road..
The Road Haulage Association is advising its. members to think about their plans well in advance, although it says that delay times will be im possible to predict.
It is telling its members to make up their own minds on whether to stay on the MI, but says that there are no real alternative routes.
An RHA spokesman said that on DTp statistics the minimum acknowledged delay of 45 minutes could give seyen-ntile tailbacks. 01.;er the two-week span this Could
amount to a cost to the road freight industry, he said.
If there is a minor incident the delay times could be extended to two hours in 20mile queues. And if there is a major problem the jams could easily stretch to 40 miles, he said.
Lorries running any further north than between Birmingham and London may run into real problems with their drivers' hours, and may have to pull off at either the Scratchwood or Toddington services, he added.
The DTp and Freight Transport Association is advising lorry drivers to stick. to the M1 on the long hauls. The FTA is telling its members to plan for delays, and to listen to the advance radio warnings that will come into force as far north as Sheffield. It says if lorries go into the countryside to find shortcuts, they will find themselves stuck.
The St Albans ban on lorries over 7.5 tonnes gvw is a block to any escape in the area. But there will be a temporary exemption near „Redbourn on a signed diversion off the motorway through to Hensel Hempstead's industrial area. The police have warned that if any lorry driver strays off the route in the banned area he will be committing an offeikce.
Some operators contacted by CM have said that they will be trying to avoid the jam area at all costs, but that sometimes it will be necessary to use the trouble spot.
SAS Transport Irons Bromley in Kent said that its refrigerated deliveries to Birmingham, Scotland and Manchester would be severely disrupted by the roadworks. SAS's managing director John Parsons said that deliveries had to made at Birmingham by around 11.30 am.
The MI delays mean that his drivers will probably have to leave the previous day — and this would mean a night out and possibly two drivers for one day's work, he said. Or else his drivers could take an A road route, but the A5 would be difficult. "Everybody else and their dog will be on the A5", he said.
The Post Office parcels and letter services will be totally avoiding the Hemel Hempstead M1 area, a spokesman said. Between St Albans and Watford, parcels and letters will go by rail for the two weeks.
• Information for M1 Junction Eight conditions from ,fuly 2 to 16 can be found out on: — Phone-in news service by Hertfordshire police on 01571 9010.
— ITV's Oracle and BBC's Cefax teletext services.
— Local and national radio.