East Coast Mainline Blockade for Werrington Junction diveunder

[John Tomlinson]

8 hours ago, phil-b259 said:

 

Yup the offline bit south / west of Huntingdon is pretty much ready to be opened. All its waiting for is some legal paperwork to be sorted.... by which hangs a tale...

 

You see, the road was originally designed as a bog standard 3 lane dual carriageway 'A' Road - but just as construction was starting the men from the ministry proudly announced that it would actually open as a 'Smart Motorway' complete with variable limits and mandatory matrix signage. To do this however certain additional legislation would need to be passed......

 

All fine and dandy you might think, BUT as with a lot of other things in this country (including some far more important issues than the status of the A14)  B****t has so gummed up the normal function of Government that there hasn't been time to complete the necessary legislative processes.

 

Faced with a brand new road sitting idle for the best part of a year while Whitehall tries to find time to do its normal duties as well as all the extra work B****t has created, Highways England have given up on making it a motorway and have instead signed it as an ordinary 'A' road.

 

The problem with this move is that all their fancy new electronic signs are rather pointless as the current laws relating to mandatory variable speed limits and matrix sign instructions expressly forbids them from being legally enforceable on anything other than motorways (or 'special roads as they are officially known). Other things which would be banned by default were the road a motorway include HGVs using lane 3, tractors using it, cyclists using it , etc, etc

 

It is understood therefore that some last minute Traffic Regulation Orders are being applied for to try and address some of these issues - none of which would have occurred had the necessary legislation to make it a motorway been able to be passed in the usual manor.

 

Of course once it opens as an ordinary road, it becomes an official 'right of way' (motorways are not 'rights of way due to the specific legislation that creates them) and trying to extinguish a right of way is not particularly straightforward....

 

 

Thanks for that clarification Phil.

 

My only interest in this section of the A14 is as a vantage point to photograph the ECML, which a number of folk have already done. This becomes harder, possibly illegal, if it's a motorway.

 

John.

[Ken.W]

On 07/11/2019 at 03:35, phil-b259 said:

 

Not so

 

What will actually happen at Christmas is the construction of a temporary 'crash deck' to protect the ECML while demolition takes place during the following 6 months.

 

Even with this in place the actual removal of the bridge sections over the railway will be done during possessions.

 

The details can be found here:- (page 14 onwards) https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/TR010018/TR010018-002142-Highways England - HE-A14-EX-93 Response to ExAs Second Written Questions Huntingdon Viaduct Response Collated.pdf

 

Thanks for clarifying that. Like I said, my contact heard this from someone who lives in the area, though we did wonder how they were going to get that down in two days, thinking maybe it'd be just the section over the railway.

[phil-b259]

On ‎07‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 12:49, John Tomlinson said:

Thanks for that clarification Phil.

 

My only interest in this section of the A14 is as a vantage point to photograph the ECML, which a number of folk have already done. This becomes harder, possibly illegal, if it's a motorway.

 

John.

 

As I said earlier, Highways England are applying for various traffic Regulation Orders which could see Pedestrians banned from the road as part of measures to try and preserve some of the benefits that Motoways have.

 

It will naturally be designated a clearway and I don't think it has lay-bys (a consequence of the plan to make it a motorway) so finding somewhere to stop will be a challenge and the lack of a footpath is going to make getting to the ECML bridge not pleasant even if pedestrians are not banned.

 

Those taking photos from the bridge technically shouldn't be there! - Until it officially opens to the public the new road is a construction site and any persons inside the boundary fences are technically trespassing (unless they have been given official permission to be there such as the recent 'Great Ouse Challenge' Event https://www.huntspost.co.uk/home/money-raised-for-two-charities-at-a14-road-race-1-6323502).

 

Highways England say it will open on the 9th December - complete with a ban on slow moving vehicles and mandatory variable speed limits (as previously only seen on 'Smart Motorways'). No mention of pedestrians on the press release though so it might need someone to check it out the signage on opening day. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/a14-bypass-opening-date-revealed

 

 

Edited November 9, 2019 by phil-b259

[John Tomlinson]

Thanks Phil, that's very informative and helpful.

 

John.

[Donington Road]

Filling the pot holes in Hurn Road

 

 

 

 

[Richard E]

13 hours ago, Donington Road said:

Filling the pot holes in Hurn Road

 

 

My word, for a moment I wondered if you'd got site access until I realised where that is. Dumper truck is standing on the old Hurn road access under the A15, photograph taken from Lincoln Road!

[Donington Road]

51 minutes ago, Richard E said:

 

My word, for a moment I wondered if you'd got site access until I realised where that is. Dumper truck is standing on the old Hurn road access under the A15, photograph taken from Lincoln Road!

 

If I was fortunate enough to have site access I don't think I would be welcomed at home after visiting, considering how the state of the site is in at the moment.

There is water everywhere, you can just see under the bridge in the first photo where the first part of the dive under starts that it is very full of water.

[Richard E]

It is rather:

 

 

I see that there at least two new OHLE masts up at the southern end of the work area with a third to follow, the first one already has the earth line attached to it;

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the quality of the first two, they are shot through a wire mesh. As for the third I WAS outside the railway boundary but the access gates had been left open so I was able to shoot through that.

 

I think it is interesting that the OHLE gantry spans both of the Stamford lines but it looks as if parts for just one register arm per gantry are on site.

 

It also looks to me as if re-opening of the footbridge that has been replaced won't be tomorrow, it still has a number of missing panels on the sides of the walkways on the Bretton (western) side and there didn't seem to be many folk about today ...

 

Spotted an interesting item on the trackside on the Spalding line, it is on the far side of the track to the works;

 

 

The label says it is an MSAM - Morgan Sindall Automatic Monitoring. What it is monitoring I have no idea. It looks almost like a survey level head on it to me so could they be monitoring the existing trackbed and/or bank for movement. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

Hurn Lane footbridge now has temporary access into the 6' between the ECML and the Stamford lines although the access from the bridge hasn't been created yet;

 

 

 

[Donington Road]

10 hours ago, Richard E said:

It is rather:

 

 

I see that there at least two new OHLE masts up at the southern end of the work area with a third to follow, the first one already has the earth line attached to it;

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the quality of the first two, they are shot through a wire mesh. As for the third I WAS outside the railway boundary but the access gates had been left open so I was able to shoot through that.

 

I think it is interesting that the OHLE gantry spans both of the Stamford lines but it looks as if parts for just one register arm per gantry are on site.

 

It also looks to me as if re-opening of the footbridge that has been replaced won't be tomorrow, it still has a number of missing panels on the sides of the walkways on the Bretton (western) side and there didn't seem to be many folk about today ...

 

Spotted an interesting item on the trackside on the Spalding line, it is on the far side of the track to the works;

 

 

The label says it is an MSAM - Morgan Sindall Automatic Monitoring. What it is monitoring I have no idea. It looks almost like a survey level head on it to me so could they be monitoring the existing trackbed and/or bank for movement. Can anyone shed any light on this?

 

Hurn Lane footbridge now has temporary access into the 6' between the ECML and the Stamford lines although the access from the bridge hasn't been created yet;

 

 

 

 

Some good photos Richard.

According to Friday's NR meeting at Loxley, Cock Lane footbridge is scheduled to open Monday but access across it will only be via the steps, the ramps are due to finished this week.

The scaffolding on Hurn Road footbridge was done overnight last Saturday/Sunday and was supposed to be finished this weekend.

The white triangular mounts are monitoring ground movement, they are also quite a number of them in the six foot between Cock Lane and Hurn Road, the last one just a few yards north of Hurn Road.

Another gantry has gone up just before Hurn Road, there are now three there where the stamford lines will deviate.

 

photo showing the white monitors

Edited November 11, 2019 by Donington Road

[Richard E]

Visited site again today, the new footbridge is open but only via steps. It is going to be awful for photography, need a step stool to be able to see along the main lines.

 

Anyway a couple of shots today which haven't been possible of late. firstly a look at the box drain being built under the new Stamford alignment:

 

 

And a slightly different angle taken from higher up on the new footbridge, it looks as if the OHLE mast locations are also in place:

 

 

And finally looking north where the bases for the OHLE masts can be seen to the right of the bed of what appears to be ballast both to the south and north of the underbridge that is going in for works/maintenance access on the dive under itself. And just to the left of the picture there are sleepers and lengths of rail visible. There seem to be more sleepers and a pile of ballast at the north end of the site as well. The alignment of the ballast bed does run under the footbridge despite appearances here. the picture was taken from the top of the western ramp with a long lens hence the foreshortened look:

 

 

[Donington Road]

3 hours ago, Richard E said:

Visited site again today, the new footbridge is open but only via steps. It is going to be awful for photography, need a step stool to be able to see along the main lines.

 

Anyway a couple of shots today which haven't been possible of late. firstly a look at the box drain being built under the new Stamford alignment:

 

 

And a slightly different angle taken from higher up on the new footbridge, it looks as if the OHLE mast locations are also in place:

 

 

And finally looking north where the bases for the OHLE masts can be seen to the right of the bed of what appears to be ballast both to the south and north of the underbridge that is going in for works/maintenance access on the dive under itself. And just to the left of the picture there are sleepers and lengths of rail visible. There seem to be more sleepers and a pile of ballast at the north end of the site as well. The alignment of the ballast bed does run under the footbridge despite appearances here. the picture was taken from the top of the western ramp with a long lens hence the foreshortened look:

 

 

 

Well done for getting some new images today.
I had half an hour to spare this morning and was down there at 10 am but the bridge was still closed.
Very surprised the culvert is not finished, that was the whole idea of taking down the old footbridge so they could complete it.
In your photo you can see where they will come under the Stamford lines to extract the spoil from the work that will be done between them and the main line.

 

[Richard E]

1 hour ago, Donington Road said:

 

Well done for getting some new images today.
I had half an hour to spare this morning and was down there at 10 am but the bridge was still closed.
Very surprised the culvert is not finished, that was the whole idea of taking down the old footbridge so they could complete it.
In your photo you can see where they will come under the Stamford lines to extract the spoil from the work that will be done between them and the main line.

 

 

Yes, that's what I was referring to when I mentioned the dive under maintenance access.

 

One thing I forgot to mention was they had additional pumps in use to drain water from the north end of the old culvert, it looks as if the sheer amount of water on site has taken a toll and may account for the incomplete state of the new culvert. I'd estimate they are between two and three weeks behind schedule at the moment.

[Donington Road]

Just a small tour of the new footbridge.

 

 

 

[Donington Road]

A little update.

I have had a nasty cold for a couple of weeks and have not been out of the house to see any new developments.

However, a friend emailed this photo taken this afternoon of the new trackbed progressing towards Cock Lane footbridge.

There appears to be a lot of room between the new lines and the ECML once the Stamford lines are removed.

 

[Richard E]

13 hours ago, Donington Road said:

A little update.

I have had a nasty cold for a couple of weeks and have not been out of the house to see any new developments.

However, a friend emailed this photo taken this afternoon of the new trackbed progressing towards Cock Lane footbridge.

There appears to be a lot of room between the new lines and the ECML once the Stamford lines are removed.

 

 

Sorry to hear about your cold, I hope you recover soon.

 

Well now, that shows the dive under is definitely not a split of the Stamford lines which agrees with the comments I posted some time ago following my site visit and briefings given to us by one of the senior Project Managers. It seem the drawings in public spheres don't agree with those in use internally by the project.

Edited November 27, 2019 by Richard E

[62613]

2 hours ago, Richard E said:

 It seem the drawings in public spheres don't agree with those in use internally by the project.

Having worked as a draffy for 30 years, can I just say that that's quite normal!

 

[melmerby]

Aren't these just temporary tracks until the diveunder has been built?

Then they can go in their "correct" positions.

I wouldn't expect a temporary track alongside the down main whilst the construction is going on, moving the tracks well away leaves plenty of room.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by melmerby

[Richard E]

Right, I've been up the junction (!).

 

Let's start at the very southern end of the site at Marholm Road footbridge.

 

Work has crept south to the bridge itself, this first one is from the very bottom of the footbridge ramp on the Bretton Way side.

 

 

And looking north from the footbridge ramp. Not a very good picture for some reason but it is what it is. Probably down to being shot through wire mesh!

 

 

Moving north we come to Cock Lane bridge. There is still no wheelchair access from Bretton. Here we are looking from the footbridge steps south and can see that the culvert that the slewed lines will sit on is almost complete.

 

 

And this is where the culvert will discharge. This is on the west side of the footbridge.

 

 

As one can see it's a bit wet, this holding pond is usually almost empty, there is evidence of it having run over the access path to the footbridge which is just out of shot to the left.

 

 

Next we can see the new Stamford lines going in with a shot that mirrors that posted by Donington Road. And the piling for the OHLE masts can be seen along the left hand side of these new lines. If this is a temporary alignment I would have thought that the OHLE wouldn't necessarily have gone up on a line that is not heavily used by electric haulage. There is also track drainage visible to the right of this pair. Time will tell how permanent this alignment will be.

 

 

And this is where they will run next to the footbridge.

 

 

We've also acquired a temporary level crossing!

 

 

Moving on we then come to Hurn Road and the footbridge there. A view south into the worksite with the slewed lines to the right. The return to the original alignment seems pretty tight, albeit exaggerated by the long lens. Again the OHLE bases can be seen to the right of the new lines, one can be made out in front of the pickup in the centre of the frame with another two between there and the new mast that is already in place.

 

 

And finally the bridge under the A15. They are casting some concrete piles under there using an auger to excavate and then injecting concrete into the resulting hole.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Richard E
spelling

[Donington Road]

6 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

Sorry to hear about your cold, I hope you recover soon.

 

Well now, that shows the dive under is definitely not a split of the Stamford lines which agrees with the comments I posted some time ago following my site visit and briefings given to us by one of the senior Project Managers. It seem the drawings in public spheres don't agree with those in use internally by the project.

 

Thanks Richard, it's never the best time of year for colds and this one is pretty vicious so I am trying to keep away from people.

[Donington Road]

30 minutes ago, Richard E said:

Right, I've been up the junction (!).

 

Let's start at the very southern end of the site at Marholm Road footbridge.

 

Work has crept south to the bridge itself, this first one is from the very bottom of the footbridge ramp on the Bretton Way side.

 

 

And looking north from the footbridge ramp. Not a very good picture for some reason but it is what it is. Probably down to being shot through wire mesh!

 

 

Moving north we come to Cock Lane bridge. There is still no wheelchair access from Bretton. Here we are looking from the footbridge steps south and can see that the culvert that the slewed lines will sit on is almost complete.

 

 

And this is where the culvert will discharge. This is on the west side of the footbridge.

 

 

As one can see it's a bit wet, this holding pond is usually almost empty, there is evidence of it having run over the access path to the footbridge which is just out of shot to the left.

 

 

Next we can see the new Stamford lines going in with a shot that mirrors that posted by Donington Road. And the piling for the OHLE masts can be seen along the left hand side of these new lines. If this is a temporary alignment I would have thought that the OHLE wouldn't necessarily have gone up on a line that is not heavily used by electric haulage. There is also track drainage visible to the right of this pair.

 

 

And this is where they will run next to the footbridge.

 

 

We've also acquired a temporary level crossing!

 

 

Moving on we then come to Hurn Road and the footbridge there. A view south into the worksite with the slewed lines to the right. The return to the original alignment seems pretty tight, albeit exaggerated by the long lens. Again the OHLE bases can be seen to the right of the new lines, one can be made out in front of the pickup in the centre of the frame with another two between there and the new mast that is already in place.

 

 

And finally the bridge under the A15. They are casting some concrete piled under there using an auger to excavate and then injecting concrete into the resulting hole.

 

 

 

Great set of pictures Richard, I don't feel so isolated now sitting at home.
Regarding the new lines as I understand it, the down Stamford is in it's final position hence the OHLE going up as well.  The up Stamford is temporary.  Once the dive under is completed, the up Stamford will be positioned between the dive under and the down fast of the ECML.
I am not disputing what you have been told when on site as your version of events may well be correct.  It would be nice to see some updated plans.

[Richard E]

1 hour ago, Donington Road said:

 

Great set of pictures Richard, I don't feel so isolated now sitting at home.
Regarding the new lines as I understand it, the down Stamford is in it's final position hence the OHLE going up as well.  The up Stamford is temporary.  Once the dive under is completed, the up Stamford will be positioned between the dive under and the down fast of the ECML.
I am not disputing what you have been told when on site as your version of events may well be correct.  It would be nice to see some updated plans.

 

Glad you are feeling less isolated and I feel for you having a nasty cold. I've not suffered for two years now so I'm expecting the next one to hit hard unfortunately.

 

That permanent/temporary alignment kind of makes sense and ties in with what Melmerby has suggested as well - I'd suspect misunderstandings abound with what we were told and we will have to wait for the final alignment next year although there might be a clue or two when the slew is effected next month. Thinking further it is logical for operational reasons that the dive under splits the Stamford lines so I'll take that view myself going forward.

 

It seems sensible to document the changes by way of our visits and posts as time and fading memory will eventually play havoc with any reocrds of what actually happened. At least there is a record of sorts here for the time being and also in our own photo records.

Edited November 27, 2019 by Richard E
added comment

[Shed]

some great pictures there

[Donington Road]

2 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

Glad you are feeling less isolated and I feel for you having a nasty cold. I've not suffered for two years now so I'm expecting the next one to hit hard unfortunately.

 

That permanent/temporary alignment kind of makes sense and ties in with what Melmerby has suggested as well - I'd suspect misunderstandings abound with what we were told and we will have to wait for the final alignment next year although there might be a clue or two when the slew is effected next month. Thinking further it is logical for operational reasons that the dive under splits the Stamford lines so I'll take that view myself going forward.

 

It seems sensible to document the changes by way of our visits and posts as time and fading memory will eventually play havoc with any reocrds of what actually happened. At least there is a record of sorts here for the time being and also in our own photo records.

 

If both the Stamford lines remain on the new alignment then the Walton end of the junction would require a ladder crossing very similar to the Joint/ECML which would IMO incur capacity and operational movements on those lines.

Like we say, it's a bit of a wait and see situation, but fascinating watching it all unfold.

I hope you keep taking more photos as time goes by.  I'm trying to keep to a weekly update with photos.  I also know some of those working on site have been doing time lapses but unfortunately they are not interested in putting them up on the internet.

[ess1uk]

Surprised NR haven’t got a web cam set up

[Richard E]

22 minutes ago, Donington Road said:

 

If both the Stamford lines remain on the new alignment then the Walton end of the junction would require a ladder crossing very similar to the Joint/ECML which would IMO incur capacity and operational movements on those lines.

Like we say, it's a bit of a wait and see situation, but fascinating watching it all unfold.

I hope you keep taking more photos as time goes by.  I'm trying to keep to a weekly update with photos.  I also know some of those working on site have been doing time lapses but unfortunately they are not interested in putting them up on the internet.

 

That's exactly why, after some thought, I reckon there has been a misunderstanding somewhere (probably me). I'd intended to make a weekly visit but I wasn't about last week, Friday was Wales and Saturday Lincolnshire playing with motor cars. Still, now we are in late November, my weekends no longer involve playing with rally cars so I should be able to give a bit more time to railways for a while.

 

I find trying to get shots of the eastern side of the dive under frustrating as access is very limited unless you park on Hurn Road/Lincoln Road and walk up to one of the bus stops on the A15. You've then got to get to the bridge which is a bit risky with the standard of driving around Peterborough. Even then the view is still limited.

 

This weekend sees ECML services diverted via Lincoln again between 13:00 on Saturday and 12:00 on Sunday so it could be an opportunity to catch some unusual movements between those times. Nottingham-Norwich services are also being diverted and will not call at Grantham. They will see 15 minute delays due to the diversion via Loughborough and Melton Mowbray.