Stupid Road Closure
-
So, yesterday we went to visit our daughters. We turned off the A1 at the usual place onto the lanes. There were two cars in front. We came upon a Road Closed Ahead sign, and the two cars in front kept going, driving around the signage. We followed the road for the rest of it's length, until we passed the same signage for the opposite direction. We also drove past the Road Closed signage for both directions. There was a small area of the road coned off at a spot where the side of the road had crumbled away. Nobody working, and no sign of any vehicles that you would expect to see if work was to be carried out. I don't know why I followed the other two cars, but they seemed to know something I didn't. All I do know is that it saved me a 10mile diversion through other villages, and around 30mins extra driving time. Although I later discovered the suggested diversion was a lot longer than this.
-
7 Replies
-
"Road Closed Ahead" does not necessarily mean the road you're on. It can refer to a side road. Very confusing, misleading and annoying.
-
After our recent flooding there were many roads closed so that repairs could be made. One road had the road closed sign up long after the flooding which made no sense until the residents of the exclusive neighborhood that was accessed by this road petitioned the County Commissioners to turn it into a private road.
I of course objected at the public meeting pointing out how many of the Commissioners lived in that exclusive enclave, and they couldn't vote on the issue as it was a conflict of interest. No Quorum, no vote, and a few days later the road closed signs were removed. -
Was it in Northill (near Shuttleworth?)
I was there recently, I'd got there to find a "Road Closed" sign with the diversion pointing back the way I came – if that's the case why didn't it say earlier? – so carried on and saw a roadworks taking up half the road, so just drove round it -
@Drivingforfun I'm not sure which town/village it comes under, but it is the road from the first water tower on the A1 to Potton, between the water tower and the roundabout. 'Pothole Alley'
Red was the closed section, and the green and black lines are their preferred diversions.Last edited by Rolebama; 04-12-25 at 11:37.
-
Oh, that road is quite often closed
I've noticed the signs often seem weird, there must be a reason it doesn't send people on the A1... but seems weird to send extra traffic through the villages
-
@Drivingforfun And that's why you will never get a job in Highways! 😁
-
I remember, before decimal currency even! The local authority removed all signage at the end of the working day if was safe to do so. Now of course the job is outsourced, and the contractor outsources the signage, so it's simpler to leave signs where they are until a week or two after the job is done, well I mean what the contractor calls done.