A14 antics

miniyazz

miniyazz

miniyazz

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Was anyone else travelling westbound along the A14 today? Must've been between Kettering and the M6/M1. I got stuck in a major queue from around 12.15 to about 14.30. Barely moving - I spent more time with the engine off than with it on. Apparently some sort of accident, but I'm not sure what it involved - anyone know?

Anyway, they closed off the whole carriageway, but.. they somehow neglected to put any diversion signs or routes in place, unless I somehow managed to miss all indications. So we all turn off the road at the slip-road, only to be confronted with a T-junction onto Northampton Road, and half the cars turning one way and half going the other way. Since there hadn't been any warning of the carriageway being closed until it was too late to figure out an alternate route, and I was the only one in the car, it was pretty much pot luck which way I went, and from there we were somehow expected to find our way onto the motorway?

Anyway, after half an hour of navigating various white roads, most of which seemed to go perpendicular to the A14, I finally got myself back onto the main road at the M1/M6/A14 junction.

So was I the only one who managed to miss any diversion signs and end up in the middle of nowhere, or did others have the same problem? And anyone know what was the original accident about?
 
Of course, I never travel without one, although on this occasion I actually made use of my phone's sat nav, because I hadn't been paying attention to where I was along the A14 and therefore didn't have a clue as to where I was on the map :o.

Admittedly I don't travel very frequently along the A14, I've just never really been held up along it before. But I was more surprised that they neither warned of the road closure nor had any sort of diversion in place, because the A14 is the only road in the area of any size and so even with a map, it's not the simplest of areas to navigate out of, and a bit of warning would have been nice.
 
Ah yes, I remember years ago on the way to JAE we got stuck in an epic traffic jam on the A14. Never had a problem since then though, that said I use the road very rarely.
 
Dunno what happened but as R420LA6X2 said

"Normal day at the office"

Just for your info.... Before the A14 was built, the main route was the A427 which.. Strangely enough.. Still goes the same way !!

So, for westbound..

Kettering.. North on A6003. Turn Westbound onto A427 and follow your nose which will bring you out at J20 of the M1

Google Map

This was our main route out of Corby (steel) to the M1 & M6 for aeons before the A14 was built.
Great road actually
 
Its quite normal for Swansea council to cone off an ENTIRE M4 Junction for one person doing litter picking, expecting you to not only know you need to get over from doing motorway speeds onto the next junction without warning but also how to get back onto the M4 once you have passed it. They have done this on more than one occasion, but fortunately I wasn't caught out unlike some poor sod who went straight through a line of cones. (Think normal motorway to hard shoulder filtering off at the junction in about 200 yards without warning)
 
Outcast said:
Dunno what happened but as R420LA6X2 said

"Normal day at the office"

Just for your info.... Before the A14 was built, the main route was the A427 which.. Strangely enough.. Still goes the same way !!

So, for westbound..

Kettering.. North on A6003. Turn Westbound onto A427 and follow your nose which will bring you out at J20 of the M1

Google Map

This was our main route out of Corby (steel) to the M1 & M6 for aeons before the A14 was built.
Great road actually
Click to expand...

Yes, with hindsight that would have been the route to take (we came off at the B road leading north to D). Unfortunately, not having looked at a map at that point, I went south, wanting to stay on that side of the dual-carriageway, and took it from there :p

mejinks said:
Its quite normal for Swansea council to cone off an ENTIRE M4 Junction for one person doing litter picking, expecting you to not only know you need to get over from doing motorway speeds onto the next junction without warning but also how to get back onto the M4 once you have passed it. They have done this on more than one occasion, but fortunately I wasn't caught out unlike some poor sod who went straight through a line of cones. (Think normal motorway to hard shoulder filtering off at the junction in about 200 yards without warning)
Click to expand...

Sucks. On a motorway too, they could at least use those overhead digital signs? Also I would have expected there to be a queue caused by everyone leaving the motorway, but I spose it could be a quiet time of day! Certainly no danger of not slowing down for this diversion.

Ah well, if this is commonplace, I learnt something new today..
 
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