Transport Insights

National Highways appears no nearer to fixing the “drainage defect” that is disrupting a stretch of the M1, closing lane three in each direction.

I wrote last week about the problem, which has, according to the government-owned company, weakened barrier supports in the central reservation, but which it is unable to explain.

The BBC reported last week:

Despite several inquiries by the BBC, National Highways has been unable to clarify the exact nature of what they describe as a “drainage defect” or what caused it.

The roadworks, which began on 28 January (pictured), were officially scheduled to finish yesterday but have been extended for another week.

National Highways has not responded to my request for comment, presumably because it does not know what is going on.

As I post this, there are northbound delays, which is unsurprising as the road is currently operating as a three lane motorway with the hard shoulder in use as a running lane and an obvious lack of resilience.