This week, I was asked to look at and comment on this BBC story about a mysterious “drainage defect” that has led to the closure of the “lane three” northbound and southbound on the M1.
Work is continuing on a stretch of the M1 in Bedfordshire as engineers investigate a “drainage defect” in the central reservation, according to National Highways.
Lane closures between junction 12 at Toddington and junction 13 for Brogborough were first put in place on 27 January.
Although the story was dated nearly two weeks ago (14 February) at a time when all lanes on the northbound carriageway were open, it appears that lane three is again closed in both directions.
When it says “no delays expected”, the hard shoulder on this dynamic hard shoulder scheme is being used.
It looks as if the drainage defect has been caused by the replacement of the steel barrier with concrete, which has somehow compromised the drainage in one or more ways, including possibly changing the hydraulics and compressing the soil.
This has in turn weakened the barrier supports, according to National Highways.
And with cabling having been laid, it looks as if it might be a complex problem to fix.
Tony Fisher/BBC
It’s a shame. I have written before about what National Highways was pro-actively doing to replace steel barriers with concrete, which is safer because of the reduced risk of head-on crossover crashes.
Transport Insights 