Maintaining ageing road infrastructure

[AndrewE]

How about all the road bridges/viaducts carrying the M6 up the east side of the Lake District? https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/north-west/m6-lune-gorge-structures/

The seven bridges that carry the M6 over the Lune Gorge in Cumbria are rapidly reaching the end of their serviceable life.
We’re going to carry out essential maintenance to improve the lifespan of these bridges. This means they'll continue to provide a vital connection between the north and south of the United Kingdom. 
The scheme is all within a six-mile stretch of the M6 motorway between junctions 37 and 38.

Main works from Spring 2027 to summer 2031​

We'll install contraflow running on the M6 and replace the bridge decks.
Replacing the seven bridge decks includes:

• replacing bridge beams
• reconstructing the bridge decks
• other maintenance works on the bridge structures

which sounds like a lot more than "essential maintenance" to me!

 

[ABB125]

I wonder how much of an impact maintenance deferral (or just not bothering/no funding available) has had?

 

[The exile]

I wonder how much of an impact maintenance deferral (or just not bothering/no funding available) has had?

Well, the damage that is going to take half a billion and 6 years to remedy on the M32 was apparently exacerbated by blocked drainage.

 

[birchesgreen]

They've been working on the M6 Bromford viaduct for years.

 

[edwin_m]

How about all the road bridges/viaducts carrying the M6 up the east side of the Lake District?

These would be a similar vintage to Clifton Bridge near Penrith that was replaced a few months ago. That was rail over road and NR were reported as doing the replacement, but was it built by the same people, possibly with the same materials and similar design, as the bridges where the motorway goes over?

 

[NoMorePacers]

There was the (recently completed) long-running roadworks on the early 1960s Wentbridge Viaduct on the A1.

Slightly annoyingly those works have probably put paid to any chances in the foreseeable future of that section of A1 finally being upgraded to motorway standard.

 

[BrianW]

Problems with 'concrete cancer' have been known about for years. There have always been pressures to reduce time taken for concrete to 'cure' and for shuttering to 'move on'; admixtures have been common. The M5/M6 junctions and related viaducts have been subject to repair for many yeaqrs already. They are now old and, like us, need remedial repair. Same with Victorian infrastucture. RAAC is a recent 'discovery'. We and recent generations are to blame. We don't want to pay. We don't want the inconvenience of road works and lane closures. We need to wise up, grow up, and pay up.

 

[mrmartin]

Was thinking about this but when you think about it more there was perhaps 15 years of maximum road building between 1960-1975 (so even a 60 year service life is spread over 15 years, not all at once). And clearly a lot of stuff has/can be life extended.

Not sure the M6 in lake District is a huge issue as it's all dual 3 plus hard shoulders, which should allow 2x2 contraflow operation which makes it much easier (and shouldn't cause massive traffic issues given the relatively light loads on it). Bigger problem is local access (ironic given I'm sure these people would be the first to protest if it wasn't built there and a new motorway was proposed!).

Bigger problem is (sub)urban stuff with very high traffic loads like Birmingham and the aforementioned M32 where it's already massively over capacity. The M6 toll idea at the start wouldn't help - it's a massive diversion for people coming from the M5 for example and would just move the blockage to the M42.

Ideally they could build a Western bypass of Birmingham and then contraflow the M6 itself if major repairs had to be done.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 May 2026 ==

Problems with 'concrete cancer' have been known about for years. There have always been pressures to reduce time taken for concrete to 'cure' and for shuttering to 'move on'; admixtures have been common. The M5/M6 junctions and related viaducts have been subject to repair for many yeaqrs already. They are now old and, like us, need remedial repair. Same with Victorian infrastucture. RAAC is a recent 'discovery'. We and recent generations are to blame. We don't want to pay. We don't want the inconvenience of road works and lane closures. We need to wise up, grow up, and pay up.

The issue though is the cost inflation. The M32 cost £70-100m to build in 2026 prices (adjusted for inflation). It's now costing £500m+ to repair.

Even basic single carriageway bypasses of provincial towns/cities cost £300-400m for similar lengths.

 

[Cowley]

I’ve merged this into a similar discussion that I started a while ago.

Interesting subject.

 

[The exile]

Was thinking about this but when you think about it more there was perhaps 15 years of maximum road building between 1960-1975 (so even a 60 year service life is spread over 15 years, not all at once). And clearly a lot of stuff has/can be life extended.

Given the length of time to plan, fund, schedule and carry out the works (not to mention the length of time infrastructure should last) 15 years is basically “all at once”.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Be interesting to have some examples of how this issue is being dealt with (if indeed it is being dealt with!) elsewhere in Europe and around the world. Whilst some of the issues might be specific to here (e.g. a particular construction technique or a common type of corner cutting by contractors), I'd imagine many of the issues have similarities to those experienced elsewhere.

 

[The exile]

Be interesting to have some examples of how this issue is being dealt with (if indeed it is being dealt with!) elsewhere in Europe and around the world. Whilst some of the issues might be specific to here (e.g. a particular construction technique or a common type of corner cutting by contractors), I'd imagine many of the issues have similarities to those experienced elsewhere.

Well, Germany has already had to replace two large Motorway viaducts and spectacularly didn’t get to one carriageway of the Carola Bridge in Dresden in time. They also have had a series of railway inspections reducing line speed from the previous normal to “0 kmh” instantly, which is never good news.

 

[ABB125]

Be interesting to have some examples of how this issue is being dealt with (if indeed it is being dealt with!) elsewhere in Europe and around the world. Whilst some of the issues might be specific to here (e.g. a particular construction technique or a common type of corner cutting by contractors), I'd imagine many of the issues have similarities to those experienced elsewhere.

The relatively recent collapse of the Morandi viaduct (built late 1960s) in Genoa shows what can happen. I believe the viaduct was undergoing refurbishment and strengthening works at the time, but unfortunately it seems to have been a case to "too little, too late".

Notably, we have rather fewer very large structures on the majority road network in comparison to other countries (mainly just bridges over river estuaries) so perhaps are in a slightly better position.