
Posted on: October 29, 2018
UK Roads are Some Of The Most Congested in the World
The United Kingdom is ranked at number ten in the worse streets in the world category, outdone by Russia and Turkey in Europe.
London is the UK’s most congested city, where drivers spend 73 hours per year stuck in traffic. The cost per driver stuck in London traffic jams averages £2,430. The total cost to the city as a whole is £9.5 billion each year.
In London, road A406 has the honour of being the most congested road in the UK. A406 runs north from Chiswick roundabout to Hangar Lane where drivers spend at least 56 hours per year in gridlock.
The A34, the UK’s worst for congestion outside London from Robin Hood Lane at Birmingham, drivers spend 44 hours per year in gridlock.
Some drivers blame longer journeys for the increase in delays, those who deal with traffic in the cities blame bus a d bicycle lanes for the congestion.
In 2003, London came up with legislation and initiated the Congestion Charge (£11.50 daily fee.) that made motorists pay a fee to enter London’s city centre. Even with that, 13 years later, London’s traffic delays are worse than ever.
UK Road Surfaces
The UK’s road surfaces are in poor condition, with potholes and degradation of tarmac and asphalt being a significant problem. With the heavy congested traffic continuously moving over the street surfaces the situation will only get worse.
With all the road congestion on the highways of the UK, things are not going to get better any time soon. The problem here is the additional delays caused when road crews block traffic to repair the potholes or resurface degrading asphalt and broken tarmac.
UK motorists are faced with spending more delay time when road repairs slow traffic down causing additional delays.
A bill that makes utility and road repair companies pay by the hour for undertaking road repair during peak traffic rush hours has cut construction delays in half.
Congestion Is Getting Worse
With all that has been done to improve the congestion problem, London’s traffic problem has worsened since 2015. By the end of that year, the five-mile trip through London has increased by five minutes to over 30 minutes.
The UK, especially London, is running out of roads, more and more cars and less and fewer avenues to travel on. It is estimated that in four years or so, the UK will have used up all the technological tricks to alleviate traffic congestion and then what, leave it up to the politicians?