Welsh Roads...

[red_dwarfers]

A lot of the A30 down here was originally concrete. A bit of a laugh that was. A lot of "You'll have to speak up a bit!" when driving on that road. Thankfully most of it is now tarmac, that anti spray stuff in some places too, what a fantastic bit of technology that is, certainly notice the difference

[pug_owner2002]

I must say, the M54 is not my favorite motorway, sorry...

And the services on it can only be described very loosely as being Motorway services being bloody miles away, or so it seems, from the junction

Don't be sorry the only good thing about it, is you can get your foot down (all be it for the noise).
If you'd have got off at junction 4 (near me), the services are just off the island.

[dnsey]

The story (which may be apocryphal) is the a decent spec was laid down for the M54, but the contractors er.. modified it to reduce costs. The job was subsequently signed off without having been inspected...

[OwenP]

The story (which may be apocryphal) is the a decent spec was laid down for the M54, but the contractors er.. modified it to reduce costs. The job was subsequently signed off without having been inspected...

Having been along it a few times I can well believe that.
'Tis the one part of my 300 mile journey to Bangor I'm not looking forward to the week after next. Although the expansion joints along the raised M5/M6 sections in Birmingham are a close second in the running for the worst bits of that run.

[CitroJim]

I reckon the M54 is by far the worst concrete road I've been on. I can well believe that about the Contractor. I reckon a gang of Pikies could have done better; at least it would have been tarmac'd...

the expansion joints along the raised M5/M6 sections in Birmingham are a close second in the running for the worst bits of that run.

Oh gosh yes, it's bloody awful Tell you what Owen, invest £5.30 in the M6 Toll and enjoy a glimpse of how motorways should be. You'll avoid that hideous section of the M6 then The M6 Toll is truly a wonderful bit of road. Deserted it is most of the time. Robyn and I cruised practically the whole length of it at 80 in the inside lane on Friday. You could have had a picnic in the fast lane. It's a tragedy it is so under-used and I can't believe people will go up the old M6 to avoid paying the toll. It's tantamount to swimming across the Severn to avoid paying the bridge tolls...

The services on the M6 Toll are good too... At least they're actually on the motorway...

Come off at Junction T8 and join the M54 from there. Only bugbear is it's not signposted as such...

[DickieG]

I can well believe that about the Contractor. I reckon a gang of Pikies could have done better; at least it would have been tarmac'd....

Yes but it would have lifted after a week

[OwenP]

I reckon the M54 is by far the worst concrete road I've been on. I can well believe that about the Contractor. I reckon a gang of Pikies could have done better; at least it would have been tarmac'd...

the expansion joints along the raised M5/M6 sections in Birmingham are a close second in the running for the worst bits of that run.

Oh gosh yes, it's bloody awful Tell you what Owen, invest £5.30 in the M6 Toll and enjoy a glimpse of how motorways should be. You'll avoid that hideous section of the M6 then The M6 Toll is truly a wonderful bit of road. Deserted it is most of the time. Robyn and I cruised practically the whole length of it at 80 in the inside lane on Friday. You could have had a picnic in the fast lane. It's a tragedy it is so under-used and I can't believe people will go up the old M6 to avoid paying the toll. It's tantamount to swimming across the Severn to avoid paying the bridge tolls...

The services on the M6 Toll are good too... At least they're actually on the motorway...

Come off at Junction T8 and join the M54 from there. Only bugbear is it's not signposted as such...

Aye, I've used the Toll road before, it really does show you how a motorway should be done, I don't tend to think of it on this run as it is on the wrong side of Birmingham compared to the rest of my route, but I may go a different way to take advantage this time round.

Have only stopped once at the Toll services and found them to be very expensive, even compared to the normal high cost of services.

I too have seen it nigh on deserted, 80 on the inside and some of the guys in the outside lanes must have been well over a ton.

[Paul-R]

It's tantamount to swimming across the Severn to avoid paying the bridge tolls...

Now there's an idea.

Of course what you should do is to make sure that you always LEAVE Wales over the Severn Bridge (either of them) so it doesn't cost anything!

[Paul-R]

nvest £5.30 in the M6 Toll ... It's a tragedy it is so under-used

You have the answer right there.

We don't have a culture of toll motorways here in the UK. The M6T was sorely needed but the Birmingham bypass should alwys have been a free motorway - FFS we pay enough in tax disc and fuel duty.

[CitroJim]

Yes, to be honest I was shocked at the amount of toll demanded and think £5.30 is outrageous.

Perhaps if they charged say, a quid each way they'd have more people using it, they'd make more money out of it and it would relieve congestion around Gravelly Hill at the same time, thus fulfilling it's intended purpose...

Over a fiver is Ok for a one-off trip as I did but if you commute using it the cost would very soon get prohibitive...

It seems the Dartford crossing can make that sort of attitude work..

How much does it cost to enter South Wales now if you can't swim?

[Paul-R]

How much does it cost to enter South Wales now if you can't swim?

Dunno. I only ever leave Wales...

[OwenP]

How much does it cost to enter South Wales now if you can't swim?

It was £5.70 when I used the new bridge a month or so ago.

The other thing that keeps the M6T clear is that the charge for lorries and vans is much higher, double in fact, and as for frequent use they only offer a 5% discount.