Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Related pages

• Introduction
• Why we carried out this consultation?
• Reason for the project
• Key issues
• Previous options
• The new solutions
• What happens now?

The new solutions

Following public consultation in 2006 and a full review of all the comments received from local residents and stakeholders, the Highways Agency has undertaken further work and provided further options for the M69 link road. This work has resulted in two new options being produced, known as Options 5 and 6.

Options 5 and 6 move the link road further south, away from the residential areas of Leicester Forest East and Thorpe Astley. The difference between these two options is the type of motorway that would be developed between the new link road, Junction 21, and Junction 21a.

We feel that these options (shown over the next few pages) address the issues raised by local residents in Leicester Forest East and Thorpe Astley.  We have moved the proposed bridge for the southbound link road away from residential properties and reduced the number of proposed lanes for the motorway between the link road and Junction 21a.

Land take and Compulsory Purchase Orders

Both options would require some land take. We have contacted the properties that may be affected by a Compulsory Purchase Order via a separate letter.

It is the Highways Agency's policy to only take land where essential works or mitigation are required.

Options 5 and 6

The route of both options is identical.

Option 5 and 6 Map (118KB JPEG)

Proposed link road for Options 5 and 6

Below is a visualisation of the proposed link road for Options 5 and 6. The view looks from the south-west towards the east
(towards Meridian Business Park).

Below is a visualisation of the proposed link road for Options 5 and 6. The view looks from the east towards the southwest (towards the M69). 

Option 5: Dual four lanes with Active Traffic Management

It may be possible to provide sufficient capacity with a dual four lane solution in conjunction with a system called Active Traffic Management (ATM), which uses the hard shoulder as a running lane during periods of congestion.

The Highways Agency is currently trialling Active Traffic Management on the M42, near Birmingham. Results of this trial are expected in late 2007 or early 2008. Information from the trial will need to be analysed to determine the level of increased capacity achieved and to assess safety standards before a similar system could be introduced on the M1.

Key features

• Existing dual four lane motorway would be converted into Active Traffic Management for two kilometres (1.2 miles) through the Leicester Forest East area.
• Vehicles would use the motorway hard shoulder during busy periods if it is safe to do so (controlled use would be monitored from the East Midlands Regional Control Centre)
• No additional widening would be required, however, some work on bridges would be necessary to create a continuous hard shoulder between Junctions 21 and 21a
• Gantries would be required at approximately 700 metre (2,297 feet) intervals to accommodate message signs and signals
• Requires removal of Leicester Forest East Motorway Service Area (as shown later in this booklet)
• Existing slopes either side of the M1 through Leicester Forest East would generally remain the same

For more information on Active Traffic Management please visit our Active Traffic Management web pages

Option 6: Dual five lanes

Key features:

• Option 6 would widen the motorway from four lanes to five in both directions between the proposed link road at Junction 21 and Junction 21a
• Convert existing dual four lane motorway into dual five lane motorway through the Leicester Forest East area. This would be achieved by converting the current hard shoulder into a running lane and constructing a new hard shoulder
• Requires removal of Leicester Forest East Motorway Service Area (as described later in this booklet)
• Existing slopes either side of the M1 through Leicester Forest East would generally remain the same

The visualisation shows how the motorway would look with 5 lanes in each direction looking from the north to the south, through Leicester Forest East.

Leicester Forest East Motorway Service Area

This visualisation shows how the M1 would look if the Leicester Forest East Motorway Service Area was removed and a fifth lane was added to the motorway.

Both Options 5 and 6 would result in the removal of Leicester Forest East Motorway Service Area. This is because of safety issues due to there being insufficient distance between where the proposed link road connects to the M1 and the entrance and exit slip roads of the
Motorway Service Area.