Highways Agency

M1/M621 Chesterfield to Leeds Route Management Strategy

Final Strategy Summary Brochure - December 2005

What is the M1 M621 Route Management Strategy?

The M1/M621 Chesterfield to Leeds Route Management Strategy is an action plan for the operation, maintenance and improvement of these motorways over the next ten years. It is based on a systematic analysis of the characteristics, functions and problems on the route and enables considered investment decisions throughout the network. In developing the strategy the views of key stakeholders such as local councils, regional planning authorities, freight operators, emergency services and other relevant organisations have been considered.

Route Description

The M1/M621 Chesterfield to Leeds route covers the M1 from Junction 30 Northeast of Chesterfield, past Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Wakefield, and continues to the Southeast of Leeds, past Garforth to Junction 48 (Hookmoor) with the A1(M), and includes the section of the A1(M) north to its junction with the A64 trunk road east of Leeds (Bramham Interchange). In addition, it includes the M621 motorway south of Leeds from the M62 Junction 27 at Gildersome to Junction 43 of the M1 (Belle Isle Interchange). The motorway covered by the strategy has a total length of 98km (61 miles) and has 25 junctions with an average spacing of 3.9 km with some being much closer. The width of the motorway varies throughout its length with two, three, four and five lane sections. Of the 25 junctions along the route, several along the M621 through Leeds (Junctions 2a, 4, 5 and 6) and one along the M1 through Sheffield (35a) have restricted movements.

Key Objectives

The Key Objectives defined at the Highways Agency's internal workshop are:

Environment - Towards a Balance with Nature

• To minimise the impact of the motorway and the trunk road on both the natural and built environment.

Safety - Making the Network Safer

• To improve safety for all road users and contribute to the Government's new safety strategy and targets for 2010.

Economy  - Better Value from Busy Roads

• To support the Government's development and regeneration initiatives.

Accessibility  - Encouraging Sustainable Travel

• To improve access to everyday facilities to those without a car and reduce community severance.

Integration  - Working in Partnership

• To work with others to ensure passengers and freight operators can switch efficiently and smoothly between different modes of transport, and to broaden the choices available.

Maintenance - Making Maintenance the Priority

• To give priority to the maintenance of the route and bridges with the broad objective of minimising whole life costs.

Operating the Network - Road to the Future

• To deliver reduced congestion, better information, and a wider choice of quicker, safer, more reliable travel over the next 10 years.

Improving the Network  - A Targeted Programme of Improvement

• To carry out the Government's targeted programme of investment in trunk road improvements.

Route Functions

The Strategic (or National) Functions of the route are as follows:

The Motorways

• Are part of the two Trans-European network routes for North-South movements in Yorkshire (Routes E13 and E15).
• Provide a major transport link between the North and North East of England and the East Midlands, London and Continental Europe.
• Are a part of the national motorway Strategic core network.
• Provide an all weather link to important North-South and East-West corridors (A1, M62, M18, A616/ A628) including the North European Trade Axis.
• Are a strategic link between the M62 and the A1 for TransPennine traffic to and from the North East of England.
• Are part of the national strategic diversion system for the Yorkshire motorway box.
• Provide an abnormal load route, subject to restrictions.
• Provide access to national events/venues and attractions within a region.

The Regional Functions of the route are as follows:

The Motorways

• Provide a major transport link between the regional centres of population, employment, tourism, recreational areas and national and international gateways.
• Are of vital importance to the economic performance and growth of the Yorkshire and Humber region, and the East Midlands
• Provide intra-regional movement from Bradford and Sheffield to Leeds and vice versa.
• Provide access to multi modal transport interchanges.
• Support Objective 1 programme in South Yorkshire.

The Local Functions of the route are:

The Motorways

• Provide bypasses around urban centres.
• Provide local access for employment and leisure purposes.
• Provide main commuter routes for traffic entering the cities of Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford.
• Act as part of the Leeds Outer Ring Road (M621 J1 to J7 and M1 J44 to J46) and will act as part of the Leeds Inner Ring Road (M621 J2 to J4).
• Provide local access to long distance commuter traffic.

Problems Identified

Problems identified along the route include:

• Air, noise and light pollution.
• Regular congestion at several locations.
• Poor lane discipline on entering/exiting the motorway and at night.
• Pedestrians and cyclists struggle to negotiate junctions/motorway crossings.
• Poor road surface at certain locations - uneven/ excess spray etc.
• Little incentive to use alternative modes of transport.

Public Consultation

Public consultation on the strategy took place between October 2004 and January 2005. Details of the public consultation are included in the Public Consultation Report, which can be viewed on the Highways Agency website. One hundred and sixty six responses to the public consultation were received, but no fundamental changes to the draft Route Management Strategy were proposed as a result. Stakeholders and the public were able to provide their comments in writing, through the Highways Agency HAIL telephone information line, and electronically through the website response pages. The comments were collated, assessed and evaluated, and appropriate changes to the Strategy were incorporated where required.

Route Outcomes

Route Outcomes, developed as part of the Route Management Strategy process, set out what the Highways Agency will seek to obtain from the route over the 10-year period of the Route Management Strategy.

The Outcomes:

• Contribute to Policy Objectives
• Improve the performance of Route Functions
• Support the Land Use & Development Control Statement
• Address Route Problems and Issues

The outcomes, categorised into the eight strategy components, are as follows:

Environment

• To minimise detrimental impacts on air quality, particularly in Air Quality Management Areas, and to seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• To identify locations where noise levels are high and mitigate where appropriate.
• To ensure effective measures are in place to protect watercourses from pollutants in drainage run off from the M1 and M621.
• To seek to maintain a clean and tidy route.
• Operation of the Highways Agency-Biodiversity Action Plan in respect of flora and fauna for the whole route.
• Operation of the Landscape Management Plan with regard to visual intrusion.
• To use environmentally friendly clean lighting when replacing existing or providing new lighting.

Safety

• Application of a methodology to identify collision clusters and causation factors, and to implement preventative actions to reduce collisions.
• To seek to improve safety for vulnerable users.
• To encourage improved driver behavior (e.g. to encourage road users to travel at an appropriate speed).
• To achieve a consistently high standard of signing along the route.
• Provision of service area facilities that better meet the needs and demands of all road users, and in particular Heavy Goods Vehicle facilities.

Economy

• To contribute to Regional and Local transport and development plans.
• Implementation of a Land Use and Development Control Policy supporting sustainable development and regeneration without introducing further traffic congestion.
• Appropriate use of the Objective 1 Memorandum of Understanding in South Yorkshire to aid regeneration.
• Implementation of partnership procedures covering planning and land use similar to those in Objective 1 areas elsewhere.

Accessibility

• To improve facilities for non-motorised users:
  a) At grade separated junctions
  b) At crossings of the M1 and M621
• To reduce community severance.

Integration

• Changes to travel behaviour to reduce traffic growth through a driver information strategy.
• A strategy to encourage and formalize the use of park & share.
• Partnerships with Passenger Transport Executives (PTEs) to influence and aid the implementation of Park & Ride Strategies.

Maintenance

• Application of 'best practice' traffic management.
• To maximize the serviceability of the road, structures and other highway infrastructure.
• To minimize adverse effects on the environment during maintenance.

Operation

• To improve the facilities on the route for abnormal loads.
• Network control improvements to maximize the availability for use of the route for users where these are appropriate.
• Implementation of measures (e.g. access/egress management) to give priority to ‘strategic traffic' and ‘important traffic'.
• Implementation of measures (e.g. access/egress management) to control growth in traffic flows on the M1 and M621.
• Demand Management measures, to deliver an achievable and defendable balance between future demands and constraints.

Improvement

• A strategy for improvement schemes to increase the capacity of sections of the M1 where appropriate.
• Local schemes (e.g. climbing lanes, merge/ diverge improvements) and technology schemes to make better use of and improve the safe operation of the network.

Land Use and Development Control Statement

The Land Use and Development Control Statement, which is part of the Strategy, outlines the Highways Agency's approach to future land use and development issues, which materially affect the route.

The Statement sets out:

• The existing planning context
• Land use and development pressures
• The development control strategy
• Approach to development plan representations
• Approach to individual plan applications
• Potential route outcomes

The Way Forward

A Route Management Plan will be produced by the Highways Agency to take forward actions to achieve the Route Outcomes. The plan will give consideration to the budget and resources available to the Highways Agency, and what can be realistically delivered in the 10-year period of the strategy.

Additional Information

Further information is available on this website. If you have any further questions or comments you may contact us as follows:

By post:

Peter Rawsthorne,
Highways Agency,
P O Box 206,
City House,
New Station Street,
Leeds,
LS1 4UR