A1 - M25 - A1081
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Ordnance Survey map - Alternative aerial view
Where is it?
M25 junction 23 and A1(M) junction 1. A vital northern radial route from London crosses the country's most important ring road, the M25.
What's wrong with it?
Another case of the hopelessly underpowered here. Not only is it another of my pet hates, the three-level stacked roundabout interchanges, but it's blocked enough to have that most fashionable of accessories, traffic lights at each entry point. A simple journey from the M25 anticlockwise to South Mimms Services takes the motorist through five sets of traffic lights, with another four on exiting the services to return to the motorway. Just to add to the excitement, a local road (the A1081, ex-A6) joins in the fun.
Why is it wrong?
Basically a desire to be cheap. The A1(M) terminates on the M25 here, but that means the A1 to the south has no motorway restrictions and therefore this junction must provide an exit for non-motorway traffic. Immediately a free-flow junction is made impossible since the A1081 now has to be there.
What would be better?
Something free flow would be good, or at the very least demolishing the services and shifting them somewhere else so the junction doesn't have to take their traffic too. The only way to really improve this would be to upgrade the A1 south of here to A1(M) as well and shut off the A1081 link, finally allowing a free-flow junction.
Right to reply
Hate this junction? Or do you think it hasn't had a fair trial? Make yourself heard! Post a comment.
These are all the comments that have been made about this junction.
Peter has no trouble:
I am with Brian on this. I use this junction regularly and all you have to do is follow the signs. I can think of many other junctions where the signs put you into the wrong lane but not this one.
Brian thinks the motorists have a lot to answer for:
Why all the gripes about this junction? As long as each driver reads the road properly and follows the directional arrows which are clearly marked on the road, there is no problem. The problems start when those who do NOT read the road markings are in the wrong lane and cut across other lanes to get to their required lane. Usually the culprits are boy racers in flash cars with loud rubbishy music blaring out.
Damian Kelly has trouble finding his way home:
Another little foible of this junction is the route you take to South Mimms or to Welham Green. This involves driving through the services to a little 'hidden' roundabout.
Matt Dickins seems to enjoy himself:
I love this roundabout use it every morning to go to work. They've even got the lights sorted so you can go all the way round without stopping. Only gripe is that the lanes don't match up as you go through each set of lights.
Chris Osowski thinks it's not all that bad:
While it is true that there is quite a distance to travel round the roundabout if going from M25 eastbound to A1 southbound, the reality is that not many people would do this. Most people heading into London from that direction would have gone down the M1 or A41 and so it is only likely local traffic doing this.
Equally very little traffic will go from A1(M) southbound to M25 westbound as traffic leaves the A1(M) at J3 and takes the A414/A405 North Orbital to get back to the M25.
There is no defense for traffic going from A1 both ways to M25 eastbound and M25 westbound to both directions on the A1. A left turn ramp from the A1(M) south to M25 east would certainly help a lot however someone put the services in the way. However there is no such excuse for M25 westbound to A1 southbound.
Surely there's the A1081 in the way of a simple left turn slip? -Ed.
