Highways England has also set out plans to improve how
smart motorway projects are carried out on the North
West’s motorways in the future.
They include changes to the layout of roadworks to
reduce the need for overnight diversions and finish
schemes sooner. Temporary speed limits will also be
increased to 60mph when it is safe for drivers and road
workers, and three lanes will be maintained in each
direction during the day throughout upgrades.
Mike Bull, Highways England’s smart motorways programme
manager for the North West, said:
Hundreds of thousands of people across the North West
will benefit from a huge investment on the road
network over the next few years and we’re keen to
help keep drivers moving while the upgrades take
place.
We’ve listened to what people have been telling us
about roadworks and have decided to reschedule two
major schemes, benefitting drivers who use our roads
to get to work and businesses who deliver goods
across the region. We’re committed to the upgrades;
we are simply changing the timetable for projects on
the M56 and M6.
We’re also reviewing how we carry out major upgrades
so that we can minimise disruption as much as
possible and maintain connections for drivers using
the road network.
Highways England is committed to carrying out the
biggest upgrade of the North West’s motorways in a
generation and has already completed major schemes on
the M62 and M60, as well as opening a new link road
between the M56 and M6, since 2015.
The company has also completed almost half of a smart
motorway upgrade on the M6 in Cheshire, opening a
fourth lane on both carriageways between Holmes Chapel
and Knutsford last month.
The temporary speed limit was increased to 60mph before
Christmas while testing took place on new technology,
and variable speed limits have now been introduced up
to 70mph to improve the flow of traffic. The entire
19-mile upgrade between Crewe and Knutsford is on
schedule to be finished by the end of March.
Work on a major upgrade of the M62 near Warrington is
also due to be completed by spring 2020, increasing
capacity by a third. The scheme will benefit commuters
who had previously faced average speeds as low as 36mph
on their way home from work.
A project to upgrade a four-mile-stretch of the M56
near Manchester Airport will now start by spring 2020
after the M62 scheme has been completed, and work will
begin as planned this autumn to upgrade another stretch
of the M62 between Rochdale and Brighouse in West
Yorkshire.
Other major motorway projects, including a scheme on
the M6 between Warrington and Wigan, will be staggered
to start between 2020 and 2025.
Contraflow roadworks layouts, where one lane is moved
onto the opposite carriageway with a temporary barrier
between traffic, will also be introduced where possible
to cut the duration of schemes.
The change to the road layout will allow bigger
construction areas to be created at the side of
motorways so that more work can be carried out in one
shift. Traffic will also be able to continue to travel
in both directions on the motorway when one carriageway
is closed for major construction work overnight,
reducing the need for diversions.
Get more details on the North West smart
motorway upgrades.
