Highways England has changed the way it is working on two
motorway upgrades - and has cut the length of time the roadworks
will be running.
Instead of drivers using both carriageways while the upgrades
take place around them, the company has introduced contraflows.
Drivers still go through the roadworks at the same speed but the
contraflows create larger construction areas at the side of the
motorway enabling more work to be safely carried out in one
shift, speeding up the project. That also benefits local
communities.
The approach has been in use on the M6 between Stafford and Stoke
for several weeks and is now being introduced on the M62 near
Warrington.
Highways England Smart Motorways Programme Manager for the North
West Mike Bull said
We appreciate people’s patience as we carry out these important
motorway upgrades.
This is all part of our work to ultimately improve journeys in
this area by adding extra capacity and technology to the
motorway.
A major motorway upgrade will require up to 200 full motorway
closures to complete construction work. However, by using a
contraflow, the number of full closures reduces to an average of
60, benefiting local residents and drivers.
Contraflows allow contractors to carry out bigger works, normally
carried out overnight, during the day. There is more space at the
verge to work and vehicles can pass each other without having to
wait until another team has finished.
Works could include the construction of gantry bases, emergency
refuge areas, surfacing and drainage work and the installation of
gantries and barriers.
Temporary barriers separate the contraflow traffic on the
opposite carriageway.
The contraflow on the M6, between junctions 14 (Stafford) and 15
(Stoke), has seen one lane of the northbound traffic moved onto
the opposite carriageway.
Work began on Sunday (7 April) on a phased introduction of the
contraflow on the M62 between junctions 11 (Birchwood) and 12
(Eccles Interchange) with a series of overnight closures. The
work, due to be finished by the weekend, will see two lanes
running on the eastbound carriageway and the contraflow lane on
the westbound carriageway.
On the eastbound, lane one will take traffic onto M60 (N), the
second lane will take traffic onto M60 (S&E) and M602, and
the contraflow lane will be signed for the M602 only. This will
be in place until late July.
Once works on the eastbound verge have finished, the contraflow
will switch to the westbound carriageway and mirror the eastbound
contraflow works.
Meanwhile a £265 million project to upgrade 19 miles of the M6 in
Cheshire was completed last month. Extra lanes and new technology
were added to the M6 between Crewe and Knutsford enabling more
traffic to travel on the road, tackling congestion and bringing
smoother journeys for around 120,000 drivers every day.
This is the first of the four smart motorway schemes to be
finished that will ultimately increase the M6’s capacity by a
third on 60 miles of the motorway between Coventry and Wigan.
