Highways Agency revs up smart motorways scheme

THE Highways Agency has announced a project – potentially costing more than £260m – to cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and M62 in Greater Manchester.

More than 300 new signs to warn motorists of changes in traffic conditions will be installed as part of the investment, called the smart motorways scheme.

The scheme – the first of its kind in the North West – will be introduced on a 17-mile stretch of motorway between Junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and Junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale.

It will include the use of the hard shoulder in some places and the introduction of variable speed limits to ease congestion. More than 300 new signs to warn motorists

The hard shoulder will also be permanently converted into an extra lane on a five-mile stretch of the M62 between Junctions 18 and 20 to provide extra capacity on the part of the motorway which links the North West to Yorkshire.

Emergency refuge areas will be created on this section of motorway with overhead signs used to alert motorists of lane closures and incidents ahead, clearing lanes to allow emergency vehicles to get through.

The project, which has a current cost-range of £190m to £267m, is designed to support economic growth by alleviating congestion, which is estimated to cost the economy £2bn every year.

A similar project completed on the M62 near Leeds has already helped ease congestion and been well-received by businesses.

Jacqui Allen, senior project manager at the Highways Agency, said:
“More than 180,000 vehicles use the section of motorway between Junction 8 of the M60 and Junction 20 of the M62 every day, causing heavy congestion and unpredictable journey times. The new smart motorway system will help tackle these issues as well as improving safety on the network.

“It may seem odd that reducing speed limits can also reduce journey times, but evidence shows that it does exactly that. By encouraging everyone to drive at similar speeds, it brings an end to the stop-start conditions most motorists will have experienced during busy times.

“Converting the hard shoulder to an extra lane on the section of the M62 between Junctions 18 and 20 will also provide much-needed additional capacity, increasing the number of lanes on each side of the motorway from three to four.

Around 50 new CCTV cameras will also be used to monitor traffic levels from the Highways Agency’s Regional Control Centre at Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside.

Work on the project is due to start in summer 2014 (subject to the completion of statutory processes), and to be completed in 2016/17.