Major motorway to close for 3 DAYS next week as drivers’ face 90-minute diversion to avoid it – check if you’re affected
A MAJOR motorway is set to close over three days next week, sending drivers on a 90-minute diversion to travel just six miles.
The vast route, which is officially the UK’s longest, will be blocked off at multiple points within the specified hours.
The M6 runs for a whopping 230 miles, connecting the Midlands with the Scottish border at one end and the M1 at the other.
It is sometimes dubbed the “backbone of Britain” and is one of the busiest roads in the nation, serving an average of 120,000 vehicles a day.
Next week, though, that backbone will be temporarily fractured as National Highways has announced two separate closures.
The southbound carriageway will shut between junctions 23 and 26, affecting the area just north of Warrington, Cheshire.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the northbound side will close from junction 22 to junction 23, impacting drivers around the Merseyside town of Newton-le-Willows.
Safety is our highest priority
Andrew Page-Dove
Both closures will run overnight from Monday June 24 to Wednesday June 26.
The restrictions will be in force between 9pm and 6am each day, with the road open during the daytime.
Diversions have been put in place to account for both shutdowns.
Motorists travelling on the northbound side will have to make a short loop through rural lanes and onto the A580, running through the village of Lowton, to get around the single junction.
Those looking to go south, though, will be taken much further out of their way, first onto the adjoining M58 westbound then south through Rainford to then come back east via St Helens.
According to Google, this turns what is meant to be a nine-minute drive into a 90-minute slog – and that’s before extra congestion is accounted for.
The work is all part of the project transforming the M6 into a smart motorway.
These are roads where the levels of traffic are monitored in real-time so that lanes can be open and closed and speed limits varied based on need.
The M6 will become an “all lanes running” smart motorway, meaning that the hard shoulder will only be closed in the event it is needed to protect vehicles and drivers who have broken down or been involved in an accident.
Similar schemes have been controversial, with critics labelling them “dangerous” amid uncertainty over whether the tech is up to scratch.
What is a smart motorway?
There are three types of smart motorway in the UK – all lane running (ARL), controlled, and dynamic hard shoulder.
ARL are sections of motorway that do not have a hard shoulder.
They were introduced in 2014 with a view to controlling traffic flow and easing congestion.
Around 10 per cent of Britain’s motorways is made up of them.
Instead they use specially designed Emergency Refuge Areas for motorists who get into trouble.
Controlled sections of motorway use technology to manage the flow of traffic during busy times.
Operators can vary the speed limit – with lit signs on overhead gantries – with the aim of reducing the frustrating stop-start driving conditions that often occur on normal roads.
They also activate warning signs – to alert you to traffic jams and hazards up ahead – and close lanes to allow emergency vehicles through.
Variable speed limits are enforced with automatic cameras – which run 24 hours a day, even when the limit is 70mph.
Smart motorways can also increase capacity of the road by opening up the hard shoulder at busy times.
These dynamic hard shoulder sections are operated by Highways England, a government-owned company.
It says congestion on the motorway and major road network in England costs an estimated £2billion every year, with 25 per cen
However, National Highways, which operates smart motorways, has previously denied the claims.
Andrew Page-Dove, the National Highways operational control director, told The Sun in April: “Safety is our highest priority and our motorways are statistically some of the safest in the world, but there is still work to do as every death is a tragedy and every serious injury a life changed.
“We need to help everyone feel confident when using smart motorways.
“They were introduced to provide extra capacity on some of our busiest and most congested sections of motorway, and the latest data shows that, overall, in terms of serious or fatal casualties, smart motorways are our safest roads.
“We are taking action to close the gap between how drivers feel and what the safety statistics show by increasing the number of emergency areas, delivering education campaigns, and improving the resilience of our operational technology systems.”
In relation to the M6 closure, National Highways’ website said: “Our work to install gantry signs and resurface what will be the new lane two and three of the motorway continues.
“As we progress the work, we will need to put additional overnight closures in place for the safety of road users and our workforce.”