Festive gift for drivers as jams will be eased

ALMOST 400 miles of roadworks will be lifted to ease journeys over Christmas.

The “roadworks embargo” will be in place on motorways and major A-roads from 6am on Dec 22 until 12.01am on Jan 2, Highways England announced.

The Government body responsible for the strategic road network said 99 per cent of carriageways would be open during this period.

More lanes will be open and many speed restrictions lifted due to the completion or suspension of roadworks.

Millions of drivers will embark on a Christmas getaway with some journeys on popular routes likely to suffer from severe delays.

Dec 23 could feature the worst of the traffic as leisure trips coincide with regular commuters on the last working day before Christmas.

Rod Dennis, of the RAC, said the move would be welcomed by millions of shoppers and commuters with “stress levels bound to rise as we get closer to the 25th”.