Four more years of M62 misery as upgrade continues
FINAL PART TO LINK UP SMART MOTORWAY STARTS
A MAJOR project to add extra lanes and new technology to a 19-mile stretch of the M62 between Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire is going ahead.
Highways England has begun to “toughen up” the hard shoulder on the eastbound motorway near Milnrow.
The work signifies the start of the final ‘Smart motorway’ upgrade for the M62 between Greater Manchester and Huddersfield.
But it means motorway misery for M62 motorists until 2024/25, many of whom have endured almost constant roadworks for the past decade.
The main construction work to upgrade both east and westbound sides from Rochdale (J20) to Brighouse (J25) is due to start next year, despite recent controversy over the so-called Smart motorways and doubts about whether it would be given the green light.
In March, the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed it was scrapping the ‘dynamic hard shoulders’ used on other parts of the M62 between Huddersfield and Leeds that see the inside lane toggle between closed and open depending on the volume of traffic. The DfT said they would be converted to ‘all lane’ motorways by March 2025.
The move came after pressure from campaigners, including Huddersfield road safety charity Brake, who claimed Smart motorways were dangerous and to blame for some deaths.
A Highways England spokesperson said they had stopped building dynamic hard shoulder motorways several years ago.
They commented: “Every death in any road accident is tragic, and we are determined to do all we can to make our roads as safe as possible.
“We will be taking forward the measures the Secretary of State for Transport has set out, and we will be improving further our information to drivers to help them be safer on all of our roads, including our Smart motorway network.”
The project to upgrade the M62 between Manchester and the edge of Huddersfield will mean the whole West Yorkshire section, from the Pennine edge of the county all the way to Castleford, is covered by Smart motorway technology.
Construction is due to begin next year, with the cost now expected to be as much as £392m.
Preliminary work to strengthen the hard shoulder on the eastbound M62 at J21 near Milnrow is taking place overnight for the next two weeks.
Highways England said a seven-mile stretch was being improved so it can be used as a temporary lane by tens of thousands of drivers during a major motorway upgrade next year.
Temporary narrow lanes and a 50mph speed limit have been introduced on the eastbound side and some lane or full carriageway closures will also be needed between 10pm and 6am.
Diversions will be in place when the eastbound carriageway is closed.
Arun Sahni, project manager at Highways England, said: “We need to carry out strengthening work over the next couple of weeks to make sure the hard shoulder is able to carry high volumes of traffic during a major upgrade of the motorway next year.
“Our contractors will be following strict Public Health England safeguarding measures and we’d also urge drivers to stick to the speed limit for their own and our road workers’ safety.”
We are determined to do all we can to make our roads as safe as
possible.