The new £289m UK motorway upgrade still going ahead despite horror safety warnings

The M6 volition acquisition much closures successful the coming days arsenic last works spell up to upgrade the agelong to a astute motorway - a strategy that was scrapped successful 2023.

National Highways has confirmed its multi-million astute motorway task is inactive going up contempt the authorities scrapping the aviator task altogether.

The bureau issued an update astir the large upgrade of the M6, betwixt junctions 21a and 26 astatine Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire and Manchester and confirmed they are successful the "final stages". The upgrade volition spot the M6 transformed into an "all-lane running" astute motorway by adding an further lane successful each absorption arsenic good arsenic further exigency areas.

Dubbed a strategical route, NH estimates 120,000 vehicles usage it regular betwixt those halfway locations. All-lane-running (ALR) astute motorways are created to easiness congestion, with immoderate utilizing the hard enarthrosis arsenic an other lane. But the thought sparked fears among locals and authoritative figures, who branded them arsenic "death traps" owed to their design.

BBC Panorama earlier revealed hundreds of incidents wherever captious information instrumentality was retired of order, leaving cars trapped successful fast-flowing traffic. However, National Highways defended the task and said "smart motorways are our safest roads." Further overnight motorway closures took spot this week, with much expected aboriginal this month.

An updated connection connected the National Highways website said: "Since opening the caller 4th lane, we’ve been completing finishing enactment and investigating systems to guarantee they’re moving arsenic expected. We’re reducing disruption by doing astir of this enactment nether overnight lane and gaffe roadworthy closures. However, immoderate afloat night-time carriageway closures are required for information successful November.

"The roadworks will let america to proceed fine-tuning information and technology systems and implicit further finishing work. This includes optimising signals astatine junction 23 (Haydock Island) of the M6 to amended traffic flows." The institution warned: "Please beryllium alert that a 50mph velocity bounds remains successful spot during our existent signifier of work.

"When systems are performing arsenic expected astatine 50mph, we'll summation the maximum velocity to the nationalist bounds of 70mph. From past on, further investigating continues arsenic portion of our continual betterment process." The full task itself volition outgo betwixt £259 cardinal and £285 million. When the road eventually reopens, drivers volition person much places to halt successful the lawsuit of an emergency.

The upgrade was initially owed to beryllium completed this spring, but delays owed to "a assortment of factors" similar hard crushed conditions owed to aged excavation workings successful the country pushed backmost the completion date. Road information campaigners astatine the AA called for astute motorways to beryllium urgently "abolished". Simon Williams, RAC’s caput of policy, said: “There is simply a existent irony erstwhile it comes to talking astir outgo pressures successful narration to these distinctly unpopular types of motorway.

"While heralded arsenic a cost-effective mode of expanding capableness connected immoderate of our busier roads, a colossal magnitude of nationalist wealth has since gone into trying to marque them safer – for lawsuit by installing radar-based exertion to observe stricken vehicles much quickly, positive the instauration of further exigency refuge areas. This currency needn’t person been spent. The authorities ploughed connected with gathering all-lane-running motorways, careless of concerns expressed by drivers, the RAC and adjacent the Transport Committee.”

Sarah Champion, Rotherham MP and a long-time campaigner against astute motorways, is backing the RAC’s call. “Government needs to bash the close happening and reinstate the hard enarthrosis to each existing astute motorways and each the schemes nether construction,” she told the Daily Telegraph. In 2023 the authorities banned the instauration of much astute motorways. Only immoderate stretches of astute motorway that were adjacent completion were allowed to continue.

A £900m currency injection is besides being spent connected exertion to marque the existing web safer, but this does not see reinstating the hard shoulder.

Latest overnight motorway closures

Closures volition instrumentality spot betwixt 9pm to 6am

• M6 southbound junction 22 to 21a - Friday 15 November
• M6 southbound junction 23 to 22 - Wednesday 27 November