More full closures of major roads on weekdays are being planned by highways bosses in a bid to get the work done more quickly. But officials also said speed limits through motorway and A-road works would be increased by 10mph to 60.
National Highways said the full closures were an attempt to get them over with faster, rather than months of partial shutdowns and endless contraflows. They also said that rather than build new constructions on-site they would be put together elsewhere and lifted in ready-made more quickly.
Laura Baker, customer service director for Major Projects, said: “Our roads are the most heavily used in the country and millions of people rely on them every day for business, leisure and visiting friends and family. It’s vital that we undertake an intensive programme of maintenance and improvements to keep them as safe and reliable as possible.
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“We already aim to carry out this work in the least disruptive way possible by prioritising times when traffic levels are low, including overnight and at weekends. However, prolonged roadworks can be stressful for drivers and local communities so we’re committed to exploring other ways to further minimise the impact.”
Normally complete closures would only take place overnight or at weekends. Now National Highways said it would carry out longer shutdowns on weekdays to make quicker progress, but pledged to consult with local people and also consider the impact on homes, businesses, hospitals and nearby events.
The agency highlighted examples when they have used similar methods. These include construction of a new bridge over the M42 as part of the HS2 rail scheme through two closures of the motorway over consecutive Christmas periods in 2021 and 2022 when traffic is lightest. This was an alternative to 18 months of lane closures, narrow lanes and speed restrictions along with more than 100 overnight closures.
The 60mph limit has already been adopted for most major schemes but will be expanded to smaller-scale projects in 2022/23 where it is ‘deemed safe to do so’. National Highways has said it will improve diversion signage and also give better ‘self reporting’ methods so drivers can flag problems more quickly.
Mark O’Doherty, director UK line haul, DHL Express UK, said: “We welcome National Highways’ plans to reduce the impact of works on their network and improve the two-way communication with road users. Each year we run over 150,000 time-definite movements on the strategic road network, supporting our customers to trade with international markets in over 220 countries and territories worldwide.
“Every minute counts when shipments need to connect with a departing aircraft, so having a reliable and an efficient strategic route network is absolutely critical.”
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