A not so smart M6?

A road-scheme intended to improve journeys for Cheshire M6 drivers will get underway later this month.

Highways England are upgrading a 20-mile stretch of the route between junctions 16 near Crewe and 19 near Knutsford – to ‘Smart’ motorway status.

Work starts on 26 February on the first section of the scheme between Knutsford and Middlewich.

The Agency say that work will continue in similar phases to minimise disruption.

Narrow lanes and a temporary 50mph speed limit will be installed with lane closures in place.

Highways England say that once in place, the narrow lanes will allow three lanes to be kept open in each direction.

The agency maintain that Smart motorways “improve journeys by monitoring traffic flow and setting speed limits accordingly to keep traffic moving smoothly.”

“The hard shoulder will be converted to a traffic lane to create the much needed extra capacity and information about road conditions and speed limits will be displayed to drivers on electronic road signs.”

But here’s the rub, if you’ve ever travelled on so called ‘smart’ motorways, in other parts of the country, you’ll have experienced a virtually permanent 50mph speed limit – and the inevitable gridlock of traffic – along with cash-cow speed cameras (hidden behind the overhead gantries) to ensure a steady income stream for Government coffers.

And, the hard shoulder? Surely that’s always been critical in the event of a breakdown – so what’s changed?

Smart? I do wonder how many brain-storming sessions it took for the inevitable committee to come up with the word ’smart’?

Sounds much better than ‘controlled’ or ‘limited’ eh?

Highways England Project manager Kate Beirne said: “This scheme will bring real benefits to drivers travelling in Cheshire and to the wider economy – it will ease congestion and help keep traffic moving, making journeys more reliable.

“We have carefully planned the work to minimise disruption and to ensure that as far as possible we can keep three lanes open to traffic while we carry out the work.”

And pigs may fly!