M6 roadworks hit new delays: 50mph limit stays as work TEN MONTHS behind schedule
Long-running M6 roadworks which have caused two years of disruption have been delayed and will not be finished until the New Year, it has emerged today.
Highways England has blamed 'technical issues' for the hold up of £87.5 million Smart Motorway project between junctions 10a for the M54 and 13 for Stafford.
The scheme, which has imposed a 50mph speed limit on the stretch since October 2013, was due to be finished at the end of December but now road chiefs confirmed it will not be completed until the end of January.
A Highways England spokesman said: "At the moment it is looking like the end of January. We are doing extra testing on some of the technology under the road surface.
"Safety has to be our main priority and all of the testing is around the safety of the system.
An estimated 120,000 vehicles a day travel between junctions 10a and 13 and the project will introduce a raft of measures to alleviate congestion.
Road sensors have been installed underneath the highway surface to monitor the volume of traffic and how fast vehicles are travelling.
These will work in tandem with overhead gantries which impose temporary speed limits when necessary to improve the flow of traffic or if there is an accident.
Hard shoulders will also be used as running lanes to expand the capacity of the road.
The Highways England spokesman said: "It is virtually impossible with any large infrastructure programme to fix an exact completion time.
"For instance with road resurfacing something as simple as rain can absolutely ruin a night shift.
"One month delays can easily turn in to two.
"We go back to our engineers and their view is it is better to get the road fit for purpose which we completely agree with."
He added: "The scheme's end date has been extended as we have delivered a significant amount of additional work to ultimately deliver improved benefits to road users.
"By combining the work now we have reduced the need for maintenance closures in the future, thereby minimising disruption."
The delay will be another headache for thousands of motorists who have been slapped with £100 fines since the scheme began.
Figures obtained by the Freedom of Information revealed that on average more than 450 drivers a month were caught breaking the temporary speed limit.
