At last! M6 roadworks finished and 70mph limit restored

The £102.2 million project started in October 2013 and has seen over 300 workmen put in over a million man hours to get it finished. And today all lanes of the motorway fully reopened with a 70mph speed limit.

It has taken 54,000 tons of road surface and 55 miles of cabling to transform the busy 10-mile stretch between junctions 10a and 13.

The works were due to finish in June 2015 but were pushed back to the autumn, then December, then January, before finally finishing yesterday.

The first part of the scheme, a 3.4mile section between junctions 10a and 11, has been open since September 2015. This section has three traffic lanes and a hard shoulder.

The remaining 6.8miles from junction 11a to junction 13 has four lanes open permanently after the 50mph speed limit was lifted today.

Highways England, which originally said the £100 million project would finish last year, say the revamped stretch of motorway will improve more than 120,000 journeys a day.

Highways England project manager Dave Cooke said: "The extra lane between junctions 11a and 13 adds valuable extra capacity which will really help traffic at busy times; it follows the upgrade introduced last summer between junctions 10a and 11a.

"Together this will help improve journeys for millions of people every month.

"The technology means we can vary the speed limit to smooth the flow of traffic at busy times, this also helps prevent congestion caused by stop-start braking which causes queues to build at higher speeds."

According to Highways England, smart motorways use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels and variable speed limits on overhead electronic signs. These help to keep vehicles moving and improve the reliability of journeys.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: "The start of full smart motorway running on this section of the M6 will improve journeys for all those who rely on this route. Smart motorways are part of our £15 billion road investment strategy.

"They are just one of the ways in which we are improving the road network, reducing congestion and keeping Britain moving. By improving connections between Birmingham, London and Manchester, we are helping ensure people up and down the UK benefit from our investment in more reliable, safer roads."

Councillor Mike Smith, the deputy leader of Stafford borough council, said he is 'glad' the work is finally over and thinks the new smart technology will help to alleviate congestion on the stretch of motorway leading up to Stafford. He added that he thought the work should now continue further north into the county.

He said: "I am glad the works are over and finished and I think it will to do a lot to ease the congestion on the motorway.

"I didn't drive through it very often but when I did I didn't encounter any problems.

"But I think it could do with being extended further north. I regularly drive from Stoke to Manchester and it's extremely congested and often blocked."