Hard shoulder to be used as M1 widening bid is rejected
Drivers will be allowed to use the hard shoulder of the M1 after the Government rejected expensive plans to expand the motorway.
Many people in Leicestershire were opposed to the earlier proposals for a 10-lane superhighway. Now, the transport minister, Geoff Hoon, has decided it would not be value for money.
Instead, the hard shoulder will be opened up at busy times to provide extra capacity. When the extra lane is open, it will be advertised to drivers and the speed limit will be dropped to about 50mph for safety.
Mr Hoon said: "What we are proposing is to use the hard shoulder on a number of our motorways in order to relieve congestion at peak times.
"We've tried that out on the M42. That allows us to use the capacity when we need it, but not to put more concrete on to the countryside when we don't.
"The whole point of this is to recognise that we do need more space on our motorways, but we don't necessarily need it all the time."
The M1 hard shoulder plan will be copied on other roads, including the M6 and M25.
Environmental campaigners who have opposed the widening plans today welcomed the news.
Malcolm Hunter, spokesman for Leicester Friends of the Earth, said: "We very much welcome the decision to scrap the M1 widening plans, which would have cost an obscene amount of money that could be much better spent on improved and cheaper public transport."
Two projects linked to the widening, including the Kegworth bypass and a new flyover linking the M1 and M69, on the site of Leicester Forest East services, will still be built.
In Kegworth, villagers are delighted that their bypass will still happen.
John Pike, chairman of Bypass Action Group, said: "I'm very pleased. The traffic through Kegworth divides the village in half. The air quality is terrible and getting worse. When the bypass is built, we can become a proper village again."
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by Jim Mitchisnon, LFE
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 1:10PM
“Any further money spent on widening improving the motorway will be wasted if alternatives to the car are not considered. It's all very well spending huge sums on money on the motorway networks just to get stuck in a traffic jam when you decide to leave it.
It costs £6 million per kilometre (0.6 mile) to adapt a motorway to "hard shoulder running", compared to £20 million per kilometre (0.6 mile) to build an extra lane a bargain in anyones lanaguage....”
by ianr, nottingham
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 12:36PM
“Steve, loughborough, you obviously have no idea about driving an LGV. Yes it does take a long time for one to overtake another but the drivers are doing a difficult job.
The A14 is only 2 lanes which does cause more of a problem I agree but they would never overtake if you had your way.
The M /ways are another matter as they have 3 lanes predominantly and as mark, leicester has said very few car drivers want to use the inside lane which then causes the m/ways to be 2 lanes in effect.
Most car drivers still refer to slow,medium and fast lanes which they have never been.”
by Steve, Loughborough
Wednesday, January 21 2009, 9:29AM
“While ianr, nottingham says drivers need to learn how to drive on motorways so do most of lorry drivers, I have lost count of the times that I and other drivers have been stuck behind two lorries for miles on end as one tries to overtake the other with neither willing to give way the A14 being a good example. These drivers are suppose to be "Knights of the road" but you would not think so with some of the standards of driving, tailgating and so on.”
by Mark, Leicester
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 3:30PM
“This may ease congestion but no one seems to want to use lane 1 (the inside lane) any way, so there will be now two 'inside lanes'.”
by ianr, nottingham
Tuesday, January 20 2009, 2:59PM
“1. Have any of you ever driven an LGV. Making them stick to the inside lane is ludicrous and confining them to overtaking only at peak times is even more so. When you don't get your goods in the supermarket on time you will be the first to moan.
The M42 trial is not as good a success as that clown Hoon is trying to make out.
Drivers need to learn how ro drive on the m'ways first and that it is not only the outside lane that is an overtaking lane but also the middle lane as well.”