Work to upgrade part of the M62 in West Yorkshire to a managed motorway, the first scheme in the Yorkshire and Humber region, reached a significant milestone when the first overhead electronic signs went live.
For the first time, the variable advisory speed limit signs have come into operation between junctions 27 and 28 to allow the UK Highways Agency to calibrate and test the technology required for the new managed motorway, with the signs being switched on and off in response to traffic conditions.
Advisory speed limits, which are indicated by white numbers with no red ring, are set according to road conditions and indicate the maximum speed at which it is safe to travel. During this testing period, and while work on the scheme is ongoing, the maximum limit will remain at 80 km/h for the safety of road users and road workers, but may be reduced during busy periods.
The signs will also be able to display lane closure information where required, but road users are asked to note that the hard shoulder will not yet be available for use as a traffic lane. Approximately six miles of steel safety barrier on the hard shoulder has also been removed along this stretch and the narrow lanes removed.
Work to deliver the managed motorway upgrade on the M62 between junctions 25 and 30 continues.
When the scheme is completed later this year, the new section of managed motorway will use variable mandatory speed limits, denoted by a red circle and enforced by overhead safety cameras, and the hard shoulder will be available as an extra running lane in order to cut congestion and make journey times more reliable.
503 Highways Agency project manager David Pilsworth said: “This will be the first section of managed motorway to go live in the North. It is important that we carry out extensive testing on this technology before it becomes fully operational.
“Activating the electronic signs on this stretch will allow both road users and the operators at our regional control centre in Wakefield to become familiar with how the managed motorway works. However, as work is still ongoing elsewhere on the project, it is vital that road users continue to take extra care when travelling through the works and drive within the speed limits indicated.
“Over the coming months, we will gradually switch on more signs along the rest of the scheme and introduce variable mandatory speed limits onto sections of the M62. We will then start to open the hard shoulder to traffic on a trial basis, in a phased approach, from spring onwards. The scheme is on track to be fully open to traffic by the autumn.”
For the first time, the variable advisory speed limit signs have come into operation between junctions 27 and 28 to allow the UK Highways Agency to calibrate and test the technology required for the new managed motorway, with the signs being switched on and off in response to traffic conditions.
Advisory speed limits, which are indicated by white numbers with no red ring, are set according to road conditions and indicate the maximum speed at which it is safe to travel. During this testing period, and while work on the scheme is ongoing, the maximum limit will remain at 80 km/h for the safety of road users and road workers, but may be reduced during busy periods.
The signs will also be able to display lane closure information where required, but road users are asked to note that the hard shoulder will not yet be available for use as a traffic lane. Approximately six miles of steel safety barrier on the hard shoulder has also been removed along this stretch and the narrow lanes removed.
Work to deliver the managed motorway upgrade on the M62 between junctions 25 and 30 continues.
When the scheme is completed later this year, the new section of managed motorway will use variable mandatory speed limits, denoted by a red circle and enforced by overhead safety cameras, and the hard shoulder will be available as an extra running lane in order to cut congestion and make journey times more reliable.
“Activating the electronic signs on this stretch will allow both road users and the operators at our regional control centre in Wakefield to become familiar with how the managed motorway works. However, as work is still ongoing elsewhere on the project, it is vital that road users continue to take extra care when travelling through the works and drive within the speed limits indicated.
“Over the coming months, we will gradually switch on more signs along the rest of the scheme and introduce variable mandatory speed limits onto sections of the M62. We will then start to open the hard shoulder to traffic on a trial basis, in a phased approach, from spring onwards. The scheme is on track to be fully open to traffic by the autumn.”
