Wigan's 'Smart' motorway to be completed despite Govenment's axing of new schemes

But when these local works will end is now unclear: the original spring 2023 deadline has been and gone and even an adjusted schedule which suggested autumn completion is looking unlikely.

Regular users of the 10-mile stretch between Orrell and Croft will wonder what all the 50mph restrictions, extra congestion and overnight closures since 2019 have been for now that Smart motorways have been ditched before this one is done.

Indeed some are calling for them to be reversed.

Work was paused nationally on most projects while a Government-commissioned inquiry was conducted into their safety following several deaths.

However, because the work on the M6 junction 26 to 21a section (and another on the M56) were already under way, the Government said they should be completed.

Their stated aim is to improve traffic flow by controlling its speed with matrix signs but also allowing the use of the hard shoulder as carriageway at peak times.

But there have been fatalities in this extra lane after break-downs and bumps. Questions have also been raised about 999 vehicles’ inability to reach emergencies if the hard shoulder is choked with traffic and only recently the network controlling the matrix signs crashed, meaning that controllers were unable to put a red cross on the hard shoulder lane to protect stricken motorists and vehicles.

And at the weekend the Prime Minister confirmed that further works would be removed from Government road-building plans.

A spokesman for Highways England told Wigan Today that, despite this, the M6 would continue to completion.

But as far as when that would be, he added: “We will provide an update in due course on our work between junctions 21a and 26 of the M6.

"We apologise for the delay and are grateful to road users for their patience, and for driving safely through the roadworks.”

Campaigners welcomed the axing, but demanded the Government now return the hard shoulder on existing conversions.

The Department for Transport said the construction of these schemes would have cost more than £1bn.

Existing stretches will remain but be subjected to a safety refit so there are 150 more emergency stopping places across the network.

Around 10 per cent of England’s motorway network is made up of smart motorways.

In his Tory leadership campaign last summer, Mr Sunak vowed to ban them.

“All drivers deserve to have confidence in the roads they use to get around the country,” the Prime Minister said.

“That’s why last year I pledged to stop the building of all new smart motorways, and today I’m making good on that promise.

“Many people across the country rely on driving to get to work, to take their children to school and go about their daily lives, and I want them to be able to do so with full confidence that the roads they drive on are safe.”

Pressure had been mounting on the Government to scrap the routes, which have been criticised by MPs and road safety campaigners, including the RAC and AA.

Campaigner Claire Mercer, whose husband was killed on a smart motorway in South Yorkshire, welcomed the Government’s move but pledged to continue pushing for the hard shoulder to return on every road.

She said: “It’s great, it’s very good news.

“I’m particularly happy that it’s been confirmed that the routes that are in planning, in progress, have also been cancelled. I didn’t think they’d do that.

“So it’s good news, but obviously it’s the existing ones that are killing us. And I’m not settling for more emergency refuge areas.

“So it’s half the battle, but we’ve still got half the battle to go.”

Jason Mercer and another man, Alexandru Murgeanu, died in 2019 when they were hit by a lorry on the M1 near Sheffield after they stopped on the inside lane of the smart motorway section following a minor collision.

Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Mr Mercer’s Rotherham constituency, said: “I’m relieved the Government has finally listened to motorists and common sense, but this announcement is long overdue and I need to see the detail before celebrating.

“Will the Government be returning the hard shoulder on existing conversions? Will the schemes currently in construction be restored? Why now when two parliamentary select committee inquiries, their own review and countless campaigns by family members of those who died on these death traps wasn’t enough to persuade them.”

AA president Edmund King said: “We have had enough coroners passing down their deadly and heart-breaking judgments where the lack of a hard shoulder has contributed to deaths.

“At last the Government has listened and we are delighted to see the rollout of ‘smart’ motorways scrapped…

“We would also like to see the hard shoulder reinstated on existing stretches in due course.”

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Our research shows all lane running smart motorways are deeply unpopular with drivers so we’re pleased the Government has finally arrived at the same conclusion.

“It’s now vitally important that plans are made for making the hundreds of existing miles of these types of motorway as safe as possible.”