M6 hard shoulder trial is hailed a success

Drivers used the hard shoulder of the M6 through the Black Country for the first time as a trial run of the congestion-busting fourth lane went ahead without any glitches.

The section between junctions 8 and 10A went live over the weekend during a test of the £150 million project.

Traffic flowed freely as the lane, gantry speed limit signs and cameras were trialled before full introduction in May. Another test between Essington and the M5 interchange at Ray Hall in West Bromwich will go ahead this Sunday.

The Highways Agency says the scheme will "increase journey time reliability through maintaining traffic flow and reducing accidents" along the stretch, one of the busiest in Europe with 160,000 drivers using it daily.

A section between the slip roads at Junction 10 is now operating at four lanes but the rest of the route was opened up for the first time.

Highways Agency spokesman Anthony Aston said today: "The testing of the overhead signals on the M6 went according to plan on Sunday morning.

"A further systems test is planned for next Sunday morning and the advice to road users is to follow the overhead instructions.

"The Managed Motorways scheme remains on target to have hard shoulder running in operation by the spring."

The hard shoulder is expected to operate at the busiest times of day, from 7.30-9.30am and 4pm-6pm. It will also be used when lanes are forced to close due to accidents and breakdowns. There will always be a 60mph speed restriction during these times and around 100 lane cameras have been installed along with refuge points every 2,600ft.

Gantries and variable speed signs have also been introduced as the Highways Agency aims to follow the success of a similar scheme on the M42 where queues have been cut and fewer accidents recorded. Four lanes also operate between junctions 4 and 5 of the M6.

When operational, it will take up to 20 minutes to get the hard shoulder running for motorists between the junctions.

Sensors on the carriageway record the speeds and volume of traffic which is monitored by staff from the Highways Agency control centre in Quinton who then make the decision.