£150m motorway scheme unveiled

The Highways Agency exhibition will detai; the managed motorway scheme covering a 15.5 mile stretch of the M62.

It will be open to the public on September 23-24, just days before preparatory work begins.

The £150m scheme will benefit road users from junction 25 at Brighouse to junction 30 at Rothwell.

Contractors will be on site from Monday September 26 clearing it and installing traffic management, though the main part of the scheme is not due to begin until October.

The hard shoulder will be closed between junctions 27-28, Gildersome to Tingley, but three lanes will be kept in both directions. A 50 mph speed limit, enforced with average speed safety cameras, will also be in place.

The scheme – the first of its kind in Yorkshire – will involve variable speed limits and use of the hard shoulder as an extra traffic lane to ease congestion.

Project manager David Pilsworth said: “These public exhibitions will be a chance for residents and road-users to find out more about what they can expect, both once construction work gets underway and once the managed motorway scheme is in operation. If anyone has any questions about the scheme and how it works, we would welcome the opportunity to speak to them.

“This scheme will provide much needed additional capacity on the M62, and our experience elsewhere shows that managed motorways deliver significant safety benefits and more reliable journey times.”

Work, which should be complete by 2013-14 includes strengthening the hard shoulder, building emergency refuges, installing gantries and electronic signs, and road sensors to measure traffic levels and speeds.

The exhibitions are at Cleckheaton Library, Whitcliffe Road, on September 23 from 11am-8pm, and September 24 from 11am-4pm

Visitors can find out more about what the works involve and how disruption will be minimised from Highways Agency staff, and contractor bmJV will also be on hand to answer questions.