Investigation work begins on land around M62 to deliver £283m smart motorway

Highways England officers have been carrying out ground investigation work to continue to gather information they require for the final detailed design of the managed motorway project

Sections of the hard shoulder, slip roads and lane closures have been put in place overnight for the work to be carried out.

Highways England has said it is possible that the work will create some noise disruption for local residents, but they are taking steps to minimise any overnight disturbance as far as possible.

Highways England says the M62 is the only east-west motorway spanning the north of England.

Running between Merseyside and Yorkshire through Cheshire and Lancashire, it serves as both a regional route for longer distance trips and as an important inter-urban route between the Manchester and Leeds city regions.

Why is the scheme needed?

The Government’s Northern Powerhouse strategy identified a need for improved east-west major road links to ensure better and more reliable journey times between the major cities within the north.

The M62 junction 20 to 25 smart motorway is approximately 19 miles long, running through a rural Pennine landscape that contains the highest point on a motorway in England.

Highways England said this high altitude increases the risk of disruption caused by severe weather.

The gradients on approach to the summits are around four per cent 1:25), which creates the risk of congestion caused by slow moving or broken-down vehicles.

the Agency says Traffic flows on this part of the network exceed capacity during peak periods leading to congestion. Smart motorways will provide 33 per cent additional capacity on the most congested sections of this route.