Motoring Discussion > M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 20

 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Bromptonaut
Work has started to upgrade the M6 between J16 (Stoke North) and J19 (A556>Manchester) to 'smart motorway'. Project includes 'all lane running' (ie no hard shoulder just refuges) and variable speed limits.

Project page and newsletter here:

www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/m6-junctions-16-19-smart-motorway/

assets.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/m6-junctions+16-19+Smart+Motorway/FEB_16_M6J16-19_Newsletter.PDF

As of yesterday 50 limit was in place and work has started to upgrade central barrier to current concrete style.

During the nigh on three years I've been doing Uni runs to Liverpool this section has accounted for pretty well every instance of delay. Suspect the 50 limit and concurrent need to stay in lane will keep it moving better but, as with the work between correspondingly numbered junctions on M1 over last two years it'll only need a breakdown o slow it to a halt.

Bit at least they're doing the whole job in one hit. The M1 returned to normal for about a month between barrier replacement ending and the 'smart' upgrade starting.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Bill Payer
I never cease to be amazed by how busy that section on the M6 is - even mid-morning or late evening it can still be rammed. Where the heck is everyone going?
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - R.P.
God knows. I hate that stretch enough now to drop down to the A5 and M54 to get out of Wales and south, or if on the bike one of the Cheshire turn offs (Winsford way). I like these Smart Motorways. Bang on the cruise at the posted speed. One aspect of the T5 I'll miss is the active cruise, perfect for those conditions.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Bromptonaut
>> I never cease to be amazed by how busy that section on the M6 is
>> - even mid-morning or late evening it can still be rammed.

Mrs B's truck driver cousin points out that the services at Sandbach and Knutsford are very close to Junctions 17 and 19 respectively. Effect is, he says, that traffic entering exiting the services and that using the junctions interact to cause what are, off themselves, minor perturbations of the flow. But on a motorway running at capacity the 'wave' effect rapidly causes the whole thing to get stopped up.

On my previous trip up there three weeks ago there was actually a problem, artic off the road requiring a hefty recovery exercise. The gantries advised fact well in advance with proper guidance about lane closures etc. Usually though its just 'Queue Ahead' or 'Congestion'.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Ted

A50 Knutsford to the Stoke by-pass through Holmes Chapel and Arclid, then round to J15. Hate the M6 with a loathing.
But I like the bit North of the Blackpool gate.

We're never in a rush to get anywhere though.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Alastairw
I see this stretch from above every few days, as my gf lives in Northwich. The congestion here, combined with the ongoing A556 upgrade works often contrives to make me late. The makers of cones must be doing very well at the moment!
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - sooty123
Hope they do it faster than the section on the m62 in w yorks, i think they were building, knocking down, changing things for about 5 or 6 years continuous.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Avant
Maybe one of the experts on here can answer this one.

Someone has a breakdown / puncture on a 'smart' motorway, and stops in what was the hard shoulder, and is now the inside lane. There is always a risk of being ploughed into, but surely that risk is now much greater, however quickly the 'lane closed' sigh might go up.

Am I missing something obvious, or is 'smart' not very?
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Runfer D'Hills
I wondered that too.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Old Navy
One person's "Smart" is another's cheapo solution to a problem that needs big money.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - tyrednemotional
....any risk would appear to be higher (and also there must be "clear and present" danger, given the record of vehicles being ploughed into on the hard-shoulder).

OTOH, AIUI (other acronyms are available), there are refuges added every 1/2 mile (or is it 1/2 kilometre) or so and as these now are not part of the hard-shoulder (and therefore in-set), they are possibly a better/safer place to be in the case of an emergency.

I think empirical evidence shows there is little or no higher accident rate on the existing "smart motorway" network, though this may be offset by a reduction of accidents arising from improved traffic-flow, and of course may change with further roll-out and/or increase in traffic to absorb the new capacity.
Last edited by: tyrednemotional on Tue 29 Mar 16 at 12:35
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - No FM2R
I would guess that hard shoulders are used for breakdowns a great deal less than they were 20 years ago so perhaps a refuge every 1/2 whatever is sufficient?
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - martin aston
I came through these roadworks on Monday and they were causing a half hour delay due to weight of bank holiday traffic. Grrrrr. Anyway back to the hard shoulder issue. Over the whole weekend I covered about 600 motorway miles and didn't see anyone broken down on the hard shoulder despite it being very busy.
It's years since I've seen any vehicle broken down on the carriageway itself (as distinct from accidents) as most breakdowns allow some short term movement. I think in most cases if you could get to the hard shoulder you could probably get to the refuge. Not 100% of course but neither are your chances perfect of getting to a hard shoulder if you suffer catastrophic failure in one of the running lanes.
So while it feels risky to have no shoulder it's probably not a big issue compared to the benefit of having four lanes available - if these are only available under speed restriction then the risk of accident due to breakdown is that much less too.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - WillDeBeest
It's years since I've seen any vehicle broken down on the carriageway itself.

It still happens. There was one (sorry chaps, a Vauxhall) on the eastbound M4 near Heathrow last month. And something else (didn't see what) broke down on the motorway-rules roundabout at J8-9, with predictable consequences.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Alanovich
>> It's years since I've seen any vehicle broken down on the carriageway itself.
>>
>> It still happens.

Passed a broken down BMW 3 Series (63 reg, I think) flashing its flashers in the outside lane of the A33 in Reading this morning. Thinking about it, it must have been an old FIAT with fake plates and badges I suppose.

;-)
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Bromptonaut
>> I came through these roadworks on Monday and they were causing a half hour delay
>> due to weight of bank holiday traffic. Grrrrr.

Do you think the traffic would have been free flowing along that section on a BH Monday before the roadworks?
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - tyrednemotional
>> Do you think the traffic would have been free flowing along that section on a
>> BH Monday before the roadworks?
>>

...I think the more relevant question is whether, in subsequent BH and similar traffic, the flow is more free with the (now) additional lane available.

#shorttermpainlongtermgain ??
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - martin aston
As to whether it'd be free flowing before the roadworks, all I can say is it was free flowing in the section before the roadworks and then free flowing in a later 4 lane section. Anyway it was just an aside as, for whatever reason, I'd been held up. Hadn't any choice as to when I travelled so was at the mercy of the traffic.
I think on balance smart motorways are a good thing and my main point was that the loss of hard shoulder was a price worth paying.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - Bromptonaut
>> As to whether it'd be free flowing before the roadworks, all I can say is
>> it was free flowing in the section before the roadworks and then free flowing in
>> a later 4 lane section.

Wasn't havin a go Martin but your comment raises the observations made here before about (apparent) correlation and causation ie the conclusion being drawn that the roadworks were cause of the delay.

Congestion that starts in vicinity of junctions 19/20 ending abruptly after 17/Sandbach services and vv is a long standing feature. Certainly been there at any time of day since 2013 when son started Uni in Liverpool and met it before too. Two other posters, RP and Bill Payer say same thing. Other than trucker relative's suggestion about interaction of services at Keele & Sandbach with nearby junctions there's no apparent reason.
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - tyrednemotional
>>>............. there's no apparent reason.


...Karma, old boy, Karma.........



(...and that reminded me of the old joke about Lauda........but I won't.......)
 M6 Smart Motorway Upgrade - martin aston
Didn't think you were having a go at all ;-).
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