Hard shoulder to ease motorway congestion

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly today published new plans to tackle congestion on the UK's busiest motorways.

Government research has identified around 800 lane kilometres of England's motorways which could soon benefit from using the hard shoulder as an extra lane.

Today's announcement also sets out options for managing this new road capacity to ensure the benefits are maintained. Further funding will also be dedicated to helping towns and cities develop and implement innovative local congestion-busting schemes, including local congestion charging, with the £200m a year Transport Innovation Fund extended for an extra four years.

Ruth Kelly said: "The measures I've outlined today will tackle congestion in our towns, cities and on the motorways in a creative way which will be a win-win for the motorist.

"But experience shows that new road capacity has to be properly managed if it is not to simply fill up.

"There is a compelling argument for car-share or charged lanes, which have been used for some time in the US. In order to get maximum benefit, access to car-share lanes is limited to vehicles carrying passengers, or single drivers willing to pay a toll. I intend to explore the possibility for taking a similar approach here where we are adding new capacity."

The results of a Department for Transport feasibility study highlight large sections of the M1, M6 and M62, where improvements are already planned, as amongst the most likely to benefit from hard shoulder running.

It also identifies additional locations that could benefit in the future, including the M27 around Southampton, the M4/M5 near Bristol and sections of the M23, M20, M3 and M4 that feed into the M25. A £150m scheme to extend hard shoulder running to part of the motorway box around Birmingham has already been announced.

Safety has been paramount throughout the pilot by providing emergency refuge areas and monitoring traffic carefully.

The study also set out various ways to make the best use of additional capacity created by hard shoulder running - such as crawler lanes, car share lanes and charged lanes.

Work will now begin to identify proposals for specific stretches of the motorway network. Safety will remain an important factor in all further work.

Alongside this package of measures to tackle motorway congestion, Ruth Kelly also unveiled a further further four years of Transport Innovation Funding (TIF) to help towns and cities develop and implement innovative local congestion-busting schemes, building on what the Mayor has achieved in London.

Ms Kelly announced a new round of TIF pump-priming to help local authorities plan such schemes, and extended the availability of the Fund to 2018/19.

Ruth Kelly said: "Local authorities are already considering whether local road pricing, coupled with investment in public transport, could help them cut congestion. The extra funding I'm announcing today shows the Government's commitment to funding these schemes over the longer term and I hope that more local authorities will bring forward proposals for consideration."