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M62 Speed Limit To Drop To 50mph Until 2017 ….

Work will start this weekend, and the limit will be extended across 17 miles of carriageway over the coming months as part of the smart motorway project.

The speed limit will be dropped to 50mph on a busy stretch of the M62 when work starts on the region’s ‘smart motorway’ this weekend.

The driving restrictions will be in place for three years during the multi-million pound scheme, which aims to cut long-term congestion on the M62 between Manchester and West Yorkshire, and the M60 near the Trafford Centre,

The 50mph limit – enforced by average speed cameras – will be introduced on the M62 between junction 18 at the M60/M66 interchange and junction 20 at Rochdale over the weekend (July 26 – 27).

A steel barrier to protect workers will also be installed in the hard shoulder.

The 50mph speed limit will be gradually extended along 17 miles of carriageway over the coming months as part of the £208m project. Transport bosses have warned that while the scheme will cut journey times in the long run, motorists can expect slower travel until 2017.

They will install the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, provide traffic information to road users, and ease congestion by using variable speed limits on overhead message signs.

The hard shoulder will also be permanently converted into an extra lane on a five-mile stretch of the M62 between junctions 18 and 20. The move will provide extra capacity on the motorway between the North West and Yorkshire.

Some sections of the hard shoulder will be closed although vehicles will be able to get through the cones in an emergency.

Engineers began site surveys and ground investigations last week and were due to start construction work on Monday (July 21). The work has been delayed by several days and will now start over the weekend of July 26-27. All of the lanes will remain open during the day throughout the road works, but some overnight closures will be needed.

Once completed, in autumn 2017, more than 200 new electronic signs on the M60 and M62 will warn drivers of changes in the mandatory speed limit, lane closures, and incidents ahead. The ‘smart motorway’ could boost the local economy, according to flagship schemes in other major cities.

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