Posted on Thursday 24th December 2020
Residents in parts of Stafford have been thanked for their patience and support during a major highways project to upgrade the M6 to a smart motorway.
Staffordshire County Council has been working closely with Highways England, which manages the motorway network, and the residents living on the main roads through Stafford which have been used as diversion routes when the M6 has had to be closed overnight.
The work taking place between Junction 13 and 15 started in 2017 and is expected to be finished in September 2021, six months ahead of schedule.
Following feedback from residents and requests from the county council, HE has agreed to additional measures and to reduce the number of overnight closures to help minimise disruption to people living on the diversion routes. From January, there will be no more than three nights of consecutive closure in any one week to give people some respite from the additional traffic on the roads.
Further HE measures include additional diversion signs, speed warning signs and support from Police patrols to help slow down speeding drivers on the diversion routes.
Haulage companies have also been notified of the works, providing opportunity for some to avoid this section of the M6 for example by using the M1 and A50, and otherwise reminded that if travelling through Stafford then to follow the approved diversions and stick to the speed limit.
County Councillor Jonathan Price said:
“A project of this scale inevitably comes with a degree of inconvenience, but I want to reassure people that we are working closely with Highways England to ensure any disruption is kept to a minimum.
“From the outset, we have worked closely with HE and I am in regular contact with their engineers to ensure that residents’ concerns are listened to and acted on. I have attended many public events, supporting people to have their say as well as writing to their Chief Executive to ensure that every effort is made to get the work completed as efficiently as possible.
“On behalf of residents, I have also asked HE for additional measures and support to help deal with speeding on the diversion routes, which they have agreed to do.
“It’s positive news that the project is due to finish six months ahead of schedule and I will continue to do all I can to ensure that any inconvenience for local residents is minimised. Once again, I would like to thank people for their patience and co-operation throughout this important project.”
David Williams, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“The upgrade of the M6 into a smart motorway is an important project for Staffordshire and will help to improve traffic flow and boost our local economy.
“The upgrade should also see less incidents in future that would require emergency diversions on to our local roads, which again is good for local businesses and communities.”
As the project enters its final stages, a number of overnight closures have been planned for January and February to allow the work to be carried out safely. Further details on the work, and measures put in place to minimise disruption, are available at M6 junction 13 to junction 15 smart motorway - Highways England.