Carillion to start M6 job in June

Carillion has got a definite start date for its £105m managed motorway contract on the M6 in Birmingham.

Main construction work will be starting in June to introduce variable mandatory speed limits and use of the hard shoulder.

Introducing variable speed limits and allowing drivers to use the hard shoulder as a traffic lane on a section of motorway requires legislative changes through the drafting of new Regulations.

The Highways Agency has now published these draft Regulations as part of a nine-week consultation, which will finish on 4 June.

Highways Agency project manager, Rob Edwards, said: "The managed motorway system will greatly benefit drivers on this section of the M6. It will ease congestion and make journey times more reliable for the more than 130,000 vehicles per day - including hauliers and commuters.

"Our experience elsewhere shows that managed motorways deliver significant safety and journey time benefits."

Preparatory works for the scheme started in January this year.