Motorists will now be able to use the hard shoulder during busy periods on a seven-mile stretch of the M6 in the West Midlands.
The scheme, on the M6 near Birmingham – delivered as part of a £150m contract – comes following the successful M42 pilot, also in the West Midlands, which has delivered safer and more reliable journeys.
In addition, the first ‘through-junction running’ scheme is expected to open on the M42 on Wednesday 9 December.
Motorists travelling southbound on the M42 at junction five near Solihull will be the first in the UK to be able to drive along the motorway hard shoulder between junction slip roads.
Mr Mole said: ‘By 2015, an investment of around £3bn – half of our planned spending on the national roads programme – is expected to deliver 340 additional lane miles for road users through schemes like this, making extra capacity available when needed on some of the busiest stretches of England’s motorway.’
