Geoff Hoon defends hard shoulder plan to widen M6

The transport secretary yesterday defended plans to relieve motorway congestion on the M6 by allowing vehicles on to the hard shoulder.

Geoff Hoon said so-called hard-shoulder running was a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way of easing traffic on major roads.

Last week the government announced it was to go ahead with plans to use hard shoulders to ease congestion at peak times and shelved controversial plans to widen the M6 as a way of managing heavy traffic.

The plans have been trialled on the M42 near Birmingham, allowing motorists to drive in the breakdown lane at a maximum speed of 60mph.    

Mr Hoon said: “What we are proposing is to use the hard shoulder on a number of our motorways in order to relieve congestion at peak times. We’ve tried that out on the M42.

“That allows us to use the capacity when we need it but not to put more concrete on to the countryside when we don’t.

“The whole point of this is to recognise that we do need more space on our motorways but we don’t necessarily need it all the time.

“Using the hard shoulder, with some quite sophisticated electronic equipment, does allow us to relieve congestion at peak times without necessarily going to the difficulty and expense, and indeed the environmental consequences, of motorway widening.”

The proposals would apply to the busiest sections of the M6, M1, M62 and M25.

Environmental groups who have said widening motorways is expensive and ineffective at relieving congestion support the measures.

Gerald Kells, regional policy officer at the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: “We welcome the government’s decision not to pursue expensive and counter-productive motorway widening, but that does not solve the issues arising from traffic growth.

“We need much more robust proposals to reduce traffic and invest in alternatives if we are not to face worse problems a few years down the line.”

Critics of the scheme have questioned its long-term effectiveness.

Paul Watters, the AA’s head of roads policy, said: “The question is whether you plan for the long-term future or whether you plan for a limited future.

“We are of the view that hard-shoulder running only addresses short-term congestion.”