Get cross over new roads

The Government’s Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced three new major motorway schemes. The plans are to create “smart roads” on parts of the M1 and M3 which aim to cut congestion and give drivers smoother, quicker journeys. Construction will now start on the M1 junctions 28-31 in Derbyshire, M1 junctions 32-35a in South Yorkshire and on the M3 at junction 2-4a in Surrey.
The new schemes are central to the Government’s long term economic plan and part of £24 billion due to be invested in the road network by 2021, which will see spending tripled to £3 billion each year on England’s key highways and motorways. What madness. The justification relies on the simplistic belief that encouraging more cars and lorries onto the roads will magically make the economy better – and, therefore, more worth the investment. That very simple reasoning doesn’t take into account the impact on the environment of all these extra journeys, and the hidden cost of it. There is no causal or organic link between bigger roads and a better economy. The Government might as well bung its £24 million under a pillow and leave a begging letter for the tooth fairy.
Smart motorways, for this is what these new plans will be, convert the hard shoulder to a running lane to boost capacity and smooth traffic, operating either permanently or during busy periods. Overhead variable message signs inform motorists of changes in speed limits, queuing and lane closures, while staff in regional control centres use CCTV “to monitor incidents and keep motorists safe” – i.e., to hope no one breaks down.
These schemes will boost capacity by a third and improve journey times up to 10% through the M1 schemes and 15% on the M3, where average speeds are currently 45mph during rush-hour. The national speed limit on these sections will remain at 70 mph. No figures have been released on how the authorities aim to deal with multi-vehicle pile ups that will result from having no hard shoulder.
The Highways Agency previously consulted on proposals to limit speeds to 60mph between 7am and 7pm seven days a week because of the potential effect of the new schemes on local air quality. However, the Transport Secretary has rejected this approach as the Government’s preferred option for managing the problem and has instead asked the Highways Agency to rigorously investigate alternatives as work progresses on the schemes in the next 12-18 months. If any proposals continue to include varying speed limits, they must only apply when absolutely necessary. In particular, the Agency must look for alternatives that maintain the 70mph limit wherever possible, particularly when traffic tends to be lighter, such as at weekends and outside of peak commuting hours. This is an indication that the Government dare not reduce the national speed limit because it would alienate so many of its rural dwelling driver voters.
Patrick McLoughlin said: “Let me be absolutely clear, I want all motorways to run at 70mph. While it sometimes makes sense to use variable limits to keep people moving, blanket reductions are not acceptable. Smart motorways are an effective and cost efficient way of increasing space on our roads, cutting jams and speeding up journey times and I am pleased to announce the start of work on these schemes.”
Good.  That’s clear then. (When have you ever heard a politician start their speech by saying they want to be intentionally obscure?)  The way to deal with slow moving traffic is to make more road space available, the more cheaply the better and don’t count the value of the safety implications.
These three schemes will be constructed as quickly as possible to reduce the impact on those who use the motorways and live near them. Drivers should see an improvement in their journeys when the M1 schemes commence operation from autumn 2015, and when the M3 scheme opens to traffic in 2016.