M6 smart motorway through Birmingham set to open

The smart motorway on one of the busiest stretches of the M6, through the north of Birmingham, is due to start opening next month, with final tests planned this weekend.

The Highways Agency will carry out tests on Sunday 23 February on the section between junction 6 at Gravelly Hill, better known as Spaghetti Junction, and junction 8 at the Ray Hall interchange at Great Barr.

How the smart motorway works

The scheme uses electronic signs on overhead gantries to display variable speed limits and to open the hard shoulder as an extra lane when traffic is heavy. Traffic officers in a regional control centre will only open the hard shoulder when cameras show that it is clear and safe.

During Sunday's tests, traffic officer vehicles will be used to check that the CCTV cameras are in the right positions, so that the control centre can see the whole stretch. Around 180 cameras will cover the hard shoulder between junctions 5 and 8 when the whole scheme is finished.

Three lanes will stay open to traffic during the tests.

Opening dates

If the tests are successful, the smart motorway will open between junctions 6 and 8 from Saturday 1 March. Tests on the rest of the scheme, between junction 5 at Castle Bromwich and junction 6, are due to begin on 30 March, with the whole scheme expected to open in early April, before the Easter holidays.

A third more capacity

The Highways Agency says that when fully operational, the scheme will give a third more capacity, reduce congestion and make journey times more reliable.

Rob Edwards, the project manager, said drivers were already seeing the benefit. "Having recently lifted traffic management between junctions 6 and 8, motorists have already started to benefit from this scheme nearing completion," he said.

"Provided we are satisfied the control centre has complete visual coverage of the hard shoulder and camera alignment is correct, this section of the smart motorway will be in operation from early March."

One of the busiest roads in the country

The stretch of the M6 through Birmingham carries huge volumes of traffic every day, from local commuters to lorries travelling between the south east, the north west and Scotland. Congestion around Spaghetti Junction, where the M6 meets the A38(M) Aston Expressway and several other roads, has been a problem for decades.

The Gravelly Hill interchange opened in 1972 and quickly became one of the most famous road junctions in the world, earning its nickname from its tangle of bridges and slip roads.

Drivers have endured months of roadworks and lower speed limits while the smart motorway was built, and many will be glad to see the work finished.

Safety concerns

Smart motorways have been introduced on several stretches of motorway around Birmingham in recent years, including on the M42. Supporters say they add capacity much more cheaply than building new lanes, but some motoring groups have raised concerns about the safety of using the hard shoulder as a running lane, which removes a place for broken-down vehicles to stop. The Highways Agency says emergency refuge areas are provided and that the cameras allow lanes to be closed quickly if there is a problem.