Driving home for Christmas made easier as roadworks to be complete or lifted

Highways England to lift or complete 448 miles of roadworks across the UK in time for those planning Christmas getaway.

A total of 98% of the 9,534-mile road network will be free from roadworks over the Christmas break, with Highways England completing 407 miles and suspending 41 miles of the roadworks by 6am on Friday 23 December until Tuesday 3 January.

A recent survey shows that 50% of drivers will be driving 50 miles or more to visit friends and relatives at Christmas, and so the removal of roadworks aims to help people get away with minimal disruption.

There are multiple schemes which are being completed in time for Christmas, including the £191M improvement scheme at Catthorpe junction 10 of the M1, work to upgrade 5.4 miles of the M1 between junction 34 for Meadowhall and Rotherham, and junction 35a for the A616 Stocksbridge bypass in Sheffield.

Highways England operations director, Nick Harris said: “This Christmas bank holiday, we’re helping drivers with their journeys by clearing roadworks on most of our motorways and major A-roads.

“Our traffic officers will also be on patrol working to clear any incidents; the vast majority of which will be dealt with in under an hour.

“We’re asking people to be prepared before setting off. Make sure you have everything you need for your journey should there be any delays, check before and during your journey and also make sure you’re aware of the signs and signals on motorways.”

By lifting the roadworks, extra lanes will become available, and many speed restrictions will be removed.

 

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