Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the original anticipated date was for the conclusion of smart motorway construction work on the westbound carriageway of the M60.

In Highways England’s Delivery Plan for roads period 2015-2020 the M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 Smart Motorway Scheme was forecast to be open to traffic in quarter 2 of the 2017/18 financial year. In August 2017, Highways England published their Delivery Plan Update (Supplementary Annex) and the construction programme for this scheme was extended so that additional works including flood mitigation and pavement resurfacing could be completed under the existing restrictions. This will help avoid the need for future additional network access in this location. Highways England is opening the scheme in phases. Junction 18 – 20 of the M62 and Junction 8 – 10 of the M60 are now open. Full completion is expected by the end of summer 2018.