Government shelves M25 hard shoulder running plan
Date: 28 December 2007
The government has shelved proposals that may have seen the M25 included in 'hard shoulder running' plans, which could greatly benefit road haulage companies and owner operators transporting loads around London.
A trial into the use of the hard shoulder as an extra traffic lane during peak times on the M42 near Birmingham was deemed a success, and transport secretary Ruth Kelly recently commissioned a report into the scheme on other major roads.
However, the Department for Transport has now confirmed that the M25 London orbital will not be considered for this, the Guardian reports.
Despite this, a road widening scheme is likely to go ahead, meaning that road haulage companies and owner operators transporting loads should nevertheless find congestion easing.
"The M25 is a key strategic route which is critical to the UK economy and has some of the highest traffic flows in Europe," said a DfT spokesman "There is a strong case for providing an additional permanent lane along this route."
Sheila Rainger of the RAC Foundation said that "it is desperately clear that parts of the M25 need to be widened". Many road haulage companies and owner operators transporting loads get caught up in traffic jams on the M25.
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