It does not take 2020 vision to see that Labour MP Justin Madders is unhappy there is no prospect of work to improve the troublesome M56 until the next decade.

The MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston feels that local people are being let down by the Government after transport minister Andrew Jones (Con, Harrogate and Knaresborough confirmed in a parliamentary debate that no construction work would be undertaken to improve the motorway until after 2020.

The debate was called by Weaver Vale MP Graham Evans (Con) whose own constituency covers part of the M56 and follows Mr Madders’ campaign to ‘fix the M56’.

Mr Madders raised concerns about the recent increase in incidents on the busy carriageways in a parliamentary debate and also questioned the minister about the decision to cut the number of incident support units run by Highways England.

He argues that between 2012 and 2014 following a reduction in the number of support units the average incident length on the eastbound carriageway towards Manchester increased by 10 minutes to 32 minutes and doubled from 30 to 60 minutes on the westbound carriageway towards North Wales.

Highways England says the on-road teams assist the emer­gency ser­vices with inci­dents and help get traf­fic mov­ing again quickly.

Motorists wandering around the M56 during the gridlock caused by the tanker fire on Monday afternoon. Picture by Chris Ellams
Motorists wandering around the M56 during the gridlock caused by the tanker fire in August

In a new statement, Mr Madders commented: “I attended the debate hoping that the minister would outline some action to respond to a serious and ongoing issue which can have a profound impact on those affected by incidents and their families.

“The admission that no construction will take place to upgrade the M56 to a smart motorway until 2020 is deeply disappointing.

“I was also disappointed that there was a lack of willingness to improve the way that incidents are dealt with when they occur.

“I have no doubt that there is a direct link between the cuts to those responding to incidents and the increase in time that people have to wait for the incident to be resolved.

“I asked the minster to consider reinvesting in the incident support unit officers and I was deeply disappointed by his refusal to do so.

“Whilst I accept that improvements to the physical layout of the motorway do sometimes take longer to organise and fund the reintroduction of incident support units could take place much sooner and provide some much needed relief in the short term.

“Clearly if delays following incidents are longer then the damage caused to the local economy will be deeper.”

Related: Sick of the M56? yes but let's ensure safety comes first

Government response

Mr Jones insisted that an assessment of the M56 would include consideration of any further safety-related measures as well as whether or not to upgrade the section of the route between junctions 12 and 14 to a smart motorway.

He described smart motorways as ‘highly successful’ but commented: “These solutions are very much long-term solutions and if a decision is made to upgrade this section of the M56 to a smart motorway, it may be that the construction work could commence after 2020.”

He also referred to the possibility of Highways England improving technology around the junction of the M56 and M53 at Stoak to minimise the disruption to road users when incidents occur by installing portable variable message signs at the junction.

“When an incident occurs on the M56 that results in severe congestion or even a closure, Highways England’s north-west regional control centre would be able to activate these signs which would highlight the problems ahead and advise motorists to look for alternative routes, for example a signed diversionary route,” the minister said.

Related: Strangest motorway spillages Highways England have had to clean up

Mr Madders added: “I will continue to press the Government to take action to make the improvements that are needed as soon as possible and I would urge local people to sign my petition at www.justinmadders.com to send the strongest possible message to the Government.”

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