Miles of roadworks are going to be opened up this Christmas period to help keep traffic moving as millions more motorists take to the roads.
The agency has announced that between December 22 and January 2, hundreds more miles of roadworks will be lifted. Certain roadworks are expected to be finished by then, while lanes of busy A roads and motorways will be opened up temporarily. Temporary speed limits will also be lifted on certain roads, too.
Over the Christmas period, millions more vehicles are likely to be on UK roads. Melanie Clark, customer service director at Highways England, said: “We’re doing everything we can to make journeys smoother tis Christmas, that’s why we’re keeping 99 per cent of the road network open around Christmas and New Year.
Schemes that are meant to have finished by Christmas include roadworks on the A446 in Warwickshire, the M1 around Leicester and the A38 in Derby.
Sections of the M1 in Yorkshire, M23 in Surrey and M20 in Kent are also going to have the roadworks lifted to help ease congestion, albeit only temporarily.
Yet, despite this Rod Dennis, a spokesperson for the RAC, warned that the lifting of roadworks won’t necessarily mean clear journeys.
“We strongly recommend drivers to plan their journeys carefully and try avoid peak times if they can,” he said.
