The UK has opened a new managed motorway scheme in the West Midlands of England, which is expected to reduce traffic congestion and enhance road safety on the M6.
The M6 J8 to J10a scheme will convert the hard shoulder between the slip roads at J10 into a full-time lane in both directions for the first time in the UK, and permanently increase the capacity of 2.4 miles of the motorway.
The opening up of the hard shoulder as a traffic lane during rush hour will ease traffic flow over a 6.7-mile stretch on one of Europe's busiest motorways.
The first hard shoulder running scheme was implemented on the M42 J3a-7 in 2006 as a pilot scheme, followed by the M6 J4 to J5 scheme in 2009.
Managed motorways involves the use of variable speed limits and the opening up of hard shoulders as an additional traffic lane during busy periods.
