Traffic Rat:
Wait until October when the 2-3 years of Smart Motorway widening work starts from 16-19, then you can really have something to moan about. 16 is just a warm up act
not really smart motorways though are they! Gatsos, anpr and for future tolling so we have to pay to use the roads we’ve already paid for by ved 
all a load of bull stein but the more times these dumb ■■■■■ vote these people in? Lol 
Traffic Rat:
Wait until October when the 2-3 years of Smart Motorway widening work starts from 16-19, then you can really have something to moan about. 16 is just a warm up act
Worth it if it works like the M6 near Walsall. I had ‘lane one’ all to myself from J9 to the M54 last week when hard shoulder running was in effect and a 60mph limit on the signs. The number of lorry ‘drivers’ who are quite happy blundering along obliviously in lane two despite ‘lane one’ being completely and utterly empty take some believing. Actually, no, it doesn’t. It’s exactly what I would expect from the halfwit element, and long may it continue… 
Olog Hai:
Traffic Rat:
Wait until October when the 2-3 years of Smart Motorway widening work starts from 16-19, then you can really have something to moan about. 16 is just a warm up actWorth it if it works like the M6 near Walsall. I had ‘lane one’ all to myself from J9 to the M54 last week when hard shoulder running was in effect and a 60mph limit on the signs. The number of lorry ‘drivers’ who are quite happy blundering along obliviously in lane two despite ‘lane one’ being completely and utterly empty take some believing. Actually, no, it doesn’t. It’s exactly what I would expect from the halfwit element, and long may it continue…
Agreed I can’t figure it out either, the purpose is to improve traffic flow by turning it into a 4 lane and said halfwit turn it back into a 3 or worse sometimes a 2.
Olog Hai:
Traffic Rat:
Wait until October when the 2-3 years of Smart Motorway widening work starts from 16-19, then you can really have something to moan about. 16 is just a warm up actWorth it if it works like the M6 near Walsall. I had ‘lane one’ all to myself from J9 to the M54 last week when hard shoulder running was in effect and a 60mph limit on the signs. The number of lorry ‘drivers’ who are quite happy blundering along obliviously in lane two despite ‘lane one’ being completely and utterly empty take some believing. Actually, no, it doesn’t. It’s exactly what I would expect from the halfwit element, and long may it continue…
Sadly, I don’t know where the SMART bit comes in. This is 4 lanes permanent running, so when it goes tots up, it will take the Emer services etc longer to get to the front and deal with the problem as there won’t be a hard shoulder.
No doubt by the end of this week the already changed MAY on the jct 16 sign will be yet again changed to JUNE now, im betting by Thursday or Friday…
robroy:
Olog Hai:
Traffic Rat:
Wait until October when the 2-3 years of Smart Motorway widening work starts from 16-19, then you can really have something to moan about. 16 is just a warm up actWorth it if it works like the M6 near Walsall. I had ‘lane one’ all to myself from J9 to the M54 last week when hard shoulder running was in effect and a 60mph limit on the signs. The number of lorry ‘drivers’ who are quite happy blundering along obliviously in lane two despite ‘lane one’ being completely and utterly empty take some believing. Actually, no, it doesn’t. It’s exactly what I would expect from the halfwit element, and long may it continue…
Agreed I can’t figure it out either, the purpose is to improve traffic flow by turning it into a 4 lane and said halfwit turn it back into a 3 or worse sometimes a 2.
in theory it should work,but as usual its badly run. coming up the 42 the other day.....go past j5 and you are instructed to use hard shoulder.6 seconds later(i counted)and the hard shoulder is now for j6 only. i donnt know how this is supposed to improve flow.
all you achieve is people changing lanes needlessly,which, in fact impedes flow.
might aswell just run it as a permanent live lane,if you ask me.
commonrail:
might aswell just run it as a permanent live lane,if you ask me.
The M6 between J6 and 7 should be permanent 4 lanes too IMO. Northbound on the approach to J6 should be 2 lanes over spaghetti and 2 off to the A38. Then, the A38 from both ways can have their own lane straight back on to the M6 the other side. As it stands, the A38 has to fight its way on to the M6 and it’s never going to work. Queues there every day. Southbound is set up exactly as it should be, 2 lanes over spaghetti and the traffic from the A38 can flow on freely.
htmldude:
M6 junctions 9 and 10. Absolute [zb] joke. I spent 40 minutes getting from 11 to 10. And that was at about 10:30.
I can’t stand that bit of the motorway…m6-m5 exit is also awful, my single glimmer of hope is that the now-finished m5-m6 runs nice and smooth so hopefully the southbound will do the same.if they ever finish it that is!
KarlM:
htmldude:
M6 junctions 9 and 10. Absolute [zb] joke. I spent 40 minutes getting from 11 to 10. And that was at about 10:30.I can’t stand that bit of the motorway…m6-m5 exit is also awful, my single glimmer of hope is that the now-finished m5-m6 runs nice and smooth so hopefully the southbound will do the same.if they ever finish it that is!
I don’t hold much hope. The congestion on that stretch is caused by the road layout and sheer volume of traffic in conflict trying to get from one side of the motorway to the other for either M6 or M5, whilst you have local traffic joining from the slip roads at the same time. An extra lane doesn’t solve that conflict. Very similar situation to the M60 WB at the J12 interchange… it’s doomed to always be congested imo.
Thankfully my employers quite open to utilising the toll road… just wish you could get to the M5 from it.
Long distance traffic using the toll road would eliminate all the problems on the M6 from Cannock to Birmingham,
The government are due to take delivery of it in 2053 I believe. Even then, the government may not scrap the tolls.
That’s if cars still exist and we don’t teleport everywhere.
What a shock… Jct 16 completion moved to “June” now.
Then July…
Then Aug…
Then Sept before it finally gets done. 
Bit like the M6/M5 split at J8 was going to be finished end of this month was in the paper this week they are a "little behind " it’s now going to be November ffs
What amazes me is how they are allowed to go SO overdue on ALL these so called road"works" ffs?!!
Another one that is really ragging me up at the moment is the M62 jct 12 closure to get on the M60 north, that was due to be worked on for just the month of April, then it went to May now bloody June!! There is no work on the ■■■■ slip road its on the hard shoulder of the M60 surely these brainless potatoes can just close one lane instead of the entire road? Im having to go on the A57 through Irlam to get on the M60 at jct 11 which is also signed up on the slip road for night closures.
These morons need to get their bloody act together.
theringmonster:
What amazes me is how they are allowed to go SO overdue on ALL these so called road"works" ffs?!!Another one that is really ragging me up at the moment is the M62 jct 12 closure to get on the M60 north, that was due to be worked on for just the month of April, then it went to May now bloody June!! There is no work on the ■■■■ slip road its on the hard shoulder of the M60 surely these brainless potatoes can just close one lane instead of the entire road? Im having to go on the A57 through Irlam to get on the M60 at jct 11 which is also signed up on the slip road for night closures.
These morons need to get their bloody act together.
Closing a major link road like that on a nightly basis for so long is totally unacceptable in my opinion. Couldn’t you just take the SB exit though and then round the A57 r/bout?
They like to close the M60N link off the M602 as well & there are no signed warnings until you get there. So it’s an 18 mile diversion up to Birchwood and back unless your in the know
The entire slip at 12 is closed so cant even take the s/b, your forced to go up to jct 13 then turn back round after all the bloody lights decide to turn green on the roundabout and with carrying a fully loaded decker its nearly an extra 10mins on your journey because of these lazy sods, at least getting off the M6 at Thelwall and going the 57 all the way through it doesn’t put any time on you surprisingly but it really is a coin toss if they decide to close jct 11 as well as 12 on the same night just to give themselves a laugh at our expense.