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M62 - Your Local History
A lot of finds were uncovered during the archaeological evaluation carried out for the M62 Junction 6 Improvement scheme so we thought it would be nice to provide an interactive website so you can see what we found.
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Better information for your journey
The National Traffic Control Centre collects real-time information on road conditions
Quick Links
Don't Cross or Walk Along Motorways
The Highways Agency aims to make more people aware of the dangers of walking or crossing our motorway. We have launched a poster and radio campaign aimed at 16-25yr olds. Hopefully with our hard hitting posters, our message will come across.
Educating tomorrow's drivers
See how we are driving through key messages about safety on our network for the drivers of tomorrow.
Meet the Ancestors
Find out about the history of roads and the work the Agency does to preserve archaeological remains.
See when traffic will be lightest
Our traffic forecaster can help get you there quicker
3. What effect did the signing pilot have on traffic congestion?
3.1 Despite the improvement in lane discipline, the pilot scheme had no significant observed effect on the level or duration of the congestion on summer weekends.
3.2 Total traffic volumes during the pilot survey period were comparable to preceding periods, which suggests that the pilot signing did not affect traffic volumes and that traffic flows in the survey period were no bigger or smaller than the shoulder survey periods. In addition, analysis of traffic speed data received from the Highways Agency suggested traffic speeds during the pilot period was not discernibly different when compared to periods before and after. This therefore allows some conclusions to be made of the effectiveness of the signing pilot.
3.3 It is clear from the video survey that the flow of traffic southbound on Naish Hill is often steady even when traffic volume is high, so the suggestion that higher volumes of towing vehicles cause congestion may be false. It was also observed that traffic joining the motorway from M5 Junction 19 had no effect on traffic conditions and did not cause or exacerbate traffic congestion.
3.4 The video survey suggests that it may simply be the volume of traffic, especially cars that are the cause of the congestion on Naish Hill. Cars were observed to drive nose-to-tail not allowing space between them and the preceding vehicle for others to change lanes, and there was a tendency for cars to 'bunch' into Lane Three. A constant display of brake lights was observed during periods of heavy congestion, when cars try to move too fast, causing stop-start conditions in Lanes Two and Three, while traffic flow in Lane One often remained constant and steady. Also the distance between vehicles in Lane One was greater, as cars favoured Lanes Two and Three, which it is suggested are perceived by drivers as operating at a greater speed uphill.
3.5 All these observations are subjective and based on observation of the video survey record.
