Motorway roadworks speed limit increased in England

Highways England have announced that the speed limit for motorway roadworks will be increased from 50mph to 60mph where it is safe to do so.

The decision was taken after lengthy trials and research into the effect a higher speed limit would have on safety.

“All of our research shows that road users benefit from 60mph limits in roadworks,” said Highways England Chief Executive, Jim O’Sullivan. “They have shorter journey times and feel safe.

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“Road users understand that roadworks are necessary, but they are frustrated by them. So testing 60mph has been about challenging the norm while ensuring the safety of our people working out there and those using our roads.

“We have a huge programme of work planned, so being able to use 60mph where safe will continue to improve everybody’s experience of our roads.”

60mph limits were trialled in eight areas in England and, although average speeds in the test areas increased, researchers found that more people stuck to the higher limit.

Some of these areas were so confident in the results of the trial that they rolled the 60mph limit out for longer stretches of the roadworks or kept it until the works were completed.

Highways England added: “After trialling a 60mph speed limit through some roadworks, where it was safe to do so, we’re pleased to announce it was a success! We saw journey time savings of between 8% and 14%, which saved customers up to 3778 hours of journey time per day.”