Closed
Dangerous road closure
Sent to National Highways less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 3817633.
The M6 southbound closure at J33 is risking lives. It took me 8 hours to travel from J34 to J33, only to abandon my journey and return home as it would be unsafe to continue driving with such tiredness.
I witnessed:
- families with young children wandering around in the carriageway in the pitch darkness - dozens of people urinating in the verges - broken down vehicles in the running lanes with no prospect of rescue - Multiple vehicles driving down the hard shoulder to try and escape the traffic - Dozens of HGVs parked on the hard shoulder, presumably having been driving too long to legally continue - A Royal Mail HGV hurtling down lane 3 (of 3) at maybe 50MPH immediately before the lane closures at J33 (probably about 23:45 last night if you're interesting in checking your CCTV)
I believe these closures are due to be repeated every weekend for the rest of the month. This would be criminal in my eyes. The scenes I saw last night on the motorway are unlike anything I've ever seen. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say lives are at risk if a better traffic management system is not found immediately.
Updates
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I would like to report that your highway closure was poorly advertised and sat navs and online travel apps all showed the closed section of the motorway as open. I entered the m6 south at caton road Lancaster at 11.22am Saturday and managed to get off the motorway at galgate at 21.35 in the even. There was horrendous conditions for thousands of car trapped on the carriageway with zero facilities or water. Old people incapable of climbing embankments had to just goto the toilet in front of vehicles and people out of desperation. Children were screaming and running on the hard shoulder whilst idiots were trying to speed down the hard shoulder to get off. This should be night closure working only. The m6 is to critical for daytime weekend closure outside of emergency. I witnessed ambulances having to rescue a few old people. So angry!
You can fly to Hong Kong in the time I spent in between one junction.
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Thank you for contacting National Highways about the delays caused by our closure of the southbound carriageway of M6 motorway at junction 33 on the weekend of 10 September. We understand motorists were caught in traffic for a significant period of time and we’re sincerely sorry for this.
We’ve taken onboard recent feedback and plan to do things differently this weekend (23 – 26 September) while we confirm the rest of the programme with our contractors. We plan to work overnight between the hours of 9pm and 6am under a full southbound closure or with single lane running. During the daytime, we will establish lane closures and run two narrow lanes of traffic past the work area to keep customers moving, removing the need for the full weekend closures, which were previously planned. Once the programme has been finalised with our contractors, we will advertise full details via our website, a press release and social media.
If you would like a more detailed response on this matter, please contact our 24hr Customer Contact Centre • Email – info@nationalhighways.co.uk • Tel: 0300 123 5000
Kind regards
National Highways
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