WIREDGOV

Drivers will have better journeys this bank holiday weekend as 98% of England’s motorways and major A roads will be free of road works.

The Highways Agency will be clearing 75% of its road works to help minimise congestion and smooth journeys over the bank holiday weekend. 180 miles of road works will be completed by Friday 23 May and 145 miles of road works are being suspended until Tuesday 27 May.

Record amounts are being invested in roads and the Highways Agency is doing more work to improve the condition of its network and reduce congestion, which means people will generally see more road works. To keep the inevitable disruption to a minimum, the Agency does much of its work overnight and outside of peak periods, and completes or suspends the majority of its work for busy times such as bank holidays.

Simon Sheldon-Wilson, Director of Traffic Management at the Agency, said:

"To help road users enjoy this bank holiday weekend – and hopefully some fine weather – we will be completing or suspending over 320 miles of road works on motorways and major trunk roads. But we still ask people to plan their journeys by making use of the traffic information services we provide."

Friday evening and Saturday afternoon are expected to be the busiest times over this bank holiday weekend, especially on the main holiday routes, as people take day trips, short breaks or longer holidays for the half term break.

In all, 66 sets of road works are due to be completed on the Highways Agency’s roads ahead of the bank holiday weekend. A further 47 sets of road works and lane restrictions are due to be removed by 6am on Friday 23 May and will not be put back before 12.01am on Tuesday 27 May. Lane restrictions or temporary speed limits will need to remain in place at 38 locations for the safety of drivers and their passengers.

Highways Agency traffic officers will be visible on the motorways and on standby to deal with any incidents and keep traffic moving so disruption is kept to a minimum.

The Highways Agency provides information services to help people check traffic conditions for the motorways and other strategic roads. Live traffic information is available through the Highways Agency’s website, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile platforms, such as the iPhone. The Agency provides regional Twitter feeds for live traffic information, available on Twitter

Road users can also call the Highways Agency Information Line (0300 123 5000) to keep up to date with road conditions.

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