Border Gateway gets Makeover
A £122,000 Highways Agency project to spruce up one of England’s gateways with Scotland is underway on the M6 in Cumbria.
More than £200,000 is also being spent in the area to improve two slip roads at Junction 45 following the completion of the extension of the M6 along what was the A74 more than a year ago.
Following the £174m extension the M6 now merges with the A74(M) just prior to the Scottish border. The landscape improvement ‘gateway’ scheme is being provided at the England/Scotland border just a few miles south east of Gretna.
The work will help to better highlight the national borders and produce a more attractive and easily-maintained roadside environment.
New signing will also mark drivers’ entry into England, welcoming them to England and Cumbria. The sign also features the Flag of St George.
The southbound on-slip and the northbound exit-slip roads at Junction 45 will also be improved to bring them into line with the new motorway section standards.
The work, which started on Monday (February 1), is expected to take about a month and involves occasional lane one closures in both directions with any work taking place between 8pm and 6am overnight. The hard shoulder in each direction will be closed for the duration of the work which will also involve occasional full slip-road closures.
A 50mph speed limit will be in force when lane or slip road closures are in place. When the slip roads are closed, northbound traffic will be diverted via Junction 22 of the A74 (M) with minimal delays. Those travelling southbound wanting to join at Junction 45 will instead be sent along the A7 down to Junction 44.
Highways Agency Project Sponsor Phil Davies said, "This project is about enhancing the safety of the junction and providing a more attractive ‘gateway’ into England from Scotland."
See also:
