A multi-million pound investment aimed at easing motorway congestion is expected to be announced by ministers.
A £6 billion package of measures aimed at easing motorway congestion in England has been announced.
It is expected to include plans to extend the use of hard-shoulders for traffic during busy periods.
The use of hard-shoulders by traffic during busy periods will be extended.
The system already operates on the M42 in the Midlands, where cameras are used to ensure breakdowns are moved quickly.
The system already successfully operates on the M42 near Birmingham, where cameras are used to ensure broken down vehicles are moved quickly.
Edmund King of the AA said he thought motorists would find it "encouraging" that the government was trying to address the problem of motorway queues.
Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said she would also investigate the possibility of introducing toll and car-sharing lanes, which are used in America.
He said: "Congestion is costing us more than £20bn a year and we've seen in the West Midlands that hard-shoulder running, if it's managed well, it can work fairly effectively.
New locations where hard shoulder use is to be introduced include the M3 and M4 approaches to London, the M4 and M5 around Bristol and the M3 and M27 around Southampton.
Congestion charging
Eight areas will receive a share of a £60 million congestion-easing fund - Bristol, Greater Manchester, Leicester, London, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and the West Midlands.
Leeds, Cambridgeshire and Reading, in Berkshire, will receive funding to tackle congestion combined with possible local congestion charging.
Ms Kelly said as the majority of congestion was in towns and cities, the answer was not to build new roads.
"That is why I will continue to support councils who want to investigate whether radical packages, which include public transport improvements combined with local congestion charging, would be the right solution for them," she said.
Edmund King, of the AA, said he thought motorists would find it "encouraging" the government was trying to address the problem of motorway queues.
He said: "Congestion is costing us more than £20bn a year and we've seen in the West Midlands that hard-shoulder running, if it's managed well, can work fairly effectively.
"It can make for more reliable journeys and, as long as safety isn't compromised when it's rolled out, I think it will be something that most motorists will support."
"It can make for more reliable journeys and, as long as safety isn't compromised when it's rolled out, I think it will be something that most motorists will support."
Reasearch carried out during a pilot hard shoulder scheme on an 11-mile (17.7km) stretch of the M42 near Birmingham showed a reduction in congestion, carbon emissions and fuel consumption.
Reasearch carried out during a pilot hard shoulder scheme on an 11-mile (17.7km) stretch of the M42 near Birmingham showed a reduction in congestion, carbon emissions and fuel consumption.
There are plans to expand the system to about 500 miles (804.6km) of motorway across England, and some motorways in Scotland are also earmarked for the scheme.
The use of hard shoulders is part of a bigger plan to reduce traffic build-up, and other ideas include car sharing lanes and congestion charging in towns and cities.
ACTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 1 Computer-controlled sensors in road detect increased traffic and feed data back to control centre2 Mandatory speed limit imposed to protect queuing traffic and smooth flows3 Information signs warn or advise drivers of hazards/lane use4 Overhead signal indicates when hard shoulder is open to traffic5 Hard shoulder to be used for travel between consecutive junctions6 Broken-down vehicles use emergency refuge areas to ensure hard shoulder remains clear7 Controllers use CCTV and sensors to monitor hard shoulder for obstructions/debris and can manually override ATM system Other safety improvements include highly visible roadside emergency phones (8) located behind safety barriers, and lighting (9) at more frequent intervals along entire stretch of motorway
ACTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 1 Computer-controlled sensors in road detect increased traffic and feed data back to control centre2 Mandatory speed limit imposed to protect queuing traffic and smooth flows3 Information signs warn or advise drivers of hazards/lane use4 Overhead signal indicates when hard shoulder is open to traffic5 Hard shoulder to be used for travel between consecutive junctions6 Broken-down vehicles use emergency refuge areas to ensure hard shoulder remains clear7 Controllers use CCTV and sensors to monitor hard shoulder for obstructions/debris and can manually override ATM system Other safety improvements include highly visible roadside emergency phones (8) located behind safety barriers, and lighting (9) at more frequent intervals along entire stretch of motorway
