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| 60mph motorway speed limit plan shelved | 60mph motorway speed limit plan shelved |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Plans to impose a 60mph speed limit on parts of the M3 and M1 motorways to cut air pollution have been put on hold. | Plans to impose a 60mph speed limit on parts of the M3 and M1 motorways to cut air pollution have been put on hold. |
| Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given the Highways Agency 18 months to devise alternative methods to tackle pollution on a 32 mile stretch of the M1 in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire and 2.8 miles of the M3 in Surrey. | Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has given the Highways Agency 18 months to devise alternative methods to tackle pollution on a 32 mile stretch of the M1 in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire and 2.8 miles of the M3 in Surrey. |
| If none can be found a 60mph limit could still be imposed at peak times. | If none can be found a 60mph limit could still be imposed at peak times. |
| But Mr McLoughlin has ruled out a blanket cut in the speed limit. | But Mr McLoughlin has ruled out a blanket cut in the speed limit. |
| Construction is about to begin on converting two sections of the M1, between junctions 28 and 31 in Derbyshire and junctions 32 and 35a in South Yorkshire, and on the M3, between junctions 2 and 4a to allow hard shoulder running either permanently or at busy periods. | |
| The extra lane can be closed off in an emergency and speed limits varied through the use of overhead message signs. | |
| 'Investigate alternatives' | |
| The government claims so-called "smart motorways" will increase capacity by a third and improve journey times up to 10% through the M1 schemes and 15% on the M3, where average speeds are currently 45mph during rush-hour. | |
| But the Highways Agency is concerned that the extra traffic will break EU air quality rules. | |
| The agency consulted on proposals to limit speeds to 60mph between 7am and 7pm seven days a week to cut pollution. | |
| But Mr Mcloughlin has rejected this approach, saying the government was committed to maintaining the 70mph limit on motorways, particularly at weekends and other periods when traffic was lighter. | |
| He has ordered the Highways Agency to "rigorously investigate alternatives" to the blanket cut in the speed limit as work progresses on the schemes in the next 12 to 18 months. | |
| He said: "Let me be absolutely clear, I want all motorways to run at 70mph. While it sometimes makes sense to use variable limits to keep people moving, blanket reductions are not acceptable. | |
| "Smart motorways are an effective and cost efficient way of increasing space on our roads, cutting jams and speeding up journey times and I am pleased to announce the start of work on these schemes." | |
| In the meantime, the Highways Agency will take the legal powers it needs to reduce the speed limit from 70mph at certain times, the Transport department said. | |
| The BBC understands the agency has been asked to look at different ways of measuring local air quality. | |
| It is also looking at alternative methods of cutting pollution, such as erecting high barriers along the relevant sections of the motorway to funnel fumes away from ground level. | |
| The Transport department said pollution would be reduced as more low emission vehicles came into use, but progress on this had not been as fast as hoped. |