North West

Conversion of the M56 between junctions 6 (the A538 at Ringway) and 7/8 (the A556 at Bowdon) to Smart Motorway.

As part of the works, the hard shoulder will be converted into a fourth permanent running lane ("All Lane Running") between junctions 6 and 7, and westbound through junction 6. The hard shoulder will not be converted through junction 6 eastbound, so for traffic travelling towards Manchester, the left-hand lane will exit at junction 6 and return afterwards.

Conversion of the M6 between junction 21a (the M62 at Birchwood) and 26 (the M58 at Orrell) to Smart Motorway.

Highways England have not yet published detailed design information, but it is likely that the scheme will involve conversion of the hard shoulder into a fourth permanent running lane ("All Lane Running"), installation of emergency lay-bys and introduction of variable speed limits.

Construction of a new single two-lane road bypassing Poynton to the west, which will connect the existing A523 to the south of the town with the new A555 Manchester Airport Eastern Link Road to the north.

Plans for a bypass of Poynton on roughly this line have existed for decades. In the past, however, the route was far less direct, having to travel around the north and east of the runway at Woodford Aerodrome. This has now closed, so the road is now planned to cross the site of the runway on an almost straight trajectory.

Construction of a new single two-lane road bypassing Middlewich to the east, which will carry the A533 around the outside of the town avoiding Booth Lane. At the northern end it will connect to the A54 Holmes Chapel Road at the existing Salt Cellar Roundabout, north of which roads already exist to connect onwards to the A533 without passing through Middlewich.

The new road will also open up land on the south-east side of Middlewich for industrial and housing developments.

Construction of a new single two-lane road around the north and west of Congleton, linking the A534 Sandbach Road to the A536 Macclesfield Road. Connections will be provided to the A54 Holmes Chapel Road, A34 Manchester Road, Back Lane and a new link road to Congleton Business Park. A total of six new junctions, all simple roundabouts, will be built.

The road is intended to alleviate congestion in Congleton and is effectively a bypass for the town, but is also intended to open up new development sites to the north of the town.

Construction of a new single two-lane road from the M6 at junction 42, south east of Carlisle, to the junction of the A595 and A689. Together with the existing A689, this route would complete a full ring road around the outside of Carlisle.

The new road will connect to existing roads with roundabouts at Dalston Road, Durdar Road, Scalegate Road and Brisco Road. East of Brisco Road, it will replace the existing Newbiggin Road to join the roundabout at the M6 interchange.

Construction of a new single two-lane road from the eastern roundabout at Orrell Interchange (M6 junction 26 and the terminus of the M58) to the A49 Warrington Road at Goose Green, south of Wigan. The new road will incorporate most of Leopold Street, which will be widened to create space for traffic islands and right-turn lanes, and the whole of Smithy Brook Road. The new road will operate with a 30mph limit throughout.

Construction of a new dual two-lane road to bypass the existing A585 through Little Singleton, on the section of road linking the Fylde peninsula to the motorway network at M55 junction 3. The new road will include improved junctions at Skippool and Windy Harbour, and may also include a short link road to the A588 to fully bypass Little Singleton to the north.

Improvement of the A5036 between Liverpool Docks at Seaforth and Switch Island at Aintree, the principal road linking the port with the national motorway network. At present the road is a dual carriageway with numerous signalised junctions and property accesses that runs directly through residential areas.

Work to upgrade the M62 between junctions 10 (Croft Interchange at the M6) and junction 12 (Eccles Interchange at the M60) to Smart Motorway standard. This will include the introduction of new technology, with Variable Speed Limits, new traffic sensors and CCTV. Refuge areas will also be installed at regular intervals by the side of the motorway.

Construction of a new dual two-lane road from the terminal roundabout at M67 junction 4 to the A57 at Mottram Moor, where it will terminate at another roundabout. The road will pass below the A6018 and a residential area by means of a bored tunnel. An intermediate roundabout west of Mottram will provide access to the A6018 by a link road. A further single two-lane road will continue from the end of the dual two-lane road south east to the A57 at Woolley Bridge.

Construction of a new bypass to the east of the village of Broughton on the A6, running from the roundabout at M55 junction 1 to a point on the A6 north of the village.

The southern half of the bypass, from the M55 to the B5269, will be dual two-lanes. The northern section from the B5269 to the A6 will be a single carriageway with one lane each way.

Construction of a new dual carriageway bypass from the eastern end of the M56 Manchester Airport Spur to the A6 at Hazel Grove, incorporating the existing short section of A555 between Handforth and Woodford. This is a scaled-down version of a route first outlined in 1962 and progressed in the 1970s as a motorway, intended to form part of the Manchester Outer Ring Road. It was resurrected in the early 2000s as a result of the "SEMMMS" multi-modal study.

Upgrade of the M6 to Smart Motorway between junctions 16 and 19, in order to create a smoother flow of traffic and thus reduce congestion.

As well as variable speed limits, this is a full conversion to All-Lane-Running (turning the hard shoulder into a permanent fourth running lane) with only Emergency Refuge Areas provided instead.

This scheme replaces the earlier M6 J13-19 Smart Motorway scheme, which was withdrawn in 2014.

Works will initially be at the northern end of the scheme, before spreading south.

A new largely offline and grade separated dual carriageway linking M6 J19 and M56 J7. It would replace the current heavily congested and mostly four lane single carriageway A556.

The Highways Agency has confirmed that a 60mph speed limit will be applied to the new road in an attempt to minimise pollution generated by the increase in traffic. This limit is expected to be raised to National Speed Limit 2-5 years after the road is opened, as vehicle emissions drop.

Construction of a new route from the existing dualled section of the A683 between Morecambe and Lancaster to junction 34 of the M6, providing a northern bypass for the city and improving motorway access for Morecambe and Heysham (including the ferry links to Ireland and Isle of Man).