COMPANY boss Ray Fernandez has welcomed improvements on the M6 in Cheshire.

Ray is chief executive of mobile tyre-fitting firm TyresOnTheDrive.com, which is based in Middlewich Road, Holmes Chapel, near junction 18 of the M6.

Ray said: “Excessive congestion on the M6 is an operational challenge for us, especially for the team working from our Warrington hub.

“Our technicians need to be able to travel in and around the area without the worry of unreliable journey times, to get to our customers and carry out their tyre fittings on time.

“The new smart motorway scheme means we will be able to get to and from local jobs quicker, which makes for happier customers.”

Highways England said extra lanes and new technology on the M6 in Cheshire were already improving drivers’ journeys.

Highways England completed work on the section between Holmes Chapel and Knutsford, junctions 18 to 19, last month, and new figures show traffic has been kept flowing at about 70mph for 22 hours each day.

Variable speed limits are also helping keep the motorway congestion-free during peak times by gradually increasing and decreasing the speed limit.

Statistics from the first week of operation show the speed limit was set at 60mph for around 100 minutes each day, and at 50mph or 40mph for under 15 minutes a day on average.

A fourth lane was opened on Thursday, February 28 on the northbound carriageway between Sandbach and Holmes Chapel (junctions 17 to 18), and an extra lane is due to open southbound between the same junctions early next week.

A 60mph speed limit will be in place on the upgraded four-mile stretch of the M6 between Sandbach and Holmes Chapel for a few days while contractors complete testing of new technology.

The 18-mile upgrade between Crewe and Knutsford is on schedule to be finished by the end of March.

Arun Sahni, project manager at Highways England, said: “We’ve completed over half of the major M6 upgrade in Cheshire, and it’s great to see drivers are already benefitting from the extra lanes and new technology we’ve introduced.

“Before we started work this stretch of the M6 was one of the most congested motorways in the country with over 120,000 vehicles using it every day, so being able to travel at around 70mph for over 22 hours a day is making a big difference to drivers’ journeys.

“We’re now just a few weeks away from completing the entire scheme which will bring long-term benefits to anyone who regularly uses the M6 to travel between the west midlands and north west.”

The extra lanes on the M6 in Cheshire have increased the motorway’s capacity by a third, and new overhead electronic signs are providing drivers with live information about their journeys, including changes in the speed limit, lane closures and incidents on the route.

Traffic sensors at the side of the motorway are being used to automatically set variable speed limits to keep traffic moving, preventing tailbacks and stop-start conditions caused by sudden braking.

New CCTV cameras also provide extensive coverage of the motorway to help Highways England’s traffic officers and the emergency services respond quickly to incidents, and frequent emergency areas provide drivers with a safe place to stop if they break down.