60mph speed limit planned for the M3

The 60 mile per hour speed limit has been the talk of many towns over the last few months, though now it has been alleged across the internet that this speed limit is going to plan on the M3 as part of an £174,000,000 expansion that will save 5 minutes of a commuters day.

Following the introduction of the smart motorway strategy for the M1 motorway, the 60 mile per hour speed limit has been planned for the M3 motorway. These new speed limits are due to government attempts to try and combat congestion and emissions.

The 3 mile smart motorway and it's 60 mile per hour speed restriction will run between the J3 at Lightwater and J4 near Farnborough, between the hours of 7am and 7pm. This limit will cover part of a 13.4 mile stretch between the J2 and the J4a and additional lanes are also going to be opened in both of the directions in an attempt to improve the capacity, which will cost £174,000,000.

The HA, (Highways Agency) hope that the new motorway will be able to ease congestion that is flowing in and out of London. Currently, traffic enters the capital on average at 45 miles per hour and exits at around 56 miles per hour in the evening.

According to the Highways Agency, the expansion of the motorway would cut peoples journeys by around four minutes in the mornings and one minute in the evenings, though the 60 mile per hour speed limit is necessary to ensure that air pollution doesn't breach legal limits following this routes planned expansion.
 

The Highways Agency has also stressed that restrictions could be lifted after four years, as technology in vehicles to reduce emissions is improving over time.
 

The Roads Minister, Robert Goodwill has said that the M3 is congested heavily and the introduction of the smart motorway will certainly help to improve journey times, by smoothing the flow of traffic.

There is another 60 mile per hour restriction on the M1 between South Yorkshire and the East Midlands which was announced in January, which affects the Junction 28 at Mansfield and and 35a at Sheffield and Rotherham.

There are four other major roads that cover around 38 miles of the United Kingdom's 4,300 mile road network that may get the same restrictions.