The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of Friday 24 March but could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with… read more
The following summary of planned new and ongoing road improvements over the coming week is correct as of Friday 24 March and could be subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances. All our improvement work is carried out with the aim of causing as little disruption as possible. Drivers looking for roadworks information (such as overnight carriageway closures) for individual schemes should now visit Traffic England. Some of our larger schemes have project pages giving other information. These can now be accessed from a dedicated regional page.
Work to upgrade the safety barrier in the central reservation between junctions 1 and 2 on the M53 started on Monday 6 February. Lane closures will be in place overnight, with some full carriageway closures later in the project.
Work to upgrade the safety barrier and paint new road markings on the M56 near Warrington started on Monday 30 January. Lane closures will be in place overnight between 8pm and 5am, Monday to Friday. The project is due to be completed by the end of March.
Work is underway to upgrade the M6 to a smart motorway between Crewe and Knutsford, converting the hard shoulder to an extra lane and introducing new variable speed limits. Narrow lanes and a temporary 50mph speed limit are in place for the safety of drivers and workers. Overnight lane closures are in place this week on both carriageways.
Construction work is taking place on a major project to tackle congestion and improve the flow of traffic between the M6 and M62 at Croft Interchange. A 50mph speed limit, backed by average speed cameras, will be in place along main carriageways of both the M6 and M62 and interchange link roads. Some overnight slip road closures will also take place.
Northbound carriageway closure for carriageway surfacing works. Taking place on 25th and 26th March between the hours of 9pm and 5am.
Northbound carriageway closure for carriageway surfacing works. Taking place on the 27th March between the hours 9pm and 5am.
Overnight resurfacing work is taking place on the M6 between 8pm and 5am, Monday to Friday. Clearly signed diversions will be in place, and the scheme is due to be completed in May.
Night time single lane running 8pm to 6am with 2 lanes open during the day with a temp speed limit of 50mph Southbound. Works are for resurfacing and will be complete by the end of March
Night time full closure of the Southbound carriageway for bridge impact damage repair. 8pm and 6am. Works to be completed by the end of March.
A major smart motorway scheme is taking place to cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and the M62 in Greater Manchester. The scheme involves overnight slip road and carriageway closures, with narrow lanes and a temporary 50mph speed limit in place for the safety of drivers and road workers.
There will be a full carriageway closure on the M62 junctions 18 to 20 eastbound on Monday 27 March to Friday 31 March – 8pm to 6am.
The westbound entry slip road will be closed for three nights from Monday 20 March for maintenance work.
Work is due to start 27 March for approximately one week to include the replacement of traffic sensors and cables and renewal of road markings.. Road closures on the northbound and southbound carriageways, between 8pm and 5am (by 7am at weekends), Monday to Friday, will be in place on the A56 Haslingden Bypass between M66 Junction 1 and A680 Bent Gate roundabout. The A682 southbound carriageway will also be closed between the junctions of New Hall Hey Road and the A56. Localised signed diversion routes will be in place.
Work is taking place on a new shared footpath and cycleway between West Drive and Fleetwood. Daytime narrow lanes and a temporary 30mph speed limit are being used along the route to help provide a safe space for workers constructing the new shared paths with night time traffic signal work. The project is due to be completed by the end of March.
Temporary traffic lights will be in place between West Drive and Bourne Way until Saturday 8 April for maintenance and inspection work.
Work is being carried out to tackle flooding between Pennington Lane and Bank End Cottages. 24hr temporary traffic lights are now in place until late March.
Lane closures will be in place 24 hours a day while junction improvement work is carried out by the A5074. The scheme is due to be completed by the end of March.
There will be temporary traffic lights in place while construction work is carried out at the junction. The scheme is due to be completed by the end of March.
A contraflow system is in place while work is carried out on the embankment in the central reservation next to Bass Lake. The scheme is due to be completed in the spring.
Work started on Monday (20 March) on a 6 week bridge repairs project on the bridge over the River Greta. This is a dual carriageway stretch of the road and 1 lane will be closed in each direction during the work – between Crosthwaite roundabout and Brierley Interchange – with a 40mph speed limit in place. Work will take place between 6am and 8pm each day. Laybys in the area and a footpath under the bridge will be closed throughout the scheme. There will also be a ban on vehicles over 44 tonnes using the bridge, again for the duration of the work.
Flood resilience work is continuing with overnight carriageway closures in place between 8pm and 6am until the end of March. Clearly-signed diversions are in place. During the day, temporary traffic lights are in use along with a 40mph speed limit.
Maintenance is underway on Marron Bridge, between Broughton Cross and Bridgefoot. Overnight closures are in place between 9pm and 5am, with a clearly-signed diversion. Due to the temporary bridging plates, a 30mph speed limit backed by speed cameras is required during the day. The project is due to be completed in March.
Resurfacing and drainage work is taking place on the eastbound carriageway at Brough. Overnight slip road closures will be in place between 8pm and 6am, along with lane closures 24 hours a day.
A 24 hour lane closure and footpath closure will be place on the B6167 Lancashire Hill between the junctions of Nicholson Street and Knightsbridge from 8 March for ten weeks for a cycle improvement scheme.
Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.
Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.
read moreView the application submitted by Mr Jonathan Walsh for The Walled Garden, Clyffe, Tincleton, Dorchester, DT2 8QR. read more
I’m grateful to President Farmajo for making his first address to this Council, to Michael Keating, the Special Representative, and Special Representative Madeira for their words.
Last week, I was fortunate enough to visit Somalia at a time which the Secretary-General has described as “tragic and hopeful”. Today has been a chance for President Farmajo to describe how the Federal Government plans to bring peace and stability. And, I hope you will take a clear message from this meeting that while you work for the benefit of Somalia, Mr President, the Security Council will stand with you.
But we meet at a moment when Somalia faces the daunting prospect of its third famine in 25 years. We cannot forget that the last time Somalia was blighted by starvation, in 2011, no fewer than 260,000 people died. Today, over 6 million Somalis need help. The crisis also risks undermining the hard-won political and security progress that has been made.
The good news is that if we learn the lessons of 2011 and act early and decisively, then the famine can still be prevented. Britain has contributed over $135 million of emergency aid to Somalia this year. This UK aid will provide more than a million people with food, water and emergency health care. I would urge all our partners to support the relief effort that is now underway. And I urge the Somali Government to deliver the commitments they have made to improve access and to remove logistical blockages, as part of their welcome focus on this issue.
In Mogadishu last week, I witnessed a military training session for the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops. A heavy responsibility rests on these brave soldiers to guarantee the security, the security on which every other form of progress depends. This is a critical time for security in Somalia. We must work together to agree a clear and long term plan for international security support in Somalia. We hope to make progress on a Security Pact during the forthcoming Somalia Conference in London.
The most urgent requirement is for a political agreement between the Federal Government and Federal Member States on the security architecture of the Somali security forces. Once this has been agreed, the international community should set out its comprehensive and coordinated support to Somalia on security sector reform.
We also need to agree on the shape of a conditions-based transition away from AMISOM to the Somali security forces. I cannot commend highly enough the prowess and bravery of AMISOM soldiers and their Somali counterparts in the struggle against Al-Shabaab. They have made a real difference to Somalia and to the security of East Africa as a whole – and we are all conscious of their sacrifice.
It is precisely because we must not allow their sacrifice to be in vain that we need to ensure a successful transition. The African Union is a central partner – and the forthcoming joint UN-AU review will be central in setting the future direction of that partnership. I hope that all members of this Council will be open minded, particularly as regards funding, so that Somalia’s progress is not jeopardised by a hasty transition. Security is one urgent aspect of the broader constitutional settlement that a stable federal Somalia needs.
The Federal Government and Member States will also need to agree on how to share power and resources. Resolving these questions will be crucial for Somalia’s long term stability. And I look forward to a one-person, one-vote election in four years time. I also welcome the focus of President Farmajo on promoting economic recovery and creating jobs for a new generation of young and ambitious Somalis.
For this to succeed, the Government will need to continue to make progress on important economic reforms, comply with the current IMF programme and improve the business environment. These steps will also be essential for Somalia to be able to make progress towards its aims of accessing multilateral finance and debt relief.
At this crucial time, Britain will join the UN and the Federal Government to host a Conference on Somalia in London in May. The Conference will assess the response to the humanitarian emergency, accelerate progress on security and adopt a new partnership agreement that sets the terms of the relationship between Somalia and the international community for the coming years.
A peaceful and prosperous Somalia is the aim we all share. And let me say to President Farmajo that the Security Council will stand alongside you as you strive to achieve that goal.
read moreAs we sit safely in this Council Chamber, villages in South Sudan are being raided and plundered and set ablaze. Thousands of men, women and children are being driven from their homes, separated from their families and forced to endure terror and hunger as they seek safety in squalid camps.
The toll of suffering in South Sudan has grown inexorably. At the close of 2015, some 2 million people had been displaced. Today, that figure has risen to 3 million, almost half of whom are refugees in neighbouring countries, including up to a million in Uganda. Last month alone, the brutal cycle of raiding, retaliation and counter-retaliation compelled another 80,000 people to flee. And, most tellingly of all, famine has been declared in areas of Former Unity State – the first famine in the world for six years.
Any visitor to that region of South Sudan will know that its green and fertile plains are watered by the tributaries of the White Nile. Nature and geography therefore cannot explain why famine has struck; only the avarice and folly of human beings are to blame. And I’m reminded of the hymn of Bishop Heber: “Though every prospect pleases, only man is vile.” And we should be in no doubt that famine could blight other areas if the fighting does not stop. Against this background, no member of the Security Council can escape our responsibility to renew our efforts to restore peace in South Sudan. Today and each day afterwards, we must demonstrate the unity of this Council over what needs to be done.
The Peace Accord of 2015 must be revived in order to deliver a genuine political process, embracing all the people of South Sudan, and beginning the task of reconciliation and healing. There are three key steps to achieve this. First, there can be no real dialogue for as long as South Sudan is ravaged by fighting. All parties must respect an immediate cessation of hostilities. As President, Salva Kiir is responsible for taking the first step – and others must follow. Second, there must be impartial leadership of the effort to revive the political process.
Finally, any talks will only bring long-term peace if all South Sudanese are represented. That means including not only the opposing forces, but also other armed groups, political parties, displaced people, refugees, youth and women. President Konaré, the AU High Representative for South Sudan, Prime Minister Hailemariam, the Chair of IGAD, and António Guterres, the Secretary General, have resolved to drive this forward together. I also welcome President Mogae, the Chair of the Joint Management and Evaluation Commission, who is responsible for enforcing implementation of the peace agreement.
We, as the Security Council, must demonstrate our wholehearted support for their efforts. And those responsible for atrocities must be brought to account through the establishment of a Hybrid Court. Given the scale of the suffering, all of the opposing forces have special responsibility to allow the delivery of aid wherever required, anywhere in the country. I am deeply concerned by reports that the Government of South Sudan has denied its own citizens the help they so desperately need by blocking humanitarian deliveries – including in Unity State, where famine has struck. We should all make clear that denying food to the starving is simply unconscionable. Nor can we accept a situation whereby the Government or any armed group obstructs the efforts of aid agencies to deliver emergency supplies or of UNMISS to protect civilians.
We should also spell out, with unity, clarity and conviction, what progress we expect from the Government. And we need to back this up by resolving that this Council will consider alternative measures – including an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on individuals – if this progress fails to materialise. The UK remains convinced that an arms embargo would serve to protect ordinary South Sudanese from the worst excesses of military power and on a future occasion we will ask the Council to reconsider this measure.
Our strength of feeling arises, partly from Britain’s profound ties of history and friendship with the people of South Sudan. We were a guarantor of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 which paved the way for South Sudan to achieve independence. The UK was a witness to the Peace Accord of 2015 that sought – unavailingly – to end the current conflict. We are now the second biggest bilateral donor to South Sudan. And we are strengthening UNMISS peacekeeping by deploying almost 400 British military engineers, medics and a field hospital.
The Council will know that over 200,000 civilians are sheltering inside UN sites across South Sudan, unable to leave these barbed wire confines in case they are murdered for no other reason than their ethnicity. Day after day, UNMISS tries to protect these civilians – and I know that British peacekeepers will help UNMISS fulfil this task. But South Sudan’s people should not have to rely on outside protection. And if our efforts falter, the Council should be in no doubt that South Sudan’s tragedy could become yet worse. There is an urgent need for collective action, particularly by neighbouring countries who already host 1.4 million refugees. As Ms Sunday has just told the Council today, the innocent and the most vulnerable are enduring the greatest suffering in this war.
We’re all here today because we have an obligation to act and we cannot leave this meeting believing that our work is done. And we should acknowledge that a terrible failure of political leadership lies behind the bloodshed. At every level we must therefore place pressure on the leaders of South Sudan – both in Government and in opposition – to act in the best interests of their people. We – the Security Council, the UN, IGAD and the AU – must help the South Sudanese to come together to agree on a common vision of their country’s future. And we should all stand ready to make that vision a reality.
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