Jo Platt – the MP for Leigh and Atherton – met with National Highways at its control room in Newton-le-Willows.
The Leigh and Atherton MP was on site to hear about the work being done on repairs and maintenance and to learn more about the operational facility that keeps us safe on our motorway network
Jo said: “I was blown away by the operations at the National Highways regional centre just off the East Lancs. Whilst I was there, the centre was dealing five major incidents on the motorways – that ultimately impacts locally dependent on diversions. It was fascinating to see the technology used and to meet the staff that are trained to deal with incidents.”
National Highways is the government-owned company responsible for managing England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN). This includes motorways and major A roads (over 4,000 miles),bridges, tunnels, drainage systems and traffic technology.
Their core responsibilities for National Highways include planning, designing, building, operating, and maintaining the SRN, improving road safety, enhancing customer experience and delivering infrastructure projects. National Highways has responsibility for the M6, M61 and A580.