M606 MOTORWAY / M62 JUNCTION

As congestion on Britain’s highways increases, more  innovative use of the existing network is required. On the   M606/M62 junction near Bradford, West Yorkshire, the   construction of the UK motorway network’s first car-share   lane has been built by the main contractor Balfour Beatty   Regional Civil Engineering for the Highways Agency. 

The car-share lane is designed to speed traffic flow through   this busy junction, which links the southbound M606 near   Bradford to the eastbound M62 towards Leeds, encouraging   people to share their journeys. It is open to cars and taxis   with two or more occupants as well as busses and coaches. 

The car share lane project was funded by the Northern Way   economic development partnership which is supporting   improvements to the transport infrastructure to assist   economic growth across the north of England.  

Maccaferri’s double twist woven gabions have been used to  create an approximately 450m, the combined length of road[1]side retaining wall next to the east-bound M62 on-slip at   Junction 26, Chain Bar Junction. The existing grassed slopes   were cut back to create space for the car-share lane and the   slope was reinforced using over 600 stone-filled gabion   baskets. 

Commenting on the choice of Maccaferri Gabions for the the   project, Ian Scott of Consulting Engineers Faber Maunsell   who designed the scheme said, “Gabions are proven   technology and they gave us an economical and speedy   solution. Aesthetic and environmental issues were also   important and the locally sourced York Stone used to fill the   Gabions blended well with the surrounding landscape” Mr   Scott continued: “Space is at a premium here and the   gabion wall allowed us to fit in the overall lane width   requirements without resorting to additional land-take.