M54 speed cameras in Shropshire catch 3,700 drivers - now they're coming down
Nearly 20 people a day have been snared by speed cameras on the M54 in Shropshire during seven months of roadworks that come to an end this weekend.
A total of 3,726 motorists have been handed £100 fines since the speed limit went to 50mph between junctions five at Telford Town Centre and seven at Wellington.
The fines totalling £372,600 were revealed as the Highways Agency announced the cameras are set to come down by Sunday - as bridge maintenance work will finish ahead of schedule.
The disruption started in July last year and has involved lane closures and total road closures at some of Telford's busiest junctions, resulting in traffic chaos.
Anna Higgins of the Safer Roads Partnership said: "A total of 3,726 people have been caught speeding on the M54 since enforcement started seven months ago.
"This figure is very low in proportion to the number of people travelling on the M54 and equates to less than 20 per day over the enforcement period.
"We are very encouraged that the vast majority of motorists have complied with the temporary limit while roadworks have been in place."
Paul Watters, head of roads policy at the AA said: "Safety at motorway road works used to be very poor two decades ago and there used to be very serious crashes.
"Thankfully things have improved dramatically and these days the risk on a motorway with road works is no greater than a motorway without roadworks.
"The small number of offences detected on the M54 show that the vast majority of drivers stuck to the limit and helped keep others safe.
The roadworks are set to finish slightly ahead of schedule despite awful weather throughout the winter, according to Highways Agency spokeswoman Sam Harris.
She thanked drivers for their patience throughout the seven months of disruption.
"We appreciate it has not been easy especially with other local authority road works taking place at the same time," she said.
There will be further closures this week as the agency gradually removes the temporary road marking and restores the road to its usual layout.
Until Friday, the current day time lane closures will stay in place, but by Saturday all of the traffic management on the westbound carriageway - towards Shrewsbury - will have been removed and the road will be back to normal.
And by Sunday, both carriageways will be fully reopen.
To allow the work to clear the road to take place, the westbound carriageway will be completely closed between junctions five to seven from 8pm until 6am today and Friday.
The eastbound carriageway, towards Wolverhampton, will be completely closed between 8pm and 6am on Thursday and Saturday nights.
Today and tomorrow the concrete safety barriers and cameras were being removed, then on Friday and Saturday nights the road markings will be altered.
Meanwhile, one of the roads into the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site is also closed this week for repairs to a railway bridge.
Jiggers Bank is set to be closed until March 23 for work on the bridge in Coalbrookdale.
