MOTORISTS could be allowed to drive on the hard shoulder of the M65 under a £5.5million scheme to cut congestion.

East Lancashire council bosses are ready to put forward the plan as a cheaper alternative to tackling traffic chaos on a busy stretch of the motorway during rush-hour periods.

They have previously considered lobbying for a costly permanent three-lane widening of the M65, but that is highly unlikely to happen in the near future.

Now, after successful pilots elsewhere in the country, regeneration leaders believe ‘hard shoulder running’ between busy junctions five at Guide and six at Whitebirk would be a cheaper and more realistic alternative.

Instead of expensive and lengthy lane construction work, cash would instead be spent on relatively simple surfacing work and installing new matrix signs.

The move has been backed by MPs and business leaders who said a free-flowing motorway was vital for East Lancashire’s future prosperity.

However one road safety group urged caution, saying the hard shoulder played an important role in road safety for people who have broken down as well as emergency vehicles.

The North West Development Agency (NWDA), the Government-funded body charged with supporting economic growth, has pledged to pay 50 per cent of the scheme if the Government footed the bill for the other half.

Chief executive Steven Broomhead said: “We would support any enhancement of the M65. To put full new lanes in would be very expensive but we would certainly support a look at less expensive solutions which could work there.”

Highways bosses first trialled the scheme on the M42 in the West Midlands in 2007, using matrix signs to divert traffic on to the hard shoulder during rush hours.

The Government later hailed the pilot a success and announced it would use the initiative elsewhere in country, but did not name the M65 on its list of priorities.

With public sector spending set to be reigned in by future Governments, making large road-building schemes unlikely, East Lancashire leaders are ready to lobby for hard shoulder running cash instead.

They envisage opening up the hard shoulder of the two-lane stretch around junctions five and six of the M65 where most of the route’s traffic is concentrated.

But highlighting emergency vehicles and people who have broken down, Ellen Booth, campaign officer at road safety charity Brake, said: “Brake would urge the authorities to treat this idea with caution because the hard shoulder plays an important role in road safety.”

Jo Abbott, from the RAC Foundation, said she was ‘broadly supportive’ of hard shoulder running ‘with some caveats’.

She said using the hard shoulder to alleviate traffic problems should only be a ‘interim measure’ before permanent solutions.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw, vowed to press the Highways Agency for support.

He said: “It costs less and it can be implemented quickly so I would certainly support it. However, I will also continue to press for a permanent widening of the M65.”

Greg Pope, MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, said: “We have got to be realistic. We are in a recession and there are restrictions on Government funding for things like full-scale motorway widenings.”East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Mike Damms said: “Businesses are more effective when people are in work and not stuck in their cars, and when lorries are gridlocked, it costs our companies too.”

Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle also backed the scheme, saying it could help hundreds of people in the borough who commute down the M65. He said congestion was not yet bad enough around his town to need similar measures.

It is understood that the plans will be put forward in November at the first public meeting of the Pennine Lancashire Development Company (PLDC), the body set up by the six East Lancashire councils to spearhead regeneration.

Blackburn with Darwen Council chief executive Graham Burgess said: “Hard shoulder running is one of our priorities and we are looking at it along with other proposals which will be decided by PLDC.”

A Highways Agency spokeswoman said: “The M65 is not currently a priority.

"However, if the NWDA was to fund hard shoulder running, we would look at it.”