THE M60 Smart Motorway upgrade was finally completed yesterday, meaning more than four years of 50mph speed limits have finally come to an end.

The project cost £208 million but overran by a year meaning Bolton commuters continued to be hampered by reduced speed limits.

However, a new scheme is set to begin soon, kicking off a set of Smart Motorway upgrades across Greater Manchester which will run until at least 2023.

It will likely mean the return of a 50mph speed limit around the works, as well as overnight closures to specific junctions and general traffic disruption.

Work will begin on the M62 between junctions 10 at the Croft interchange and junction 12 at the Eccles interchange.

Preparation work for this began in spring 2018, with costs expected to be revealed at somewhere between £100 million and £250 million.

Reduced speed limits for this project will likely be introduced later this month and could run until its completion in spring 2020.

Next, running on an 11-mile stretch of the M6 between junctions 21a and 26 around Wigan and Leigh another scheme is expected to kick off in late 2018 or 2019.

As the projects continue, combining with future work across the M60, M62, M56 and M6, it is unlikely that 50mph speed limits will be completely removed from motorways around Bolton for another five to six years.