Drivers warned left hand lane of major motorways will be closed as huge safety work begins in April

The development forms part of the agency’s £390million investment on more than 150 emergency areas in January 2022 with progress being made to offer drivers a safe place to stop on busy roads.

The money has already seen 13 emergency areas installed and opened for traffic with eight on the M1 in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and five on the M6 in Staffordshire.

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For the upgrade to be carried out safely, the left-hand lane will be closed throughout construction. Lanes two, three and four will remain open with a 50mph speed limit in place.

Construction is already underway on 12 more areas on the M1 in South Yorkshire with 10 being built between junctions 30 and 31 on the M1 in Derbyshire and 12 on the M6 between junctions 21A and 26 in Cheshire.

Emergency areas provide a place to stop for drivers in an emergency if they are unable to leave the motorway or stop at a service area. They are wider than hard shoulders and have bright orange road surfaces to help identify them.

Each area is 100 metres long offering plenty of space for all types of vehicles to stop. They are also equipped with emergency telephones linking directly to National Highways control rooms.

Felicity Clayton, project sponsor at National Highways said: “Safety is our highest priority and we have listened to drivers' concerns about having more places to stop in an emergency on motorways which don’t have a permanent hard shoulder.”

The project is part of the Government’s £900million investment in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways, which includes adding an additional 150 emergency areas across the network.

All existing emergency areas on the M1 and M5 will remain open wherever possible throughout construction, National Highways added.

At limited locations where it is necessary to temporarily close an emergency area, the agency explained that a new temporary emergency area will be provided nearby and clearly signed.

Offering drivers some safety advice, National Highways said that in the case of an emergency they should try and exit the motorway at the next exit.

If this is not possible or drivers can't go into the left lane and need to stop in a live lane, they are advised to stay in the vehicle with seatbelts and hazard lights on.

Call National Highways on 0300 123 5000 or 999 if it is an emergency and tell the operator as many details as possible about both location and state of the incident as well as who is in the car.

Emergency services will alert the control room who will close motorway lanes with Red X(s) and send other help if required, such as a traffic officer.

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All sections of the emergency areas are due to be completed by March 2025.