The M6, Britain’s longest motorway, as well as one of its busiest, is all too often blighted by rush-hour congestion causing delays for millions of motorists every year.
At a length of 230 miles, and including Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham, it serves as a crucial artery, running from the Midlands to the border of Scotland.
And now a modernisation project costing close to £300 million and focusing on one key stretch will aim to make life easier for the drivers who rely on it on a daily basis.
The project will begin in March and to reduce disruption, work will be carried out at night when traffic levels are lower.
A Highways England spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “The M6 junction 21a to 26 scheme will make a ten-mile stretch of the M6 between Warrington and Wigan all-lane running.
“It’s a really busy stretch of motorway used by around 120,000 vehicles every day that suffers regularly from congestion especially at peak times.”
The upgrade will convert the hard shoulder into an extra running lane, adding “much-needed capacity for smoother and more reliable journeys”, the spokesperson said.
Work is expected to be completed by spring of next year.
The spokesperson added: “Since starting construction we’ve completed the installation of an improved concrete central reservation barrier throughout the scheme, installed 65 new gantries and resurfaced the new lane four on both carriageways with a low noise surface.
“We recently started work to install 22 emergency areas throughout the scheme, which is more than double the originally planned places for drivers to stop in an emergency.”
The cost of the project is estimated to come in at between £269 million and £285 million.
