A MAJOR project in place to tackle congestion and improve journey times for motorists travelling on the M6 started today, Monday.

Highways England is upgrading a 20-mile stretch of the motorway between junction 16 at Crewe and junction 19 at Knutsford to a smart motorway.

The hard shoulder is being permanently converted to an extra lane, increasing capacity by a third, and new traffic monitoring technology will allow variable speed limits to be displayed on overhead electronic signs to keep vehicles moving at a steady speed.

Temporary narrow lanes and a 50mph speed limit are currently in place between junctions 18 at Middlewich and 19 to allow three lanes to be kept open in each direction.

Roadworks on a separate project to install a new concrete central reservation barrier and carry out bridge repair work were lifted last weekend between junctions 19 and 20 in Lymm.

Highways England project manager Kate Beirne said: "We're determined to do all we can to minimise disruption while the smart motorway scheme is taking place and will be keeping three lanes open during the daytime throughout the project.

"When the smart motorway goes live, drivers will benefit from an extra lane in each direction and variable speed limits will be used to keep traffic moving."

For further information and to see when road closures will be in place visit highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/m6-junctions-16-19-smart-motorway.