A £640,000 scheme planned to tackle congestion at a traffic ‘hot spot’ should be completed before the summer.

The council’s executive board awarded the construction contract for the M62 junction nine signal improvement works during its meeting at the Town Hall on Monday.

Cllr Hans Mundry, executive board member for highways, transportation and public realm, confirmed a £50,000 contingency budget has been set aside in case workers ‘come across anything unexpected’.

He added: “We have got some equipment on junction nine over 15 years old, which is way past its sell-by date.

“We need to invest in the signalling equipment to make it more efficient.

“This will reduce congestion and make it more environmentally friendly.

“Hopefully, we will have it finished before the summer.”

Highways officers identified the junction as a congestion ‘hot spot’ in need of upgrades fitted with the latest technology.

The signals currently operate inflexible fixed-time plans, which provide ‘limited co-ordination’ with the adjacent junction.

The upgrades are planned to greatly improve their operational efficiency.

The name of the tenderer, which the contract has been awarded to, was discussed in part two in private.

Around £327,000 is coming from the authority’s urban traffic management control programme budget, with £313,000 from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

The authority is targeting a completion date of May 31.