M1 and M5 emergency area retrofit programme
We’re building additional emergency areas on our all lane running smart motorways in the Midlands.
The safety and confidence of people travelling on England’s motorways and major A-roads is our highest priority.
We’ve been listening to your concerns and have developed a programme to create additional emergency areas on sections of all lane running (ALR) smart motorway across the country.
Emergency areas provide a place to stop in an emergency if you can't exit the motorway or stop at a motorway service area.
They're clearly signed at regular intervals along the motorway and have bright orange road surfaces to help you identify them. At 100 metres long they have plenty of space for even the largest lorry plus a recovery vehicle, and they're equipped with emergency telephones linking directly to our control rooms to get help on the way quickly.
What are we doing in the Midlands?
Work to create extra emergency areas on motorways across the Midlands starts in spring 2024, with a coordinated series of upgrades getting underway along the M1 and nearby on the M5.
We'll retrofit 56 new emergency areas on four motorway stretches across the Midlands:
- M1 between junctions 23a and 25 in Leicestershire and Derbyshire – 6 new emergency areas
- M1 between junctions 28 and 30 in Derbyshire – 20 new emergency areas
- M1 between junctions 16 and 19 in Northamptonshire – 20 new emergency areas
- M5 between junctions 4a and 6 in Worcestershire – 10 new emergency areas
The exact number of emergency areas on each section of motorway may change. This is because we can't rule out finding unexpected conditions which prevent work at any individual location after constructions begins.
We’ll deliver this work in phases, starting spring 2024, and expect to complete our work by spring 2025.
How will this work affect journeys?
To carry out our work safely, lane one of the motorways listed above will be closed throughout the duration of our work. Lanes two, three and four will remain open with a 50mph speed limit in place.
CCTV cameras will continue to monitor the carriageway and 24-hour free recovery will be in operation.
The lane one closure will be installed overnight using a temporary barrier to protect our workforce and the travelling public. We always do our best to minimise disruption and we apologise in advance should this work cause an inconvenience to you.
Existing emergency areas on the motorways will remain open wherever possible. At limited locations where it's necessary to temporarily close an emergency area, a temporary emergency area will be provided nearby and clearly signed.
Where can I find out more information?
Find out more about our national emergency area retrofit programme.
Email the project team directly at EAretrofit@nationalhighways.co.uk.
Project information
You can view more details about schemes taking place in the Midlands below:
We'll build six additional emergency areas between junctions 23a and 25 of the M1 by the end of November 2024. Work began in February with the closure of one lane of the motorway so our team could safely clear vegetation and then install signage, CCTV and safety barriers. We’re now in the main works construction phase of the scheme and to prioritise safety for road users and crews working on the highway, we’ve kept lane one closed and reduced the speed limit to 50mph in lanes two to four.
On occasion we require additional closures. These will be indicated by signage on the highway and in advance on this webpage, as below. Please note that as there are also roadworks in process near to the M1, it is advisable to also check local travel information pertaining to your route.
The following closures on the M1 will be in place overnight from 8pm until 6am, unless stated.*
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Date |
Closure and Diversion Route |
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|
22 & 29 July 2024 (*00:00-23:59 except on 9 July) |
Lane 1 closure: M1 northbound between J24 and J25 |
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19 July 2024 |
Lane 1-2 closures: M1 northbound between J24a and J26 |
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22 & 29 July 2024 |
Lane 1 closure: M1 southbound between J26 and J23 |
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30 July 2024 |
Lane 1 and 2 closures: M1 northbound between junctions 24a and 25 |
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We’re sorry for the disruption this work may cause to your journey and we encourage drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling. All closures are subject to change at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions. Please check this webpage and our X (formerly Twitter) account (@HighwaysEMIDS) before travelling for the latest information.
Details of all full closures on England’s motorways and major A roads over the next week can be found at: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/road-closure-report.
We'll build 20 additional emergency areas between junctions 28 and 30 of the M1 with construction work starting from Tuesday 2 April 2024. Our work is scheduled to be complete by the end of January 2025.
We’re building 20 additional emergency areas between junctions 16 and 19 of the M1. Our work is scheduled to be complete by the end of March 2025.
In preparation for the start of main construction, we've cleared vegetation and will begin to install safety barriers, CCTV and signage.
On occasion we may require to put in place closures so our team can work safely. We'll notify drivers in advance of these closures, as below.
Lane closure information
The following lane closures will be in place overnight between 9.00pm and 6.00am:
29 July 2024
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound J16 – J18
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound J17 – J16
30 July 2024
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound J16 – J18
5 August 2024
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound J15 – J16
- Lanes 1/2 closed M1 southbound J20 – J19
6 August 2024
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound J15 to J16
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed southbound J20 to J19
7 August 2024
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed northbound J15 to J16
- Lanes 1/2/3 closed southbound J20 to J19
We’re sorry for the disruption this work may cause to your journey and we encourage drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling. All closures are subject to change at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions. Please check this webpage and our X (formerly Twitter) account (@HighwaysEMIDS) before travelling for the latest information.
Details of all full closures on England’s motorways and major A roads over the next week can be found at: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/road-closure-report.
We're building 10 additional emergency areas between junctions 4a and 6 of the M5, work is scheduled to be complete by March 2025.
We are currently carrying out earthworks excavations and installing retaining walls at the new emergency area locations.
Lane closure information
The following lane closure will be in place overnight from 9pm until 6am.
Tuesday 30 July
M5 J4a to 5 southbound - lane 1 closure.
We’re sorry for the disruption this work may cause to your journey and we encourage drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling. All closures are subject to change at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions. Please check this webpage and our X (formerly Twitter) account (@HighwaysWMIDS) before travelling for the latest information.
Details of all full closures on England’s motorways and major A roads over the next week can be found at: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/travel-updates/road-closure-report.
Emergency areas provide a place to stop in an emergency if drivers can't exit the motorway or stop at a motorway service area.
They are marked by blue signs featuring an orange SOS telephone symbol. Each is coloured orange and is around the same length as a football pitch. They’re positioned at regular intervals, providing somewhere safe to stop and have phones linked directly to our control rooms.
Read our advice about driving on motorways, including what to do in an emergency.
Our investment in new emergency areas is designed to help road users feel safe and be even safer on our roads. Other improvements we're making include work on:
- technology, such as stopped vehicle detection
- better and more signs
- more information about smart motorways online and in an updated Highway Code
Through all the work we're doing, we’re determined to:
- further reduce the number of casualties on our high-speed road network
- improve public confidence in our smart motorways
- continue to build and operate one of the safest and best performing road networks in the world
Documents
Traffic information
Information about scheduled roadworks and events on our motorways and major roads.X
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