M1 and M5 emergency area retrofit programme
We’re building additional emergency areas on our all lane running smart motorways in the Midlands.
Project information
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 construction 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.
M1 between junctions 23a and 25
As you may recall from previous updates, we pledged to install six emergency areas (EAs) between junctions 23a and 25 of the M1 by this winter.
We are on schedule to do that, with the works at the finalising stage.
We plan to be clear of the network by Christmas.
The recent stormy weather has delayed the removal of the final restrictions. These will now be lifted overnight, 8pm to 6am from 8 to 12 December 2024, so all four lanes and the six new emergency areas are opened from 6am on 13 December 2024.
All lane closures are indicated by signage on the highway and in advance on this webpage, as below. As there are also roadworks in process near to and along the M1, please also check local travel information pertaining to your route here.
The following closures on the M1 will be in place overnight from 8pm until 6am, unless stated.*
11 December 2024
- Lane 1-3 closure northbound between M1 J24a and 25.
- Full closure of J25 exit slip northbound. Diversion via M1 J26 and return.
- Full closure of J25 entry slip northbound. Diversion via M1 J24 and return.
- Lane 4 closure southbound between J25 and 24a.
12 December 2024
- Lane 1-3 closure northbound between M1 J23a and 24a.
- Full closure of J24 exit slip northbound. Diversion via M1 J25 and return.
- Full closure of J24 entry slip northbound. Diversion via M1 J25 and return.
- Lane 1 closure eastbound between A50 J1 to M1 J24a.
- Full closure of J24a entry slip northbound. Diversion via J23 and return.
- Lane 4 closure southbound between J25 and 24.
Please note we plan to carry out some final activities, such as the removal of the temporary average speed enforcement cameras and other items we are unable to remove during the above closures.
We will aim to cause minimum disruption.
The temporary restrictions for these final activities, between 13 and 15 December 2024, are as follows:
13 December 2024
- Lane 1-3 closure northbound between J24a to 25
14 December 2024
- Lane 4 closure northbound between J23a to 25
- Lane 4 closure southbound between J23a to 25
15 December 2024
- Lane 4 closure northbound between J25 and 24a
- Lane 4 closure southbound between J25 and 24a
We’re sorry for the disruption this work may have caused 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: Travel updates and road closures
M1 between junctions 28 and 30
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.
M1 between junctions 16 and 19
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.
On occasions we'll require additional closures which will be signed on the highway.
Please remember that closure details can change at short notice. For the most up-to-date information, please visit our daily closures page.
You can also check our X (formerly Twitter) account (@HighwaysEMIDS).
We’re sorry for the disruption this work may cause.
We encourage you to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling.
M5 between junctions 4a and 6
We're building 10 additional emergency areas between junctions 4a and 6 of the M5.
All works, including testing and commissioning, are scheduled to be complete by March 2025, but most of the actual construction works will be finished before the Christmas break.
We are currently continuing to either lay asphalt or install communications cables at the new emergency area locations.
Some of these cabling works will be done overnight this week under lane closures, to allow access for the large number of delivery vehicles required.
Closures
The following closures will be in place overnight from 8pm until 6am, all closures are of lanes 1, 2 and 3.
Wednesday 11 December
- M5 J5 to 4a northbound
Thursday 12 December
- M5 J4a to 6 southbound
- M5 J5 to 4a northbound
Friday 13 November
- M5 J4a to 5 southbound
- M5 J6 to 5 northbound
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.
Please remember that closures can change at short notice. You can check the latest information on our daily closures page or find live travel information on our Traffic England site. Our travel alerts give details of live incidents on our network.
You can also check our X (formerly Twitter) account (@HighwaysWMIDS) before travelling for the latest information.
Overview
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.
Benefits
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
Frequently asked questions
Why are the roadworks so long, and why do they need to be on both sides of the road?
Safety is our top priority. As the distance between emergency areas is relatively short, maintaining the lane closure between them is the best option as it reduces lane changes, helps keep traffic flowing and ultimately reduces the risk of any incidents.
Motorway technology often covers both sides of the road at once, and we have put roadworks restrictions, like a reduced speed limit, when work happening on the opposite carriageway affects our monitoring systems on both sides.
Why are you building all of the emergency areas at once? Why not spread them out?
We are committed to building at least 150 additional emergency areas by the end of March 2025. We are working very hard to meet the commitment and will remove the roadworks as soon as we safely can.
Why can’t I see anyone working?
We appreciate that it can be very frustrating to drive through roadworks and not see work being carried out. We’d like to assure you that we are working very hard to complete these upgrades as quickly and efficiently as possible. We’ve completed well over a million working hours on these upgrades and are working hard to have them all complete by next spring.
What are you doing to limit delays?
We have designed the roadworks with traffic flow in mind and keeping the open lanes at full-width instead of narrowing them, as at many roadworks, is proving effective at helping to manage traffic flow.
We continue to keep the roadworks under review and consider all options for maximising traffic flow without compromising safety. For example, where we can do it safely, we are increasing the speed limit to 60mph on the approach to the exit of roadworks to help traffic move more freely.
In exceptional cases, you may pass variable speed limits displaying on overhead gantries within the zone covered by speed limits indicated by hard signs. Should you be in any doubt about which speed limit applies in such a situation, we would recommend that you always comply with the lower of the speed limits indicated.
Documents
Traffic information
Information about scheduled roadworks and events on our motorways and major roads.X
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