Work on 18 new emergency areas on the M1 in Derbyshire to begin next month - leading to a lane closure and 50mph zone

For the upgrade to be carried out safely, National Highways say the left-hand lane will be closed throughout construction.

Lanes two, three and four will remain open with a 50mph speed limit in place.

All existing emergency areas on the M1 and M5 will remain open wherever possible throughout construction.

The emergency areas will be among over 50 to be installed across the midlands as part of a nationwide safety programme.

They provide a place to stop for drivers in an emergency if they are unable to leave the motorway or stop at a service area, are signed at regular intervals and have bright orange road surfaces to help identify them.

Each area is 100 metres long and are equipped with emergency telephones linking directly to National Highways for assistance.

Apart from Derbyshire six more are planned on the M1 between junctions 23A and 25 in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Work on the Derbyshire and Leicestershire sections is expected to start on April 2.

National Highways is investing £390 million in the programme and thirteen have already been installed and opened for traffic – eight on the M1 in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and five on the M6 in Staffordshire.

Construction is already under way on 12 more emergency areas on the M1 in South Yorkshire, 10 between junctions 30 and 31 on the M1 in Derbyshire and 12 on the M6 between junctions 21A and 26 in Cheshire.

National Highways Project Sponsor Felicity Clayton said: “Safety is our highest priority and we have listened to drivers' concerns about having more places to stop in an emergency on motorways which don’t have a permanent hard shoulder.

“This is part of the Government’s £900 million investment in further safety improvements on existing smart motorways, which includes adding an additional 150 emergency areas across the network and giving motorists clear advice when using smart motorways to boost public confidence.”

A National Highways spokesperson said it was in close contact with local authorities to minimise the impact of roadworks as much as possible.