Hard shoulder between junction 21a of the M6 near Warrington and junction 26 near Wigan will be permanently converted to an additional traffic lane, with construction set to complete in 2023.

The project will also position new radar detectors along the motorway to monitor traffic flows and automatically detect stationary vehicles, as well as electronic signs and CCTV cameras. Ten emergency refuge areas will also be installed for use by broken down vehicles.

Start of work on the project comes after Highways England delivered a one year progress report to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps following the smart motorways ‘stocktake’ last March.

In a written statement to Parliament, the Secretary of State said work is “rapidly being completed” to assess the report and to establish next steps, with the document expected to be published by the summer “once I am assured that the proposals are sufficiently robust”.

He also revealed he has requested an independent review of safety data contained within the report. “There has been considerable public and media interest in understanding motorway accident and fatality data and I have commissioned the Office of Rail & Road to independently review the data to provide further analytical assurance and ensure that the conclusions arrived at are robust.”

Start of work on the M6 before this data has been assessed has attracted some concern. Member of Parliament for Rotherham Sarah Champion – who has been vocal in her stance against smart motorways – told TP Weekly News: “I find it extremely concerning that Highways England is charging ahead with the rollout of smart motorways before evidence is published on their safety.

“Even with the additional safety features, all lane running can never be as safe as having a hard shoulder,” she claimed. “I continue to call for the hard shoulder to be reinstated and the rollout stopped.”

The AA’s head of roads policy Jack Cousens added that new smart motorway schemes should be placed on hold until the review is concluded. “Let’s hit the pause button and get this review through the door to see what it says, because there might be things that have to change on schemes going forward and it will be much easier and cheaper to do so before spades are in the ground.”

He welcomed the Secretary of State’s decision to seek independent analysis but said the wait for the report must not delay the retrofitting of additional emergency refuge areas on existing smart motorway schemes.

Highways England said the new smart motorway on the M6 will provide “quicker, safer and more reliable journeys for drivers”.

(Photograph: Highways England)