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.
Next week, we’re installing temporary cabling along the works areas. There will be a M1 junction 24 southbound entry slip road full closure taking place every night from Monday to Thursday.
The following closures will be in place overnight from 8pm until 6am:
|
Date of closure |
Details of closure |
Diversion route |
|
Monday 20 to Thursday 23 May |
M1 J23a to 24 northbound – lane 1, 2 and 3 closure |
No diversion required as lane closures only |
|
M1 J24 northbound exit slip road – lane 1 closure |
||
|
A453 southbound - lane 1 closure for 3 km before M1 J24 |
||
|
M1 J24 southbound entry slip road – full closure |
Traffic will be diverted via diversion signage onto the northbound M1 at J24 to then exit at J25, and then join the M1 southbound |
|
|
M1 J24 roundabout – lane 1 and 2 closure |
No diversion required as lane closures only |
Please note that other work is being carried out in the area. Some overnight northbound lane closures and a closure of the M1 J23a northbound exit slip road will be in place from Monday to Thursday.
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.
The following lane closures will be in place overnight between 9.00pm and 6.00am:
|
Date |
Closure |
|
8-23 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound from Watford Gap services to J18 |
|
8-10 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound from J18 to J19 |
|
18 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound from J18 to J19 |
|
8-10 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J16 to Watford Gap services |
|
11-19 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J18 to Watford Gap services. This includes a lane 1 closure on the M45 link |
|
22-23 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound J18 to Watford Gap services. This includes a lane 1 closure on the M45 link |
|
15-16 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J19 to J17 |
|
20 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J19 to J17 |
|
8 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J16 to Watford Gap services |
|
22 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J16 to Watford Gap services |
|
9-10 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J19 to Watford Gap services |
|
16-19 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 southbound from J19 to Watford Gap services |
|
19 April 2024 |
Lanes 1 and 2 closed M1 southbound from J19 to J18. This includes a lane 1 closure on the M45 link |
|
22-26 April 2024 |
Lanes 1 and 2 closed M1 southbound from J19 to J18. This includes a lane 1 closure on the M45 link |
|
22 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound from Watford Gap services to J16 |
|
24-26 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 M1 northbound from Watford Gap services to J16 |
|
24-26 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 closed M1 northbound from J17 to J19 |
|
23-26 April 2024 |
Lanes 1/2/3 M1 southbound from J16 to Watford Gap services |
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. Our work is scheduled to be complete by March 2025.
We're currently carrying out topsoil removal and earthworks excavations at the new emergency area locations.
Our next planned overnight closures will be for week commencing Monday 27 May and we'll update this page when the details are confirmed.
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
Manage your cookie preferences to view the content on this page
Sign up for updates!
Keep up to date with what's happening on this scheme by signing up to our updates.
