Work to upgrade a stretch of the M1 near South Derbyshire into a smart motorway is underway and head of schedule, according to Highways England.

The government-owned company, which manages the motorways and major roads in England, has started removing overhead gantries and says the work on improving 7.5 miles of the M1 between East Midlands Airport and the A52 as part of a £120 million project is “ahead of schedule”.

The new smart road build hopes to make journeys faster and more reliable by providing a necessary extra lane in each direction between junctions 24 and 25, a stretch of road used by 130,000 vehicles every day.

Between Diseworth (junction 28) and Kegworth (junction 24) the hard shoulder will be used at peak times and it will be permanently converted into a fourth traffic lane between Kegworth and Risley at junction 25, which links with the A52 to Derby.

Highways England said that it had removed five overhead gantries from the motorway between junctions 24 and 25 so that new ones could be installed later this year.

The new smart motorway hopes to make journeys faster for motorists
The new smart motorway hopes to make journeys faster for motorists

The £15 billion project first began in March this year to build a “modern and resilient road network”. A smart motorway on the M1 operates between junction 28 at South Normanton up to junction 31 at Sheffield.

Highways England project manager David Cooke said: “We’re working hard to complete this work as quickly as we can and, by removing these gantries now, we’re ahead of schedule.

“By upgrading this stretch of motorway, Highways England will reduce congestion and improve travel times and make journeys more reliable.

“This work will also support the economy and boost economic growth within the region by improving traffic flow on the motorway, reducing the cost of economic delay to commuters and business traffic.”

The work will also see the installation of new CCTV cameras and electronic information signs and signals on gantries, which will slow speed limits and manage traffic flow and incidents.

Emergency refuge areas will be installed along the length of the scheme, along with a reinforced barrier and hardened central reserve to further improve safety.

Work is due to finish in the winter of 2018.

Motorists are reminded that there will be a contraflow in place on the M1 between junction 23A and junction 24 while development work starts on the East Midlands Gateway scheme.