20 new emergency areas to be added to M1 in Northamptonshire as part of investment to improve safety on ‘smart’ motorways

A total of 20 new emergency areas will be installed on a section of ‘smart’ motorway on the M1 in Northamptonshire.

The project is part of a £900 million Government investment to improve the safety of smart motorways across the country and “boost public confidence”, after calls from drivers and loved ones of those who have died on the roads to ditch the scheme altogether.

In Northamptonshire, the M1 between junction 16 - for Kislingbury and Weedon Bec - and junction 19 for the M6 and A14 - is an all-running stretch of road. It opened in November 2017 and cost £65.39 million to convert. It will be subject to the latest round of improvements.

The stretch of M1 from junction 13 - for Flitwick - to junction 16 is also a smart motorway, which was completed in March last year. This stretch has already seen eight new emergency areas added.

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.”

In April last year, the Government announced that no new smart motorways would be built, due to “lack of public confidence” and “cost pressures”. However, the current smart motorways would remain in place, hence the need for hundreds of millions of pounds to be spent on safety improvements.

Where will new emergency areas be installed?

As part of these safety improvements, more than 50 new emergency areas will be installed across the Midlands, including 20 in the M1 between junction 16 and junction 19.

Work on these is due to start on Tuesday April 16. For the upgrade to be carried out safely, the left-hand lane will be closed throughout construction. Lanes two, three and four will remain open with a 50mph speed limit in place.

Six more emergency areas will be added between junctions 23A and 25 of the M1 in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, as well as 18 on the M1 between junctions 28 and 30 in Derbyshire.

National Highways spokesperson added: “All existing emergency areas on the M1 will remain open wherever possible throughout construction. At limited locations where it is necessary to temporarily close an emergency area, a new temporary emergency area will be provided nearby and clearly signed.

“All sections of the emergency areas are due to be completed by March 2025.”

Smart motorway issues in Northamptonshire

In January 2018, a fatal collision took place between junction 17 and 18, near Daventry. Senior Coroner, Anne Pember, said during the inquest that David Levett may not have died if there was a hard shoulder.

In July of 2022, one man was killed and four others were injured after a collision on the M1 between junction 17 and Watford Gap Services. A car had broken down in a ‘live’ lane and it is thought the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was standing at the rear of his vehicle when another driver collided with the broken down car.

Furthermore, a horse died on the M1 between junction 14 and 15 after a horse box broke down on July 17, 2023. Another vehicle collided with the National Highways vehicle, which had stopped to help the horsebox driver.