IT is the single most important transport link in the North of England. So when it’s time to repair and improve the M62 the job is enormous. Reporter Dave Himelfield reveals the logistics behind one of Britain’s biggest public projects.

THE M62 has for decades been the link of choice for commuters and businesses.

But more cars and lorries has brought severe congestion on sections of the motorway during rush hours.

And while motorways are generally safer than other roads, accidents and subsequent hold-ups are an almost daily occurrence on the M62.

But a £150m scheme on the section of motorway Brighouse and Rothwell – a traffic jam blackspot – hopes to remedy all that.

Unfortunately yesterday, it was the scene of huge traffic jams as roadworks which should have been finished remained in place at the morning rush-hour. That led to traffic jams stretching back to Scammonden.

The project, called the Managed Motorway Scheme (MMS), began in October.

And by the end October 2013, the Highways Agency and its contractors, hope this notorious 15.5-mile stretch of the M62 will be wider and safer.

The hard shoulder of the motorway, between Brighouse and Chain Bar, will open as a fourth lane.

And the hard shoulder of the M62, between Chain Bar and Gildersome, will open as a fourth lane during peak periods.

Refuge areas, at regular distances, will take over the hard shoulders’ previous role, providing shelter and an emergency phone for stranded motorists.

New gantries with digital displays will advise drivers of speed limits, weather conditions and whether they can use the hard shoulder.

Some 62 cameras will monitor traffic conditions and alert staff at the Highways Agency’s north-eastern headquarters, near Wakefield.

In theory, the motorway can be managed more quickly and with greater flexibility.

Head of operations David Pilsworth says: “It’s about reducing congestion and improving safety.

“We had a trial of this system on the M42 (near Birmingham). It’s shown huge improvements in traffic management and there’s been a 50% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured. Journey times have improved by 20%.

“We could have widened the motorway but that involves buying land and negotiating through a public inquiry. You can do two of these schemes for the price of one traditional road widening scheme.”

Working beside a motorway, with cars and lorries hurtling past, can be potentially lethal.