ENGINEERS plan to widen the M62 - without widening it.

The Highways Agency wants to give the M62 four lanes instead of three between Junction 25 at Brighouse and Junction 28, the turnoff for the White Rose shopping centre beyond Birstall.

So instead of buying land on either side of the motorway to widen it, engineers want to narrow the lanes to make room for the fourth one.

The hard shoulder will be replaced with a narrower strip.

People will have the chance to inspect the plans at a public exhibition at the Galpharm Stadium and St John The Evangelist Church on Church Street, Cleckheaton, from 10am to 8pm on Friday, June 23, and from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, June 24.

The construction work is not expected to start until at least 2010 to allow time for public inquiries.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "On the M62 between junctions 25 and 28 a new innovative compact motorway design will be used for the first time in the UK.

"The four running lanes will be slightly narrowed to 3.5m and the hard shoulder will be replaced by a 2.5m hardened edge strip and verge for use in emergencies.

"New style electronic signs mounted overhead on gantries will give better driver information and enable lanes to be managed as required.

"We share people's concerns about noise and air quality near motorways.

"The Highways Agency wants to minimise the environmental impact of the work on the M1 and M62.

"We are assessing the impact our proposals will have and designing measures to limit the effects. One way of reducing noise is to build noise barriers."

He said the work would fit in with European guidelines on air quality.

Traffic will also be restricted entering the motorway by traffic signals on slip roads.

Cars with more than one person in them will be allowed on certain lanes in a bid to encourage more people to car share.

The same pioneering engineering work will also be used to widen the M1 between junctions 32 below Sheffield and 39 near Wakefield.

An extra lane will be added between junctions 30 and 32 of the M1 south of Sheffield south of Sheffield.

Construction on this will start this autumn.

The widening schemes are the outcome of a study of the motorway network in West and South Yorkshire that was conducted between 2000 and 2003.