THE £274 million M6 smart motorway works between junction 19 at Knutsford and 16 at Crewe have taken a significant step forward, with a new 20-mile long concrete safety barrier nearing completion.

Around 5,000 concrete blocks have been lifted into place, using giant claws on an excavator, to create the new safety barrier in the central reservation.

Each block is six metres long and weighs around four tonnes, equivalent to the weight of two 4x4 vehicles.

Contractors have already completed the stretch of new barrier between junctions 17 and 19, and are now working on the hard shoulder.

Mike Bull, Highways England’s senior smart motorway manager for the North, said: “The smart motorway upgrade on the M6 is one of the biggest construction projects currently taking place in the North, and I’m pleased we’re now reaching a major milestone with the new safety barrier.

“When the smart motorway goes live, the 118,000 drivers who use the route every day will benefit from an extra lane in each direction – increasing capacity by a third.”

The new safety barrier will reduce the risk of vehicles crossing onto the opposite carriageway in collisions and should require less maintenance.

A similar scheme on a stretch of the M62 in west Yorkshire, completed in 2013, reportedly saves commuters around 30 minutes a week.

The southbound carriageway on the M6 will be closed overnight between junctions 18 and 17 on Friday, August 11, and the northbound carriageway will be closed overnight between the same junctions on Saturday, August 12 between 10pm and 8am.

The project is due to be completed by the end of March 2019. See highways.gov.uk/M6j16-19smart for more.