The Highways Agency has announced a £1.7 million scheme to tackle excessive congestion along a stretch of the M62 in the East Riding of Yorkshire is to get underway later this month.

Set to affect four miles of the carriageway around the M62 junction 35 and M18 junction 7 interchange, the project will see the installation of new motorway incident detection and automated signalling (MIDAS) loops that will provide information for improved traffic management in the area in the years ahead.

Information collected by the new technology will be fed back to the agency's regional control centre in Wakefield, where it will be used to set variable speed limits along the motorway network to help to prevent the build-up of large volumes of traffic and to warn motorists of incidents up ahead, as well as allowing for the swift closure of lanes when an incident is reported.

Highways Agency service delivery team leader Roger Wantling said: "Once the scheme is complete, the extra technology in place will improve road safety and reduce congestion and delays.

"During the work we advise drivers to check local traffic conditions and leave extra time for their journeys if necessary."

The project is scheduled to begin on October 20th and the agency hopes to have completed the work by February next year. However, over the coming months, all road users are advised scheduled closures of the carriageway will be taking place overnight between the hours of 20:00 and 05:00.

Several lane closures will also be carried out over the coming months as agency engineers carry out the necessary installation works, with motorists reminded that even though staff may not be working at the site 24 hours per day, all temporary speed limit reductions and traffic management measures will be in place for the duration of the project.

It is hoped that by improving future traffic management capabilities for the carriageway, road users will benefit from smoother journeys – ensuring businesses are more able to efficiently transport goods and allowing all travellers to reach their destination with less hassle and on time.

Every effort will be made over the coming months to ensure the necessary disruption to travellers is kept to a minimum, the agency added.

Launched in November 2011, the £317 million Pinch Point Programme forms part of the government's ongoing efforts to modernise and streamline the nation's transport infrastructure, making the UK's A roads and motorways fit for purpose in the 21st century and better able to promote economic prosperity within local communities.

This latest announcement is one of 15 Pinch Point Programme projects that is taking place in Yorkshire and the Humber this year, with 11 schemes presently underway and one set to begin in the coming weeks.

In total, 123 schemes are taking place under the banner of the Pinch Point Programme across the country, with 39 projects already completed and offering benefits to their local community.

An initial investment of £200 million was announced for the programme back in 2011, but this has subsequently been increased as more areas of congestion have been highlighted and projects put in place to tackle these bottlenecks.