The Highways Agency has announced a £1.7 million project is to be carried out that will deliver a significant upgrade to a stretch of the M6 in the vicinity of Orrell, Greater Manchester.

Focusing on junction 26 of the carriageway, linking the motorway to the M58 and A577, an extra lane of traffic is being created to help address significant congestion in the area during peak travel times.

An extra lane is also being added to the southbound slip road of the motorway and new traffic signals are being installed at the roundabout to the east of the M6 junction, known as the Orrell Interchange.

In addition, the project will also witness the installation of new sensors to monitor traffic volumes from the roundabout to the M6, with this information to be used to inform future construction works and expansion of the route if needed.

It is being completed as part of the government's ongoing £317 million pinch-point programme, which was launched last year and aims to address more than 100 bottlenecks across the UK's transport network.

This project is one of 26 that is being carried out in the north-west over the next two years.

Philip Tyrrell, the Highway Agency's project manager, said: "Anyone who regularly uses the junction will know how busy it can get at peak times, with traffic often queuing to get onto the M58. In fact, our records show it is one of the busiest motorway junctions in the country.

"The extra lane on the A577, the new traffic lights on the roundabout and the improvements to the southbound exit slip road will have a significant impact on tackling congestion at the junction and improving journeys for motorists."

Work at the site began on Wednesday (August 27th), with agency engineers now in the process of pumping more than 10,000 tonnes of concrete to provide the foundation for the fifth-of-a-mile link between the M6 and the A577.

Earlier this year, the agency set up a number of drilling rigs at the works site to identify any potential difficulties with this latest scheme. As a result, this work is now being carried out after a site inspection uncovered a disused mining shaft less than ten metres below the road's surface during previous inspections of the project area.

Overnight closures of the route are now being implemented between the hours of 22:00 and 05:00 BST from Mondays to Fridays, with a temporary 50 mph speed limit in force for all road users outside of this time.

"This is a major scheme, which is designed to have a significant long-term benefit for both the local and regional economy," Mr Tyrrell concluded.

Work began on the project earlier this week and is scheduled for completion by February next year. Further details of the scheme, including any additional planned closures, can be found by visiting the Highways Agency website.