CENTRAL barrier upgrade work on two motorways in West Yorkshire is set to finish this month - ahead of schedule.

The schemes, on the M62 and M1, have caused delays for motorists, especially during morning and evening peak periods, for much of this year.

Work to transform around 2.5 miles of central barrier on the M1 between junctions 42 at Lofthouse and 43 at Belle Isle from steel to concrete was expected to finish in winter this year.

However, National Highways has now almost completed the upgrade on this barrier, and all lane closures will be removed this month.

Meanwhile, the final part of an upgrade of around three miles of central barrier on the M62 between junctions 29 at Lofthouse and 28 at Tingley is also set to be complete in September.

National Highways Project Manager Daniel Edwards said: “We’ve worked day and night to put in place these stronger and safer barriers and we’re delighted that we’ve been able to complete this work early.

“Not only do these barriers reduce the risk of vehicles crossing from one carriageway to the other, they’re also longer-lasting, which will mean fewer closures for routine repairs in the future and less disruption in the longer term.

“We know that many drivers have experienced delays and disruption, and we really appreciate everyone’s patience while we’ve got this scheme finished. We’re glad this important work will very soon be complete, with the motorways fully reopened and traffic flowing much more smoothly from now on.”

The upgrade of the two barriers began in January this year, with lane closures put in place on the two stretches of motorway to enable engineers to carry out the work safely.

Now that the work is almost complete, all lane closures on the M621 southbound at junction 7 at Stourton and the M1 southbound between junctions 43 and 42 were removed on Saturday morning, September 9.

On the M1 northbound, National Highways will begin removing the closures today, with all temporary barriers gone by the morning of Saturday, September 16.

On the M62, there are only lane closures in one section of this stretch of the motorway, around the Dolphin Lane footbridge – but these are due to be removed on both directions between 18 and 23 September.