A vital stretch of the M62 could be snarled up by severe congestion for most of the working day within a decade, highways chiefs have warned.

The average congestion time between Junction 26 to 27 from Chain Bar to Birstall will rise from three hours a day at peak time to a staggering nine, they say.

That will mean nose-to-tail travelling at a snail's pace along the Bradford section of the M62, according to the Highways Agency's northern area manager John Bagley.

To try to avoid that crisis, Mr Bagley is overseeing the launch of a month-long consultation by the agency to put radical ideas for the future of the M62 into the public domain.

The M62 Route Management Strategy will be presented at 16 roadshows at various point between Hull and Liverpool, including one in Centenary Square, Bradford, on June 27.

Over the last 12 months the Highways Agency has held workshops, seminars and meetings with organisations ranging from the police and haulage associations to environmental groups to come up with ideas for the strategy.

The result is a number of proposals for the future of the road for the next ten years, including lorry lanes, high- occupancy vehicle lanes, traffic lights on slip roads and more co-operation with public transport and freight operators. But the roadshows are also aimed at letting those people who use the motorway voice their opinions on how the route can be improved from tackling congestion to protecting the environment.

Mr Bagley said: "Over the next ten years, traffic flows will grow by a least 35 per cent along the M62 according to calculations, so doing nothing is not an option.

"The most congested stretch is Junction 26 to 27. Forecasts project that average congestion time will rise from its current three hours a day at peak times to nine hours a day by 2010.

"What it means is the possibility of standing still traffic if nothing is done now. These roadshows are genuine public consultations to gauge the view of those people who use the routes.

"If we have lots of views against something like the High Occupancy Vehicle lanes then we would seriously have to look at finding an alternative option." Leeds already has a HOV lane which is a lane near the central reservation of a dual carriageway or motorway reserved for vehicles with two or people in them.

One of Highways Agency's proposals is to introduce one of these lanes on the Chain Bar/Birstall section of the M62.

The introduction of traffic signals on slip roads leading from Chain Bar roundabout on to the M62 is another proposal, as is two lanes near the hard shoulder for lorries only.

But despite the agency's claim of prior consultation some Bradford businesses still feel they did not doing enough before coming up with the strategy.

Darren Gillespie, assistant traffic manager for haulage firm JCoales and Son, on the Euroway Estate, Bradford, said: "I'm all for anything that's going to improve the situation.

"But we've had this before when the police asked the Highways Agency to close off a slip road on to the east-bound M62.

"It turned the M606 from Bierley up to the motorway into a car park, the tailbacks were so bad.

"My advice is that they need to be a lot more local in their approach and speak to local businesses and motorists living along the M62 corridor and who use the road before they come up with their ideas."