THE Highways Agency is advising road users to plan their journeys if they intend travelling on the M5 between junctions 5 (Droitwich Spa) and 6 (Worcester North) as work has started to upgrade the central reservation barrier.

The £4.6 million scheme on the 2.3 mile stretch of carriageway, which also includes an upgrade to the road drainage system and replacing the lighting, is scheduled for completion at the end of October.

The outside lane on the north and southbound carriageways will be closed for the duration of the work and traffic will be using the hard shoulder as a running lane.

There will be three lanes running northbound all day. Southbound, during the daytime, there will be two narrow lanes running apart from the evening peak where there will be three narrow lanes running.

Both carriageways will be reduced to a single lane running overnight, in order for the workforce to complete their job as quickly as possible while traffic flows are lowest.

Free recovery is at hand to assist motorists who breakdown within the roadworks. Highways Agency traffic officers are regularly patrolling the area to assist motorists and staff based in the Highways Agency’s regional control centre in Quinton are closely monitoring the works on CCTV, ensuring incidents and breakdowns can be cleared as quickly as possible.

There is a speed limit of 40mph through the works, which is being enforced with average speed cameras, for the safety of road users and road workers.

More information about the work is available from the Highways Agency information line on 0300 123 5000 or e-mail ha_info@highways.gsi.gov.uk .