Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

The Project

The M1 is heavily used route that connects London with the Midlands and the North. It was designed and built in the mid 1950's and currently operates well over capacity, resulting in queues and delays at peak times.

Improvements are required to cope with traffic levels and reduce congestion and delays.

Change to Hard Shoulder Running Scheme 15 January 2009

On 15 January 2009 the Secretary of State announced that the M1 Junctions 10 to 13 scheme would now be taken forward as a Hard Shoulder Running Scheme. To find out more please visit the Hard Shoulder Running and Hard Shoulder Running Videos page.

The published draft Orders and Environmental Statement for the Widening scheme were withdrawn on the 19 March 2009. A copy of the Public Notice can be viewed on the Publications page

Hard Shoulder Running can be implemented within the existing highway boundary. The capacity of Junctions 11 and 12 also need to be improved. The proposed improvements require land take and are therefore subject to statutory procedures. This process is being proposed separately in the HSR scheme.

The Hard Shoulder Running Scheme is able to start construction before the proposed junction improvements, but there will be one construction period with the junctions being built towards the end.

Public Information Exhibitions

Public Information Exhibitions providing information on the hard shoulder running scheme to be implemented between M1 Junctions 10 to 13 were held in March 2009.

Public Consultation

Options for improvements to Junctions 11 and 12 to improve capacity were examined and a Public Consultation was carried out between June and September 2009 to obtain the views of the public on the Highways Agency's proposals.

The Public Consultation Leaflet can be viewed on the Publications page.

Preferred Route

On 18th November 2009 the Preferred Route for Junctions 11 and 12 was announced. A copy of the Preferred Route can be viewed on the Publications page. More information is also available on the Options and Preferred Route page.

Changes since the Public Consultation

Further design of the Junction 11 layout has shown that changes would be required to the roundabout carriageway and A505 approaches. These changes are required to reduce queues on the A505 towards both Dunstable and Luton.

Further design of all options of the Junction 12 layout has indicated that the staggered junction arrangement on the west side of the motorway between the B530, A5120 and the proposed slip roads should be replaced by a cross roads arrangement. These changes are required in order to make the signalized junction work more efficiently.

Two reports have been prepared;

• Report on Public Consultation, which summarizes the response to the Public Consultation.
• Scheme Assessment Report, which explains the factors that determined the selection of the preferred option.

The Public Consultation and Scheme Assessment Report can be viewed on the Publications page. Alternatively, both reports can be viewed at the locations listed in the Preferred Route Leaflet.  

Draft Scheme and Orders

The draft Scheme and Orders were publised on 2nd December 2009. The comment period ran until 27th January 2010. 

Environmental Statement and Non-Technical Summary

An Environmental Statement and Non-Technical Summary are published under Section 105A of the Highways Act - these describe the Scheme and the main effects it is likely to have on the environment together with the measures proposed to reduce or eliminate adverse effects of the scheme on the environment.

The Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Statement and The Explanatory Statement can be found on the Publications page. The full Environmental Statement can also be found on the Publications page.

More information/What happens next?

A notice of intention to hold a Public Inquiry was published on 17^th February 2010. A copy of the notice can be found on the Publications page. Any comments received will be made available to the Inspector, who may decide to make them public. All those who have responded will be notified of the date and venue at least 6 weeks beforehand. 

Further Information

To contact the Project team please see the Contact Information Page

Main Works

Details of closures and restrictions in place during the works are available on the Traffic Management page.