M4 closed for weekend smart motorway work

The work in both directions of the M4 between junctions 4b and 5 (pictured) is closed until Monday morning

Drivers face disruption during the weekend due to the closure of a section of the M4.

The motorway is shut in both directions between junctions 4b, at the M25 interchange, and junction 5, for Langley in Berkshire.

National Highways said the stretch of the M4 would reopen at 06:00 GMT on Monday.

The work is part of an ongoing £848m project to turn it into a smart motorway.

The project means "there will be an additional lane for traffic which will increase capacity and reduce congestion, more technology on the road to smooth traffic flows and manage incidents and more reliable journey times", according to National Highways.

The project is due to be completed in spring 2022

When it is completed, the hard shoulder between junctions 3 and 12 will be converted to a traffic lane.

There will be five lanes between junctions 4 and 4b. There will also be five lanes on the eastbound carriageway to junction 4b.

Work between junctions 8/9 and 12 has now finished, with all temporary restrictions removed.

There are currently 29 places to stop in an emergency which include emergency areas, National Highways said.

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Critics of smart motorways have raised fears about their safety after fatal crashes involving stationary cars being hit from behind.

In January, the government announced that no more smart motorways without hard shoulders would be able to open until their safety was assessed.

The M4 project started in 2018 and is due to be completed in the spring.