M4 closed for weekend smart motorway work

The M4 smart motorway project started in 2018

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 6 for Slough/Windsor and 8/9 for Maidenhead.

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

Traffic is being diverted with drivers warned to allow extra time. The work is part of an ongoing £848m project to turn the M4 into a smart motorway.

• What are smart motorways and are they dangerous?

• How smart are smart motorways?

Work between junctions 8/9 for Maidenhead and 12 at Theale finished in February.

The hard shoulder has been turned into a new fourth traffic lane in each direction.

A new radar Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) system identifies a stopped vehicle, typically within 20 seconds.

The project is due to be completed this spring

When the entire project is finished, between junctions 3 at Hayes and 12 at Theale, the hard shoulder will be a traffic lane.

It will also have places to stop in an emergency approximately every 1.3 miles (2km).

National Highways said it hoped construction would be completed by the end of spring 2022.

In January, the government paused the rollout of smart motorways amid safety concerns until five years' worth of data has been collected to assess whether or not they are safe for drivers.