HIGHWAYS England has announced a major £104million resurfacing and improvement project covering the north-west's motorways and major A roads.

The work, still being programmed, will take place over the next 12 months.

The aim is to make journeys, especially at peak times, smoother, safer and more reliable journeys,.

A total of 212 miles of motorway and trunk road lanes will be resurfaced, 377 miles of white lines will be painted and 42 miles of safety barriers will be installed.

The work also includes upgrading nine miles of drainage and replacing six miles of boundary fences, as well as new cycling schemes, better pedestrian crossings and initiatives to reduce noise levels for people living close to major roads.

John Lyssejko ,of Highways England, said: “These improvements will benefit the hundreds of thousands of drivers who travel on our roads every day.

“This work is being carried out in addition to major road projects across the region, such as the smart motorway schemes, which will help cut journey times and improve the flow of traffic.

“We’ll do everything we can to minimise disruption by carrying out work overnight when possible so that drivers can experience better journeys across the North West.”

Work is underway on the £1.5m resurfacing of 11-miles of the eastbound carriageway on the M55 between junctions 4 and 1.

A £3 million scheme to improve Switch Island in Merseyside, where the M57, M58 and 3 A roads join together has also already started.

Details on other improvement and maintenance schemes will be released throughout the year, ahead of work starting.