DETAILS of further plans to tackle congestion on a busy motorway section near Bradford will be revealed today as Highways England unveils more than £1.3 billion of improvements to roads in the region over the next five years.

The organisation, which took over responsibility for England's motorways and major A roads earlier this year, was due to set out its five-year plan for Yorkshire and the Humber at a regional event this morning.

One project planned is work on the interchange between the M62 and M606 at Chain Bar roundabout, which has already seen the introduction of the country's first motorway car share lane in 2008.

The pioneering 1.7 mile lane links the southbound M606 to the eastbound M62 towards Leeds at the roundabout and was designed to save drivers up to eight minutes per journey.

Commuters are able to bypass congestion at Junction 26 of the M62 and gain priority entry onto the eastbound M62 - a busy commuter route for motorists from Bradford to Leeds.

Highways England's director of major projects in the north Jeremy Bloom, and regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, Vanessa Gilbert, are expected to reveal details of the next plans for the interchange at an event today.

Councillor David Green, leader of Bradford Council, welcomed the news.

He said: "Anything that deals with congestion there and improves links East-West and North-South for Bradford is to be welcomed.

"I would hope that it would be one of the priority schemes and get going as soon as possible."

Another key project due to start by 2020 is to extend the smart motorway scheme that currently exists on the M62 to cover junctions 20 to 25. This will create the biggest single stretch of smart motorway in the country, covering nearly 60 miles and ten junctions from 20 to 30.

An extra lane and variable speed limits are used to keep the traffic moving. Work was completed on the existing managed motorway section in September 2013, opening up the hard shoulder along 15.5 miles of the busy M62.

Other projects planned for the region include improvements to junctions 1 to 7 of the M621, upgrades to junction 45 of the M1 to enhance access to the Aire Valley development, and improvements to the A63 on a key route to Hull.

The work is part of the government’s Road Investment Strategy, a £15 billion plan which was announced last year to triple levels of spending on England’s roads by the end of the decade, increasing their capacity and condition.