The opening of the hard shoulder to traffic on the M6 is to be extended along a further nine-mile stretch in a scheme that could cost up to £211 million, the Express & Star can reveal.

Last month drivers were able to start using the hard shoulder between Junction 8 for the M5 and Junction 10a for Essington.

Roads Minister Mike Penning today revealed the scheme will be expanded between Junction 8 and Junction 5 for Castle Bromwich where it will link with a project already in place between junctions 4 and 5 and a 10-mile stretch of the M42 between junctions 3a and 7.

Once completed it will mean the West Midlands will have the longest stretch of hard shoulder running in Britain, stretching around 30 miles from the Black Country down to Warwickshire.

The £150m scheme between junctions 8 and 10a is already being hailed a success since its launch.

Around 160,000 drivers use the M6 in the Black Country every day and it is hoped the latest scheme will provide a long-term cure to the delays that plague the West Midlands motorway network.

Highways Agency spokesman Anthony Aston said the new scheme will cost between £140m and £211m. He said: We are pleased with the way the managed motorways scheme is running so far.

“It is working as we anticipated and motorists using that stretch of the M6 between junctions 8 and 10a will be seeing benefits in terms of their journey time and reliability, with reduced congestion during the busy peak periods.”

Work is expected to start on the new project in the 2012/13 financial year, with it being open to traffic in 2014/15.