Hour-long delays on the M1 this morning were caused by a technical fault with one the smart motorway gantrys.
Queues of around six miles delayed motorists travelling southbound on the M1 between Junction 26 and Junction 24A.
The electronic gantry informed drivers that three lanes of four were closed, but all four were actually open.
The error happened after three lanes had been closed for overnight road works on that stretch, LeicestershireLive reports.
The gantry fault was fixed at 6.50am, after which traffic started to clear.
A Highways England spokesman said: “There had been works on the section overnight but they had finished by 5am.
“Unfortunately, one gantry between Junction 25 and 24A suffered a technical glitch and showed that there were still three lanes closed.
“This caused drivers to slow and created the problem.”
Despite this morning's problems, the spokesman urged drivers to never ignore gantry signs.
“This is an an extremely rare occurrence and we don’t want drivers to ignore signs in the future because of this," he said.
“We apologise to everyone for this and any inconvenience this may have caused them on their journey today.”
The M1 between Junctions 26 and 23A are operating as part of the new ‘smart motorway’.
A spokesman for Highways England has previously said: “This section of the M1 is now operating as a controlled motorway, which includes four lanes and a hard shoulder, with the introduction of variable mandatory speed limits to manage the flow of traffic, reducing frustrating stop-start traffic conditions.
“The new technology installed will also give drivers better information to help with their journeys, while maintaining high levels of safety.
“The scheme as also introduced new CCTV cameras and electronic information signs and signals on gantries which will show the variable mandatory speed limits and manage traffic flow and incidents."
