Work to install long-awaited M40 noise protection barriers is progressing well – with engineers expecting the work to be completed by the end of the month if the weather allows.

The £3.5 million Highways England noise-reduction scheme started in January, with residents living eight locations along an 11.5 mile section of motorway set to benefit.

A total of 380 metres of barriers will be built in Wooburn Moor North, 315m in Wooburn Moor South, 460m near the Loudwater viaduct, 275m in Flackwell Heath and 515m in Daws Lea.

There will be 275m installed in Booker and 715m in Lane End, while Stokenchurch will benefit from 1,600m of barriers.

Highways England says the barriers will provide “mitigation to hundreds of households living within close proximity to the M40”.

On Thursday, the Bucks Free Press was given an opportunity to see the work going on first-hand in Booker.

Aran Nugent, Highways England capital delivery team manager, said the project is going well – but engineers have been set back by bad weather in recent weeks.

The Beast from the East, coupled with Storm Emma, caused chaos across the county at the end of February, with roads grinding to a halt due to the hazardous conditions and hundreds of schools and businesses forced to close their doors.

Mr Nugent said: “The conditions have been very challenging and it has been a really tough job but we are pleased with the way it is going and as long as the weather holds out and we don’t get a lot of rain – because we have to dig posts into the ground – we are trying really hard to get it finished by the end of March.”