STUDENTS from Blackburn have visited the high tech nerve centre of the North West's motorway system.

The visit to the headquarters of the Highways Agency''s North West Regional Control Centre, in Newton-le-Willows, was part of an investigation into the economic costs of congestion for an A-level Economics course at St Mary's College.

The students were looking at the measures used by the Traffic Officer Service to control congestion.

These measures include controlling the emergency telephone network, monitoring CCTV cameras and managing traffic incidents such as road accidents.

Control room traffic officers also operate the electronic variable message signs that warn drivers of hazards and provide safety information.

The students, with lecturer Kelvin Rice, were briefed on the congestion problems in the region before being shown the control room and a high visibility traffic officer 4WD vehicle.

Mr Rice said: "The visit has given our students an invaluable insight into what the Highways Agency is doing to tackle congestion and the innovative measures it is using."

Jon Baker, the traffic officer service operations manager who hosted the visit, said: "We were delighted to have them along to talk about the role of traffic officers and to show them what the Highways Agency is doing to tackle congestion."