Smart UK motorway scheme

The first smart motorway scheme in the UK’s south-west has been officially launched, covering 11km of motorway around the Almondsbury interchange and including junctions 19-20 on the M4 and junctions 15-17 on the M5. It is designed to help reduce congestion and improve safety and journey times by introducing variable speed limits and opening the hard shoulder during busy traffic periods. The improvements to the M4 and M5 use a range of technologies and operational systems to reduce congestion and smooth t
February 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The M4/M5 project included installation of 33 new gantries, refurbishing seven existing ones, resurfacing over 22km of carriageway, laying over 48km of fibre optic cabling and constructing six emergency refuge areas
The first smart motorway scheme in the UK’s south-west has been officially launched, covering 11km of motorway around the Almondsbury interchange and including junctions 19-20 on the M4 and junctions 15-17 on the M5.

It is designed to help reduce congestion and improve safety and journey times by introducing variable speed limits and opening the hard shoulder during busy traffic periods. The improvements to the M4 and M5 use a range of technologies and operational systems to reduce congestion and smooth the flow of traffic. During busy periods, traffic officers in the regional control centre at Avonmouth will set overhead message signs to inform drivers they can use the hard shoulder as an extra lane and at what speed to drive.

2309 Highways Agency senior project manager Paul Unwin said: “The M4 and M5 scheme demonstrates how a smart and efficient solution can deliver improvements that road users need – more capacity and better management of traffic to reduce congestion and make journey times more reliable.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • M27 contract for McCann
    July 29, 2020
    Highways England has awarded an M27 contract to McCann.
    Read More
  • New strategic road links planned for UK
    May 21, 2013
    New road upgrades are planned in the UK to reduce congestion and improve safety for vehicle drivers. Upgrades will be carried out to the A1 west of the city of Newcastle, the A12 in Essex to the east of capital London and the M62 motorway that connects the cities of Manchester and Leeds. Studies will be carried out first to identify the needs for other routes forming the country’s strategic road network. The necessary strategy will be produced for all routes in the second quarter of 2014, allowing a network
    Read More
  • Israel interchange
    May 2, 2012
    A new US$350 million road project by the Israel National Roads Company will boost connectivity from the north to the centre of the country. The project is seeing the opening of new interchanges and roads in western Galilee. The aim of the project was to double the traffic capacity on Road 77, the Hamovil and Somech junctions and road No 79 that connects them.
    Read More
  • Upgrade work starts on junction of London’s orbital motorway M25
    February 20, 2015
    Work has started on a €136 million road improvement project on the UK’s London ring road, the M25 motorway. Crews from Balfour Beatty and Skanska have moved onto the interchange between the A13 national road and the M25 at junction 30 near Thurrock in the county Essex. The A13 on approach to the junction will be widened to four lanes in each direction and the junction itself will have dedicated link roads between the M25 and the A13. “Traffic at the junction is expected to grow by up to a quarter b
    Read More

Highlighted Content