Highways England launches Maintenance Assistance Vehicle - MAV

Highways England has developed a vehicle to help replace overhead highway signs that it says will reduce the need to close lanes and roads during work The vehicle uses a hydraulic scissor lift similar to that seen on catering vehicles that load food into the hold of airplanes at airports. Traditionally, signs are taken down and installed using a flatbed truck, crane and cherry picker, taking up to 40 minutes. However, the Maintenance Assistance Vehicle (MAV) can do this in around 20 to 25 minutes by usin
July 7, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Easier access with the MAV from Highways England
8100 Highways England has developed a vehicle to help replace overhead highway signs that it says will reduce the need to close lanes and roads during work

The vehicle uses a hydraulic scissor lift similar to that seen on catering vehicles that load food into the hold of airplanes at airports. Traditionally, signs are taken down and installed using a flatbed truck, crane and cherry picker, taking up to 40 minutes. However, the Maintenance Assistance Vehicle (MAV) can do this in around 20 to 25 minutes by using a small jib crane which is part of the vehicle.

Road workers have trialled the MAV and have had to shut down fewer lanes for the operation. Highways England said the device provides a safer environment for workers because they are standing on a sturdy platform.

Once the platform is raised to the required working height, the jib crane attaches to the sign on the gantry and lifts it off.  Operatives then detach the sign, place it onto a trolley on the platform and wheel it into the main compartment of the vehicle. The procedure is reversed when installing an electronic sign.

The hydraulically powered scissor lift enables the signs, which are often found on smart motorway gantries, to be serviced at heights of up to 8.5m and in wind speeds of up to nearly 50kph. CCTV cameras enable the MAV driver to park the vehicle in the correct place below the gantry before any maintenance takes place and monitor operatives working at the back.

Highways England said it is examining the best way for its contractors to purchase the machines. It is estimated that if the device were widely adopted it could save up to €5 million a year. Consideration is also being given as to whether it could be used to improve safety for other duties on England’s motorways and major A roads.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Economic gains from widening the A453 in Nottingham, England
    August 12, 2014
    Work is well underway on turning a busy just over 11km two-lane link road from the city of Nottingham to Junction 24 of the M1 in Leicestershire, England into a four-lane highway. The widened highway will relieve considerable peak-time congestion for travellers to Nottingham, the M1 and East Midlands Airport while also making journeys safer and more reliable. Guy Woodford reports Used by up to 30,000 vehicles a day, the A453 is renowned for congestion at peak travel times. But years of day-to-day commuter a
    Read More
  • Sunderland’s New Wear Crossing takes shape
    February 16, 2017
    The New Wear Crossing will be the first bridge to be built over the River Wear in Sunderland, UK, for more than 40 years Raising the bridge’s 100m-tall pylon promised to be a stunning visual sight, but also a tricky operation dictated by extremely variable local weather. World Highways went to press just before the operation, but not before the pylon had arrived by barge on January 7. It had completed a two-day crossing of the often unpredictable North Sea from the Belgian port of Ghent where it was f
    Read More
  • Caterpillar develops advances telematics technology to track machine performance
    February 24, 2017
    Caterpillar is launching new Cat Connect hardware and software to enable equipment managers to connect all of their assets—from the largest earthmover to the smallest generator, and including both light and heavy-duty trucks and utility vehicles. New Cat Product Link technologies connect any brand and type of equipment, powered or non-powered, and all report through a single system, VisionLink. The new technologies are said to offer multiple communications channels—cellular, satellite and Bluetooth—to b
    Read More
  • Raising global safety standards for road work zones
    November 4, 2022
    The International Road Federation is at the forefront of global efforts to raise safe work zone management practices.
    Read More

Highlighted Content