Skip to main content

Motorway's SolarLite

Motorists are already benefiting from greater visibility on a stretch of the M25 and between the M2 and M20 near the port of Dover, County Kent, south-east England, where Astucia SolarLite studs have been installed. Now drivers between junctions 3 and 6 on the M40 motorway heading north-west from the M25 out of London also benefit from the studs.
February 15, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Drivers on the M40 motorway in the UK benefit from Astucia's SolarLite studs
Motorists are already benefiting from greater visibility on a stretch of the M25 and between the M2 and M20 near the port of Dover, County Kent, south-east England, where Astucia SolarLite studs have been installed.

Now drivers between junctions 3 and 6 on the M40 motorway heading north-west from the M25 out of London also benefit from the studs.

Astucia recently worked with 3005 Atkins and the 1441 UK Highways Agency to deploy SolarLite studs on the M40.

"SolarLite studs, unlike retroreflective cat's eyes, work intuitively, charging and activating from natural sunlight meaning they're a totally sustainable road safety solution. They also provide up to 900m of visibility: that's ten times greater than that of conventional studs," says 2696 Astucia.

The placement of the 7,000 studs was thoroughly considered. The stretches of road between junctions 3 and 4 and junctions 5 and 6 have been flagged as having perceived high rates of accidents due to the topography, road layout and lack of street lighting, thus the need for clearer road marking.

The Chiltern Hills escarpment, an Area of outstanding National Beauty, sit between junctions 5 and 6, and according to Astucia with the aid of eco-friendly SolarLite road studs, they are protected from pollution damage.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK motorway upgrade ahead of schedule
    May 1, 2014
    Joint venture contractor Skanska Balfour Beatty has completed work on a 19km section of the M25 motorway in the UK, six months ahead of schedule. Work on the M25 scheme between junctions 5 and 7 in Kent and Surrey forms part of a new generation of technology-driven improvements on the UK’s strategic road network.
  • Noise reduction for busy UK motorway
    March 21, 2016
    A key advance has been made in reducing noise along the busy M40 motorway in the UK. The work forms part of a design contract worth up to €2.62 million (£2 million). WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff is reviewing sites along the M40 between junction 3 (Loudwater) and junction 8 (Wheatley), where road noise is a particular issue. Earlier this year, Highways England, working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group, (M40 CEG) Wycombe District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, ran a
  • Reflective road markings improve visibility, safety
    February 13, 2012
    Retroreflectivity plays a vital role when it comes to helping drivers follow road markings clearly in the dark as Patrick Smith reports. In many instances road markings are as important as road signs, offering information about the roads being travelled and the actions drivers should or should not be taking. Toady there is a wide variety of materials available for such markings and these include paints, cold applied plastics, thermoplastic, self-adhesive tapes, modified epoxy resins and raised pavement mark
  • Managing urban motorway complexity in Sydney
    October 4, 2012
    Sydney’s Hills M2 motorway is being widened while still carrying traffic and meeting tough environmental criteria More than 100,000 vehicles and over 27,000 bus commuters use the Hills M2 motorway on a typical workday, making it one of Sydney’s busiest motorway corridors. Owned and managed by Hills Motorway Ltd (HML) and a key part of the city’s orbital motorway network, the road stretches over 21km, providing a seamless link between the Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7. The Hills M2 Upgrade is one of many