A four-year scheme in the United Kingdom to turn a 10-mile stretch of the M6 into a Smart Motorway, relieving congestion between Stafford and Cannock, has been completed.
The £100m upgrade has increased capacity by converting the hard shoulder into a permanent running lane, delivering benefits at a lower cost and with less environmental impact than conventional road widening; and improving over 120,000 journeys a day. It has taken over a million hours of work, 54,000 tonnes of road surface and 55 miles of cabling to transform this busy section of the M6.
Smart motorways use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, and variable speed limits on overhead electronic signs keep vehicles moving, improving reliability. This stretch now also includes infra-red CCTV and side fire radar – a vehicle detection system which replaces cable loops which are cut into the carriageway surface.
Awarded the project in 2012, AECOM has provided design services throughout; as well as site and office-based design support and site assurance services during construction. We were also NEC3 Project Manager during construction through a secondment into Highways England.
Completion is the result of a successful collaboration with Highways England and Delivery Partner, Carillion. Key Stakeholders also included Highways England’s Maintenance Service Providers, Kier Strategic Highways and Balfour Beatty, the Midlands Expressway-operators of the M6 Toll Road and key emergency services.
Transport Minister Andrew Jones said the scheme was part of the government’s £15 billion road investment strategy. “The start of full smart motorway running on this section of the M6 will improve journeys for all those who rely on this route… By improving connections between Birmingham, London and Manchester, we are helping ensure people up and down the UK benefit from our investment in more reliable, safer roads.”
Dave Beddell, AECOM’s European Market Sector Director for Highways, commented: “I am delighted that AECOM has been party to the implementation of this scheme. The opening of this route is a significant milestone in the Smart Motorways programme and represents the culmination of scheme development by an integrated project team whose collaborative approach to delivery has engendered support from key stakeholders throughout this period. AECOM’s wider association with the Smart Motorways programme is testament to the strength of our consolidated highways offer.”
Contact Ian Bamforth for further information.
