£1.5 billion to upgrade motorways in England

Highways England has announced a £1.5 billion investment for the development of 10 ‘smart motorways’ across the country.

The smart motorway scheme will see 292 extra lane miles added to motorways, including the conversion of hard shoulders into traffic lanes and new signage and technology to inform drivers of speed limits, incidents and lane closures.

Construction contractors appointed are Balfour Beatty and VINCI* joint venture, Costain and Galliford Try joint venture, and Carillion and Kier joint venture. With designers being CHM2 and Hyder joint venture, Amey and Arup joint venture, and Jacobs and Atkins joint venture.

Three of the projects will start in autumn this year, including M1 J19-J16, the M5 J4a-J6 and the M6 J16-19.

Roads minister, Andrew Jones, said: “As part of our long-term economic plan, we are investing more than £1.5 billion over the next five years in upgrading congested sections of motorway. This means better journeys for millions of people across the country, easier access to jobs, and stronger links between towns and cities. This is good for the economy and good for Britain.”

Highways England smart motorway programme director, Andy Watson, said: “We have awarded these contracts to the companies who demonstrated to us they will work together, across all the projects, not just the ones they have been awarded. They proved they are driven to get the best results on price, quality and on reducing impact on road users: keeping the motorways flowing while they construct these vital improvements.”

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