Highways Agency

IPL has announced a two year services extension worth half a million pounds from the Highways Agency (HA) which will enable the HA to manage the display information on roadside signalling devices in order to help increase road capacity, improve safety and reduce congestion. IPL has been working with the HA for over two decades, developing and delivering a set of tools to support the setup of the information on gantry signals and message signs required for schemes such as smart motorways. The tools pla

The UK’s transport research Laboratory (TRL) provided a rapid response when asked for help as part of the investigation of the recent appearance of a hole in the central reservation of the M2 between junctions 5 near Sittingbourne and 6, near Faversham. The hole that appeared is believed to be a dene hole; an historic man made hole which may have been used to mine for chalk hundreds of years ago. The hole was filled in when the M2 was constructed, but recent wet weather contributed to the destabilisati

The Highways Agency has awarded a 15-month, US$980,000 contract to Atkins and Yotta for the supply of Yotta’s Horizons visualised asset management software and associated implementation services. The software will enable the Highways Agency to carry out modelling to understand the current and future condition of the road network based on its national pavement condition survey data. This model will then be used to predict where and when maintenance is likely to be needed. Horizons will incorporate data

Between 2002 and 2012 over US$5.7 billion was invested on substantial capital investment projects to improve the strategic road network in the UK. The Highways Agency has now published its 2013 Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) Meta report is now available on the Agency website, which it says represents the most comprehensive evaluation programme of expenditure within UK transport. Detailed appraisals of individual schemes are also carried out before they are put forward for construction. The broa

The first smart motorway scheme in the UK’s south west has been officially launched, covering seven miles 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

Serco’s transport solutions business will become a part of Cubic Transportation Systems following Cubic Corporation’s acquisition of the business for an enterprise value of US$70 million. Serco’s primarily a UK-based transport technology and services business and had revenues in the last calendar year of approximately $67 million.

Details of a multi-million pound project have been unveiled that will cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and M62 in Greater Manchester. The smart motorways scheme – the first of its kind in the north-west – will be introduced on a 17-mile stretch of the network between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale. The system will use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, provide traffic information to road users, and ease congestion by usin

A section of the M6 motorway in the UK between junctions 10a and 13 is to be upgraded to a smart (managed) motorway with all-lane running. This section of the motorway is a major strategic route, carrying around 120,000 vehicles per day.

Global law firm Eversheds has advised the UK’s Highways Agency on the US$592 million contract for the implementation of a new free-flow charging system at M25 Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing. New technology which utilises number-plate recognition technology will allow drivers to use the crossing without having to stop at the barriers to hand over payment. Road users will be able to pay through a variety of methods including telephone, text, online and at retail outlets. Pre-paid accounts which qualify

UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2 billion order for more state of-the art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes. The 270 carriages will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe as part of the government’s overall £5.8 billion Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The trains will operate on the East Coast Main Line from 2019 and will deliver significant benefits to passengers, including boosting capacity by 18 per cent, improving trai