Skip to main content

Average speed cameras go live on Scotland’s motorway upgrade

Average speed cameras are due to go live across the US$780 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project in Scotland. It is hoped they will encourage a safe and steady traffic flow by monitoring the average speed of vehicles through the works to ensure the safety of both road users and road workers. The cameras are expected to go live on 20 July and will remain in place until the completion of the project in spring 2017.
July 17, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Average speed cameras are due to go live across the US$780 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project in Scotland.

It is hoped they will encourage a safe and steady traffic flow by monitoring the average speed of vehicles through the works to ensure the safety of both road users and road workers.

The cameras are expected to go live on 20 July and will remain in place until the completion of the project in spring 2017.

The cameras are being installed in phases across the project, beginning on the M74, and will be rolled out at the following locations over the coming months. On approach and throughout the roadworks, signs will advise drivers of the speed restrictions.

Graeme Reid, project sponsor for 505 Transport Scotland, said: “We know from our experience of major road infrastructure projects that safety cameras are a tried and tested approach that improves safety for both road users and the adjacent construction workforce during what will be an extremely busy period in terms of construction.

“Not only do the cameras create a safer environment for all concerned, they can also help improve the flow of traffic through the works. With more than 100,000 vehicles using these key routes each day, we are acutely aware of the challenges involved in keeping the traffic moving whilst delivering a project of this scale and complexity. However we will continue to work closely with Scottish Roads Partnership to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

“Once complete, congestion across the central Scotland motorway network will be significantly reduced, with travel time reliability between the main route of Glasgow and Edinburgh improved.”

Chief Inspector Fraser Candlish of Police Scotland, said: “The reduced speed limit is necessary to ensure that drivers are able to cope safely with the inevitable effects of the road works such as narrowed lanes, changing lanes, contra-flow and construction traffic. Highly visible average speed cameras are an effective way of encouraging motorists to respect the reduced speed limit.”

Mark Miller, a spokesperson for Scottish Roads Partnership, said: “Given the close proximity to the live road and the space constraints across the site, we believe that it is necessary to install safety cameras and reduce speed limits to ensure the safety of road users and that of our workforce. We would like to take this opportunity to thank road users for their patience while we deliver these significant improvements works.”

Transport Scotland, together with its partners, is currently delivering more than US$2.3 billion of investment in the biggest ever package of projects to improve the country’s transport infrastructure on both the road and rail networks. The M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project represents a substantial part of this investment, and aims to tackle congestion problems on the A8/M8, M73, M74 and at key junctions including Raith (M74) and Shawhead (A725/A8).

When complete, congestion across the central Scotland motorway network will be significantly reduced, with travel time reliability between the main route of Glasgow and Edinburgh improved.

The M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project began in February 2014 and is scheduled for completion in spring 2017.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Melbourne installs smart road technology
    June 18, 2013
    Work is now underway on installing the latest electronic freeway management technology along Melbourne’s West Gate Freeway in Victoria, Australia, with the entire project to be completed by the middle of next year. Installation of the freeway management system along more of Melbourne’s road network will be fully integrated with the one already in use on the M1 east of Williamstown Road as well as that proposed for the M80 Ring Road, according to Victorian Roads (VicRoads) minister Terry Mulder. “Indeed, ou
  • ITS-NY Announces 2012 Project of the Year Award Winners
    June 13, 2012
    The Intelligent Transportation Society of New York (ITS-NY) has announced the 2012 ITS-NY Project of the Year Winners at its Nineteenth Annual Meeting and Technology Exhibition in Saratoga Springs, NY. “These winning projects feature ITS and technologies at work in New York State to improve traveller mobility and safety, as well as the efficiency of New York State’s transportation system across all modes of travel,” said Dr Isaac Takyi, ITS-NY president. Winning Projects were announced in the following ITS
  • TRL wins crash data management deal in Mongolia
    September 5, 2024
    Software will enable collection, analysis and sharing of road crash and safety data
  • Thales builds on Canadian connection for transit R&D
    June 20, 2016
    The Canadian province of Ontario is continuing to benefit from its ongoing investment in transit R&D. David Crawford looks at the impact of new investment. Developing the next generation of urban rail signalling solutions worldwide, with the emphasis on transit security and efficiency, is the goal of a recently-created business partnership between the government of the Canadian province of Ontario and Thales Canada. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the France-HQ'd global defence, aerospace and transportation