Skip to main content

Arup and Amey to design Australian smart motorway project

Arup, working with Amey, is to deliver the M4 Smart Motorway project, said to be the first of its kind in New South Wales, Australia. The commission includes all technology and civil works, spanning from detailed design through to construction support services.
September 28, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

7942 Arup, working with 6110 Amey, is to deliver the M4 Smart Motorway project, said to be the first of its kind in New South Wales, Australia.

The commission includes all technology and civil works, spanning from detailed design through to construction support services.

The M4 Smart Motorway project will introduce intelligent technology to monitor traffic conditions, manage congestion and respond to incidents in real-time on the existing M4 Western Motorway. The project aims to increase traffic throughput, with a potential reduction of peak travel times by up to 15 minutes and accidents by up to 30 per cent.

The Arup and Amey team was originally formed in England, combining Arup’s technical expertise with Amey’s operational management to win a recent design package of the Smart Motorway Programme on the M1. This considerable international knowledge, combined with both firms' local highways experience, was a significant asset in securing this project.

The local team drew heavily on the knowledge of their UK counterparts, with key international members joining the design team and attending interviews with Roads and Maritime NSW throughout the tender process.

Key features of the project will include additional traffic sensors and CCTV cameras to monitor traffic conditions; and variable message signs, speed limits and lane use signs to be able to adapt to demand.  Ramp signals will assist by managing traffic flow onto the motorway.

Due to be completed in 2020, the project will bring the M4 into a select class of Smart Motorways in Australia, including another recent Arup project, Melbourne’s M1 Monash and Westgate Freeway Upgrade.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Olympic challenges in Sochi
    May 27, 2014
    Sporting events always create problems for traffic planners and none more so than the Winter Olympics. It is difficult to think of more diametrically opposite challenges for transport planners than the 2012 Olympics in London and this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi: from a summer event in the heart of a megacity with well established transport infrastructure to winter games with unpredictable weather and events in remote and mountainous locations. The Winter Games are always a challenge and Sochi was no di
  • Highway upgrade features Australian first intersection design
    September 22, 2016
    A new interchange design to improve traffic management will be a key part of a major Queensland, Australia road project, with the contract awarded today for a US$712 million (AU$929.3 million) upgrade to the Bruce Highway between Caloundra Road and the Sunshine Motorway. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester and Queensland Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey today announced a Fulton Hogan Seymour Whyte joint venture had won the contract for the project, which aims to ultimately reduce cong
  • UK local roads decarbonisation programme gets £4.5m
    September 19, 2023
    UK Department for Transport and Adept have allocated cash for Centre of Excellence
  • Transport for New South Wales extends Cubic traffic management contract
    December 8, 2015
    Transport for New South Wales has extended its contract with Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) for ongoing maintenance and operation of the Sydney Transport Management Centre (TMC) central computer system which manages traffic throughout the New South Wales road network. The contract extension includes options to continue until June 2020. Cubic has worked with Transport for New South Wales since 1997, when it was contracted to develop and deploy its incident management system (IMS) technology to mana