Skip to main content

McCann participates in M1 smart motorway scheme

Civil and electrical engineering firm McCann will help upgrade a 7.5 mile stretch of a major Midlands route as part of the M1 junction 23a – 25 smart motorway scheme. The project stems from an agreement with Highways England and is intended to reduce congestion and smooth the flow of traffic to improve travel times. Carl Lancaster, operations director for McCann, says: “The finished project will also help to minimise environmental impacts and maximise the capacity of the motorway while ensuring continued
July 16, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Civil and electrical engineering firm McCann will help upgrade a 7.5 mile stretch of a major Midlands route as part of the M1 junction 23a – 25 smart motorway scheme. The project stems from an agreement with 8101 Highways England and is intended to reduce congestion and smooth the flow of traffic to improve travel times.


Carl Lancaster, operations director for McCann, says: “The finished project will also help to minimise environmental impacts and maximise the capacity of the motorway while ensuring continued driver safety.”

McCann will install 500 lighting columns, 100,000m of lighting cable, 12,000m of lighting duct infrastructure, 40,000m of communication cable and 230 communication cabinets. The company will also install relevant technology to 27 new gantries as well as 13 existing gantries.

The project includes the conversion of the hard shoulder to create a fourth lane between junctions 24 and 25 as well as alterations to accommodate the new lane. Variable speed limits and associated smart motorway systems, CCTV systems and electronic signage, a hardened central reservation and a queue detection system to control congestion will also be implemented.  

McCann will work alongside technology construction companies 2002 Costain and Galliford Try. The project is scheduled to be completed in late 2018.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Technology trial a first for roads scheme
    April 7, 2016
    A US$124.8 million (£88.4 million) project to upgrade access to one of the UK’s busiest ports is trialling the use of technology to improve the monitoring of highway equipment located along the road, such as street lighting and drainage, to aid future maintenance. Contractors working on the A160 Port of Immingham improvement scheme are using the RedBite asset tool, developed by a Cambridge-based company, to tag Highways England owned assets. RedBite is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge and a m
  • Smart motorway planned for Western Australia
    May 16, 2017
    In a bid to reduce high levels of congestion on the Kwinana Freeway near Perth in Western Australia, the government is planning to introduce a smart motorway by converting the emergency stopping lane to a full-time running lane. The concept is similar to the smart motorways in use in the UK which use variable speed limits during busy times to manage congestion. The US$25 million (AU$47 million) project is expected to start in 2018-2019 and will also include: in-road detectors and full CCTV coverage to provi
  • Running on empty
    May 2, 2018
    Drivers are an increasingly rare species on Europe’s commuter metros as unattended train operation is embraced. David Crawford takes a low-speed tour of the continent’s capitals to see what’s happening. Unattended train operation (UTO) is fast becoming the norm for Europe’s metros, on existing as well as new lines. November 2017 statistics published by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) show the continent as having 28% of the global total of route km on lines operating at the ultimate
  • Fluor consortium awarded Dutch motorway project
    October 6, 2016
    The 3Angle special purpose company, a consortium of Fluor, 3i Infrastructure and Heijmans Capital has completed the financing of the A27/A1 public private partnership (PPP) project in the Netherlands. The project is valued at more than US$246 million, which includes a 25-year management and maintenance period. 3Angle is responsible for the financing, design, construction, management and maintenance of the reconstruction of the A27 motorway between Utrecht North and the Eemnes Junction, as well as the A1