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

  • Ex-Conduent CEO: ‘I am not a career transportation person’
    June 11, 2019
    Just prior to resigning as Conduent Transportation CEO, Mick Slattery talked to Adam Hill about the importance of digital and how tech can transform ITS. "I am not a career public sector person,” declares Mick Slattery, chief executive officer of Conduent Transportation, at the beginning of his interview with ITS International. “I am not a career transportation person. I am new to this industry, effective August last year. At my core I’ve spent my career creating and launching new opportunities for clie
  • Wireless bridges widen options for ITS upgrades
    December 9, 2014
    Antaira Technologies’ marketing engineer Brian Roth explains why the increasing capacity of wireless bridges is reducing the cost of expanding and upgrading ITS networks. With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities, the need for efficient transportation of both people and goods has never been greater and that pressure is unlikely to ease any time soon. Indeed in many regions of the world the rate of urbanisation is still increasing as the demand for rural workers continues to decline.
  • Whakatane chooses Telensa for 2,500 smart streetlighting project
    March 28, 2018
    Telensa will replace 2,500 streetlights in Whakatane with wirelessly managed Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) following an agreement with the region’s district council that aims to reduce costs and provide a platform for smart city applications. The company’s Planet Intelligent (Planet) street lighting system will be deployed in the area as part a project led by the New Zealand Transport Agency, scheduled to be completed in June 2018. Planet consists of wireless nodes connecting individual lights, a dedicat
  • Highways England announces multi-million pound major road improvements
    March 16, 2017
    Multi-million pound road improvement schemes announced today by Highways England are set to help unlock the development of more than 4,000 homes and more than 10,900 jobs. The improvements, worth a total of US$92 million ((£75 million), will create opportunities around Derby and Daventry in the Midlands, Oldham in the North West, Durham in the North East and Taunton in the South West. Highways England is making a US$15.3 million (£12.45 million) contribution towards the schemes from its Growth and Hou