Skip to main content

New technology set to transform England’s motorways

A new high-tech intelligent transport system is set to transform the way traffic is managed on England’s motorways and major A roads. Highways England has awarded a US$46 million contract to Austria-based firm Kapsch TrafficCom to install the system at its regional control centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which will then be rolled out to the rest of the country. The new technology will integrate a wide range of functions and manage the existing large quantity of different roadside devices. The sys
October 12, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A new high-tech intelligent transport system is set to transform the way traffic is managed on England’s motorways and major A roads.

8101 Highways England has awarded a US$46 million contract to Austria-based firm 4984 Kapsch TrafficCom to install the system at its regional control centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which will then be rolled out to the rest of the country.

The new technology will integrate a wide range of functions and manage the existing large quantity of different roadside devices. The system is also designed to be future proof by being able to incorporate future technology.

Neil Widdop, services procurement team leader at Highways England, said: “The new system will allow us to improve our operational efficiencies through use of a modern, national, integrated system. As we improve our operational efficiency, we can expect road users to benefit from quicker responses to incidents leading to improved safety and greater convenience for drivers.”

Related Content

  • January 12, 2022
    UK ‘pauses’ smart motorway roll-out
    All-lane running motorway schemes to be halted until five years' safety data is available
  • April 28, 2014
    Kapsch and Autofind partner on vehicle tracking solutions
    Kapsch TrafficCom and UHF Gen 2 RFID solutions supplier Autofind Industrial have formed a strategic partnership with the aim of jointly providing end-to-end solutions for SINIAV (Sistema de Identificação Automática de Veículos), Brazil’s national electronic vehicle registration program.
  • January 27, 2012
    Integrate systems to reduce roadside infrastructure
    David Crawford reviews promising current developments. Instrumentation of the road infrastructure has grown to become one of the most dynamic sectors of the ITS industry. Drivers for its deployment include global concerns over the commercial and environmental pressures of traffic congestion, the importance of keeping drivers informed throughout their journeys, and the need to reduce accident rates and promote the safety of all road users, for example by enforcing traffic safety rules.
  • December 21, 2017
    Nairobi looks to ITS to ease travel problems
    Shem Oirere looks at plans to tackle chronic congestion in the Kenyan capital. Traffic jams in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, are estimated to cost the country $360 million a year in terms of lost man-hours, fuel and pollution. According to Wilfred Oginga, an engineer with the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), the congestion has been exacerbated by poor regulation and enforcement of traffic rules, absence of adequate traffic management systems and poor utilisation of existing road facilities.