UK’s M3 gets smart

Work begins shortly on the initial phase of a US$278 million project to improve the M3 between the M25 and Farnborough. The section between junctions 2 and 4a will become a smart motorway, adding a fourth lane in both directions in place of the hard shoulder and adding enhanced on-road technology to keep traffic moving safely and reliably, providing a boost for businesses and the wider economy. The road will also be resurfaced with a new, low noise material. The main works are due to be completed by the
October 30, 2014 Read time: 1 min
Work begins shortly on the initial phase of a US$278 million project to improve the M3 between the M25 and Farnborough.

The section between junctions 2 and 4a will become a smart motorway, adding a fourth lane in both directions in place of the hard shoulder and adding enhanced on-road technology to keep traffic moving safely and reliably, providing a boost for businesses and the wider economy. The road will also be resurfaced with a new, low noise material. The main works are due to be completed by the end of 2016.

503 Highways Agency project manager Pranav Devale said: This busy section of the M3 is used for more than 130,000 journeys every day, and these vital improvements will add much needed extra capacity. Smart motorways are a safe, cost effective solution for improving journeys.”
Air Quality & Weather Systems Urban Traffic Control Enforcement

Related Content

  • April 8, 2014
    UK defaults to hard shoulder running to expand motorway capacity
    Hard shoulder running has become the UK’s default response to increasing motorway capacity as Colin Sowman reports. Facing a predicted 46% increase in traffic levels by 2040 and the current economic recovery leading to more people travelling to, from and for work leaves the UK government under short- and long-term pressure to increase the capacity on the main motorway network. Particular sections of motorways are already experiencing repeated, sometimes tidal, congestion and both tight Treasury limits and t
    Read More
  • February 2, 2016
    Smarter motorway for West Yorkshire
    Drivers on the M1 near Wakefield will benefit from reduced congestion and improved journey times after the final phase of a new US$172 million smart motorway went live. The Highways England scheme along a seven-mile stretch of motorway between junction 39 and junction 42 is the first all lane running motorway in the north, where the hard shoulder has been permanently converted to an extra lane. The smart motorway uses the latest technology to monitor traffic levels and variable speed limits on overhea
    Read More
  • July 22, 2015
    Balfour Beatty JV to deliver UK smart motorways package
    The Balfour Beatty Vinci joint venture has been awarded a contract by Highways England to deliver a smart motorway package worth up to US$792 million, the largest of Highways England’s three packages within its US$2.3 billion Smart Motorway Programme. The joint venture will deliver smart motorway upgrades to a ten mile stretch of the M5 Junctions 4a to 6 in Worcestershire; a 12 mile section of the M6 Junctions 2 to 4 in the Midlands and a 32 mile stretch of the M4 Junctions 3 to 12 in London and Berkshir
    Read More
  • April 30, 2015
    The UK’s busiest crossing adopts free flow charging
    Colin Sowman looks at the transition to free-flow charging on the Dartford Crossing, a notorious congestion blackspot on the UK motorway network. The Dartford Crossing, where London’s orbital M25 motorway crosses the lower reaches of the River Thames 32km (20 miles) to the east of Central London, has long been a major source of congestion. Now, to alleviate the congestion caused by some 50 million crossings per year, the Highways Agency has adopted a free-flow charging system - but the Crossing’s location a
    Read More

Highlighted Content