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

  • February 1, 2012
    Road space utilisation improves travel times, reduces costs
    For major road works schemes, necessary lane closures are timed to minimise congestion, most frequently at night and on weekends when traffic is at its lightest. As a result, rigid timetables are used in planning, programming and implementing work. In the UK, to calculate the expected traffic demand through roads works, historic profiles from the loop-based MIDAS (Motorway Incident Detection Automatic Signalling) system were used. These provided a valuable indicator of anticipated traffic behaviour but were
    Read More
  • February 28, 2022
    Putting the brakes on smart motorways
    The UK government has announced that development of its all-lane running highways is going to be put on hold for another few years to assess safety data. Adam Hill finds out why
    Read More
  • March 27, 2015
    UK driver information improvements near completion
    A major investment in technology to help tackle congestion and give better information to drivers across parts of the UK’s north west will be completed by the Highways Agency by the end of the month. Improvements worth more than US$8.5 million, with extended CCTV coverage of the region’s motorways and new electronic variable message signs (VMS), are being delivered by the Highways Agency as part of the Government’ US$470 million pinch point programme. Work on installing new electronic signs and CCTV c
    Read More
  • April 12, 2017
    AECOM appointed technical partner for A303 improvements scheme
    Global infrastructure services firm AECOM has secured an eight-year contract with Highways England to work as its technical partner for the major A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down improvements scheme. AECOM, working with its supply chain partners Mace and Mouchel, will deliver a range of multidisciplinary services to support all phases of the project, which will upgrade the eight-mile stretch of the A303 from single to dual carriageway to create a high-quality, reliable route to the south west, improve safet
    Read More

Highlighted Content