Skip to main content

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
July 22, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The 3902 Balfour Beatty 5176 Vinci joint venture has been awarded a contract by 8101 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 Berkshire.

These upgrades are aimed at increasing capacity, reducing congestion and shortening journey times for the thousands of road users who use these parts of the network every day. Extra capacity will be added to the motorways through the conversion of the hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Electronic signs, operated by a regional control centre, will be installed to manage the flow of traffic in response to driving conditions.

Work on the M5 upgrade is due to start in the autumn of this year. Subject to statutory approval and continued value for money, the M6 is expected to start work in 2017/18 and the M4 scheme in 2016/17. Final target costs for these contracts will be agreed with Highways England.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • LGA report forecasts introduction of road tolling
    November 27, 2012
    A report by the Local Government Association (LGA), the organisation representing councils in England and Wales, predicts road tolling or pay as you drive road pricing could be introduced by 2018. With traffic predicted to nearly double over the next 25 years, the LGA believes the Government will have to consider tolls or even pay as you drive road pricing to raise the money it needs.
  • Road safety award for average speed scheme
    November 28, 2014
    A route enforcement and casualty reduction scheme on the strategic A14 in the UK has won a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. The A14 route between the Midlands and East Anglia operates at the national speed limit of 70mph as a dual carriageway with central reserve and no hard shoulder. The average annual daily traffic figure is 74,000 and with no motorways or other high standard diversion routes along this corridor, journeys can be seriously delayed when congestion or collisio
  • HS2 ‘crucial to Britain’s future transport needs’
    October 30, 2013
    Britain cannot meet its future transport needs without HS2, according to new evidence published by the government. Even with over US$80 billion of planned transport investment over the next six years the country’s railways will be overwhelmed. The strategic case for HS2 sets out in detail the need for a new railway line to provide the vitally needed extra capacity. Central to the case is new data that reveals the true extent of the crisis facing the UK rail network and the impact alternatives to buildin
  • Dutch strike public/private balance to introduce C-ITS services
    November 15, 2017
    Connected-ITS applications are due to appear on a nation-wide scale this summer, through the Netherlands’ Talking Traffic Partnership – if all goes to plan. Jon Masters reports. The Netherlands’ Talking Traffic Partnership (TTP) looks almost too good to be true: an artificial market set up and supported by national, regional and local government to accelerate deployment of Connected ITS (C-ITS) applications. If it does have any serious flaws, these are going to become apparent quite soon, because the first