Member Article

Smart Motorways

Smart Motorways

Some highways in England are being upgraded with the latest technology to help minimise and manage congestion. These highways are known as ‘smart motorways’. Many disciplines of civil engineering will play a role in these developments including civil engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, transportation engineering and construction engineering.

So, what is a smart motorway?

At every junction there is a “gateway gantry”. This providesdriver information and the status of each lane, helping to reduce congestion. The maximum spacing of these driver information boards is 1.5km, from a junction (nearly a mile).

You will also see fewer signals over each lane and more verge mounted signs. These signs, which are mounted at the verge, provide enhanced driver information informing drivers of speed limits and the availability of lanes.

Throughout the smart motorway system there are cameras that monitor traffic speeds, purely for enforcement purposes. Also, CCTV will monitor traffic conditions including during incidents.

The hard shoulder will be converted so that it is permanently open to traffic, making 4 lanes on most smart motorways, which is another measure that will help ease congestion.

The direction signs at each junction, 1 mile and ½ mile signs will either remain as blue signs or be replaced with the new verge signs.

New technology will also be used under the road surface to allow monitoring of the traffic flow. These are called “loops” and will help provide a queue protection system.

At the end of the lane running schemes, conventional motorway conditions will be resumed.

Emergency refuge areas will be provided at around 2.5km intervals for use in emergencies, e.g. if your car breaks down. They should be treated in the same way as a hard shoulder. Each refuge area will have an emergency roadside telephone, and CCTV cameras in place. The driverwill be able to contact the regional control centre.

The CCTV cameras enable the operator to give appropriate assistance by;

Passing the road user’s details to a recovery operator. Deploying an on-road traffic officer. Closing the lane to allow the vehicles to re-join the main carriageway safely.

What to do on a smart motorway

Never drive under a red “X”. Keep to the speed limit shown on the gantries. A solid white line indicates the hard shoulder - don’t drive in it unless directed. A broken white line indicates a normal running lane. Use the refuge areas for emergencies if there’s no hard shoulder. Put your hazard lights on if you break down.

M1 Development

In South Yorkshire the M1 is being turned into a smart motorway, the budget for the redevelopment is £358 million. The Highways Agency says the scheme, affecting 31.3 miles between junctions 28 and 35A, will not be fully completed until winter 2016. Work started in November 2013, with replacement of the central reservation barrier.

Currently, work is taking place between junctions 28 and 31, which is due to finish in autumn 2015. Work on the northern leg of the scheme between junctions 32 and 35A will start next year and will be completed by winter 2016.

Benefits of a Smart Motorway

Civil engineering has made the Smart Motorway possible and some of the benefits include smoother traffic flows, more reliable journey times, fewer road traffic collisions, and reduced noise and harmful vehicle emissions.

Alan Wood & Partners offer a full range of highway design services from non-adoptable private infrastructure to major new public highways and junctions. Their highways teams are experienced in every phase of roads and highways design and engineering.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alanwood .