Public information exhibitions for first M25 ‘managed motorway’

The technology-driven improvements are planned for 15 miles of the M25 between junctions 5, near Sevenoaks in Kent and junction 7 in Surrey, where the M25 and the M23 intersect.

The hard shoulder will be converted to a traffic lane to add extra capacity. Variable mandatory speed limits, displayed on overhead and verge-mounted signs will help smooth the flow of traffic and reduce congestion on this busy section of motorway.

Public information exhibitions will be held at the Nutfield Lodge, Nutfield Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1, 4ED on Friday 13 July between 3pm and 9pm and between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 14 July. People will be able to find out more about the innovative scheme and how work to deliver the project may affect them. Highways Agency staff will be on hand to listen to comments and concerns and answer any questions.

Work on the managed motorway upgrade is due to start in 2013/14, subject to completion of statutory processes. It follows successful completion of the widening of the motorway between junctions 16 and 23 and junctions 27 and 30 in June.

Managed motorways have been developed on the M42 and M6 around Birmingham, - known as the 'Birmingham Box - following a successful pilot on the M42 in 2006, which saw accidents reduce by more than fifty per cent over a three-year period.

John Martin, project manager for the Highways Agency, said:

"We've used our successful experience of operating managed motorways in the West Midlands to produce an updated design which would see the hard shoulder permanently converted to a running lane, with fewer overhead structures such as gantries. This evolution in the design of schemes, which start main construction from 2013, will provide the additional capacity required, without compromising overall safety.

"A managed motorway will provide much needed additional capacity on this vital section of the national transport network - easing congestion and making journey times more reliable for the 146,000 road users, including hauliers and commuters, who depend on this section of the M25 each day.

"We are happy to listen to any comments members of the public, including local residents, may have about the scheme, such as how it will operate, what to do if they breakdown and how we plan to deliver the improvements. We will carefully consider all concerns."

Managed motorways use a range of innovative technologies to actively control traffic. Features include variable mandatory speed limits, opening the hard shoulder to traffic at busy periods or permanently converting the hard shoulder to a traffic lane, adding extra capacity, improving traffic flow and reducing congestion, while also delivering safer journeys.

Research published in March 2011 shows that accidents have more than halved since the UK's first-ever managed motorway scheme was introduced on 10.5 miles of the M42 (junctions 3a to J7), to the east of Birmingham. It also showed that journey times have improved since the introduction of two further sections of managed motorway, between the M40 junction 16, near Lapworth, and M6 junction 5, near Birmingham. Feedback from drivers is that the schemes have improved journeys on the 'Birmingham Box' motorways.

Members of the public or other interested parties can find out more about the M25 J5 to J7 managed motorway scheme by writing to the project team at Highways Agency, Federation House, London Road, Dorking, RH4 1SZ; emailing them at m25junction5to7mm@highways.gsi.gov.uk or calling the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000.

The M25 scheme will be the first managed motorway in the South East region. The contractor will be Connect Plus (a Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Atkins and Egis joint venture). The current cost range estimate for the M25 J5 to 7 managed motorway is £137.2m (min) to £247.4m (maximum).

Through experience of operating managed motorway schemes on the M42 and M6, in the West Midlands, we have produced a new design standard for schemes starting main construction work from next year (2013 onwards) where the hard shoulder is converted to a running lane on a permanent basis, and fewer big structures, like gantries, needed.

In addition:

• Signals over each lane are only required at the start of a link, at each junction. These are located on what is referred to as a 'gateway' gantry.
• Large electronic matrix signs will be mounted in the verges, and display information for road users, including the motorway speed limit, which lanes are available and advice to road users, such as 'incident ahead'.
• CCTV cameras will still be used to monitor the whole length of each scheme. However, we will not need the dedicated cameras and operating systems required for opening and closing the hard shoulder.

The first hard shoulder running scheme was introduced on the M42 J3a-7 in 2006 as a pilot scheme. This was followed by M6 J4 to J5 scheme in 2009 and the M6 J8 to J10A scheme in 2011. The system is known as managed motorways and uses variable speed limits and opening up the hard shoulder as an additional traffic lane. Other operational changes in the West Midlands were carried out on the M40 J16-3A and M42 J7-9 and completed in August 2009. These are known as controlled motorways as they involve the use of features such as variable speed limits but without hard shoulder running.