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Helping drivers to safer, more reliable journeys on England's motorways and major a roads

HIGHWAYS AGENCY News Release (HA-21-07) issued by The Government News Network on 27 March 2007

The Highways Agency today confirmed details of its plans to help drivers to safer and more reliable journeys on England's motorways and major A roads in the coming year.

In its Business Plan for 2007/08, published today, the Agency explains what it will do to make travel safer and tackle unreliable journey times on the busiest parts of the national road network.

New technology and traffic management techniques will be used to make a positive difference to people's journeys. Work is due to start on eight major improvement schemes, including widening the M25 between Dartford and the M20 junction at Swanley, where the motorway is used by nearly 135,000 vehicles every day.

By April 2008, the Agency also plans to:

- Open the first car share lane on a UK motorway between the M62 and M606 near Bradford, West Yorkshire.

- Introduce access management measures to improve traffic flow on motorways.

- Launch a range of new services to help drivers plan their journeys. These include making travel information available by digital radio and real-time journey times displayed on motorway message signs.

- Make CCTV images available to the public via the Highways Agency website so people can see conditions on the motorway network at any time.

Archie Robertson, Chief Executive of the Highways Agency, said:

"We want to make journey times more reliable for our customers and continue to improve safety while respecting the environment and carrying out our business as efficiently as possible.

"This year we will establish ourselves as network operator for England's motorways and major A roads. Our traffic officers now help drivers across the motorway network, responding quickly to incidents, helping to cut congestion and making the network safer. This year we'll complete the transfer of traffic management responsibilities from the police to the traffic officers, freeing police resources to tackle crime.

"We will launch new information services for drivers, helping them to plan their journeys with greater certainty. We aim to deliver real-time information about traffic conditions in a range of formats to meet individual needs, improve existing services and develop new ones like the new travel information radio service.

"Yet technology doesn't replace the need for road capacity. This year we'll start work on eight major schemes to remove bottlenecks, improve safety or take traffic away from local communities, and open seven other schemes including widening the M1 south of Sheffield and improving parts of the A66 in Northern England.

"By this time next year, we will have made progress on innovative new ways of managing traffic like the first car share lane on a UK motorway and extending our automatic incident detection system to warn drivers of queues ahead on motorways and reduce the number of rear-end shunts.

"Later this year we will publish our first Sustainable Development Action Plan. Climate change is central to our concerns about the environment. We will make our contribution to tackling this as well as taking other measures to protect and improve the environment.

"We are working with employers and developers on sustainable travel plans to reduce the overall impact of traffic generated by business and residential areas. We will be implementing at least 18 new travel plans in 2007-08, making a total of 28 since 2005."

The Highways Agency is also working to reduce the delays caused by roadworks, including making sure they're better planned, carried out and removed as quickly as possible. New technology, like the Quick Moveable Barrier machine, which is being trialled in the South East, is being used to keep more lane-space available for drivers without compromising the safety of roadworkers.

Notes to Editors

1. The Highways Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Transport. We manage, maintain and improve England's motorways and major A roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. Full details of the Highways Agency Business Plan 2007 - 08 will be available on our website: http://www.highways.gov.uk

3. This year work will begin on eight major improvements. They are:

- M25 Junctions 1b-3 widening, near Dartford, Kent
- A1 Bramham-Wetherby (including Wetherby Bypass)
- M1 Junction 21-30 (phase 1), East Midlands
- A14 Haughley New Street to Stowmarket improvement, Suffolk
- M62 Junction 6 improvement, Merseyside
- M40 Junction 15 (Longbridge roundabout), near Warwick
- M27 Junctions 11-12 climbing lanes, near Portsmouth
- M27 Junctions 3-4 widening, near Southampton

4. We expect to complete seven schemes:

- M1 J31-32 widening, near Sheffield
- M25 Junction 28 / A12 Brook Street Interchange improvement
- A428 Caxton Common to Hardwick improvement, Cambridgeshire
- A30 Bodmin Indian Queens improvement, Cornwall
- A66 Greta Bridge to Stephen Bank improvement
- A66 Carkin Moor to Scotch Corner improvement
- A66 Temple Sowerby bypass and improvements at Winderwath, Cumbria

5. We are also progressing plans to widen to four lanes most of the remaining three lane sections of the M25. It hopes to award the contract in 2008.

6. Coverage of the automatic incident detection system will be extended on the M1, M4, M5, M50 and M62 motorways. This system detects standing traffic and warns oncoming traffic of queues ahead.

7. The first car share lane on a UK motorway will be at the M606 and M62 junction, south of Bradford, West Yorkshire. Drivers carrying one or more passengers will be able to use the new lane to bypass this heavily congested junction and gain priority access to the eastbound M606 from the southbound M62. By encouraging car sharing, the Agency hopes to move more people through the junction more quickly and efficiently.

8. The new digital radio service will provide real-time traffic information for the strategic road network, updated every 15 minutes. More accurate and up-to-date information will be available through the internet and DAB radios.

9. Journey and delay times on motorway message signs have been trialled during 2006-7. During 2007-08, this service will be extended across the motorway network. Signs will show journey times to major junctions ahead, and in very congested conditions, a delay time will be shown.

10. CCTV images will be provided on the Agency's website. This service will allow customers to see travel conditions for themselves. Broadcast quality images will be made available to the media for use in travel news updates. This web service will be introduced during 2007 with the media broadcast service to follow by the end of 2008.

11. The quick moveable barrier machine can lift 12 tons of concrete safety barriers for motorway roadworks into place at a speed of 7 mph, helping the Highways Agency to keep more lanes open for drivers and offering a higher level of barrier protection to motorway road workers.

12. Real-time traffic information for England's motorways and major A roads is available:

- From the web at http://www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo

- By phone from the Highways Agency 24-hour voice activated phone service on 08700 660 115. (Calls from BT landlines to 0870 numbers will cost no more than 8p per minute; mobile calls usually cost more).

- Before using a mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency. Make sure it's safe and legal before you call.

13. For more general information about the Highways Agency and its work, visit the Highways Agency website http://www.highways.gov.uk, or telephone the Highways Agency Information Line on 08457 50 40 30 at any time. (Calls to 0845 numbers cost no more than 3p/min from BT residential landlines. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary)

Issued by the Highways Agency Press Office. For further information please contact 020 7081 7443. Out of hours 020 7081 7443.