Highways England is hitting new heights to improve journeys for
drivers travelling through motorway roadworks by using drone
technology to monitor progress.
The use of a drone means Highways England can view progress in 3D
quality across a much larger area. This approach reduces the
amount of lane closures that teams carrying out upgrade work
usually require, in turn reducing disruption to motorists.
Once footage is downloaded, specialists can use the imagery to
see detailed progress on gantries, foundations and other
structures. This information can then be used to inform decisions
around planned closures and to help plan future work and
equipment required.
The technology is currently in use on the multi-million pound
upgrade of the M6 between junctions 2 and 4 near Coventry and has
also been used on the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon upgrade taking
place in the East of England.
Highways England Smart Motorway sponsor said:
Safety is our top priority and we constantly pioneer ways of
using new technology to keep people safe while we do this work.
The drone is a fantastic piece of kit that provides us with
detailed insight into scheme progress across a large area of
the works in a much quicker and efficient way.
It surveys up to 10km in a single day and then creates an
accurate 3D model of the works in just one hour. Ordinarily,
inspections by road workers require lane closures for safety
reasons and can take up to several days. By using the drone we
are able to reduce lane closures because we can scan a much
larger area in a quicker period of time.
Teams working on the M6 upgrade are making good progress and have
so far notched up more than 1.1 million hours.
A new concrete central reservation barrier is currently being
installed that prevents traffic from crossing to the opposite
side of the carriageway.
Once complete, the new-look stretch of the M6 will feature:
- three controlled motorway lanes, retaining the hard shoulder
from junctions 3a to 4 where the motorway will tie into the
existing controlled motorway
- a four-lane smart motorway between junctions 2 to 3a with a
hard shoulder next to the current ‘climbing lane’ travelling
eastbound
- installation of new electronic information signs and signals,
radar detection and CCTV cameras - these will be used to vary
speed limits which allow management of traffic flow and
incidents
- nine emergency areas to use in place of the hard shoulder
- improved central reserve barrier made of concrete to improve
safety
- two new noise barriers at Potter’s Green and Goodyers End and
low noise surfacing on the road
Elsewhere, Highways England has recently completed a £265 million
project to add extra lanes and new technology to a 19-mile
stretch of the motorway between Crewe and Knutsford – the most
significant change since the M6 first opened in Cheshire in 1963.
A fourth lane has been introduced in each direction and a total
of 258 electronic signs, 104 traffic sensors and 70 CCTV cameras
will help tackle congestion and improve journey times for around
120,000 drivers every day.
The upgrade is the first of four smart motorway schemes to be
finished that will increase the M6’s capacity by a third on 60
miles of the motorway between Coventry and Wigan.
And there’s also good news for motorists in North Tyneside with
more than 80,000 drivers a day are experiencing safer and
smoother journeys thanks to the opening of the North East’s first
ever triple decker junction.
The £75 million Highways England Coast Road scheme has been
opened on time and traffic is now able to use the new section of
road. This means that drivers will no longer have to negotiate
the roundabout and can continue straight on along the A19.
All pilots are CAA approved and operate with legal guidelines.
