New technology set to transform England’s motorways

A new high-tech intelligent transport system is set to transform the way traffic is managed on England’s motorways and major A roads.

Highways England has awarded a £30 million contract to Austria-based firm Kapsch TrafficCom AG to install the system at its regional control centre in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, which will then be rolled out to the rest of the country.

The new technology will integrate a wide range of functions and manage the existing large quantity of different roadside devices. The system is also designed to be future proof by being able to incorporate future technology.

Neil Widdop, services procurement team leader at Highways England, said: “The new system will allow us to improve our operational efficiencies through use of a modern, national, integrated system.

“As we improve our operational efficiency, we can expect road users to benefit from quicker responses to incidents leading to improved safety and greater convenience for drivers.”