Carillion drives away with £96m hard shoulder contract

Carillion has driven away with a £96m contract to install the technology that will allow hard shoulder driving near Birmingham.

Work will begin in autumn and be completed in two phases, with drivers able to use the extra space from late 2009.

The first phase will target the M40, M42 junctions 7 to 9 and M6 junctions 4 to 5.

Work on phase two will begin early 2009 and include work to M6 junctions 8 to 10.

Derek Turner, Highways Agency network operations director, said: “We are delighted to award this important contract.

“We look forward to working with Carillion to extend the successful Active Traffic Management scheme to bring benefits to road users across both the West Midlands and the country as a whole.

“We expect work to start shortly after the August bank holiday and are looking to keep three lanes open during the road works, especially during busy periods to help reduce any inconvenience to drivers.”