WIREDGOV

Drivers on the M25 are benefiting from 38 miles of increased capacity as two major improvement schemes are complete on time and ahead of the Olympics.

Two sections of the motorway, in Hertfordshire and Essex, have been widened.

An extra fourth lane has been added in each direction between junctions 16 (Uxbridge/M40) and 23 (South Mimms/A1) and between junctions 27 (Epping/M11) and 30 (Thurrock/A13).

Roads Minister Mike Penning said:

"The delivery of these major improvement schemes is part of the Government's £3bn investment in the strategic road network. Significantly these improvements have been completed ahead of the London 2012 Games.

"Our motorways are the backbone of Britain, getting people to and from work, powering the economy and keeping families connected. Increasing capacity on the M25 will tackle congestion, help keep traffic moving and improve journey time reliability.”

A ceremony attended by local dignitaries was held today to mark the completion of the work on one of Europe’s busiest motorways.

Highways Agency Chief Executive Graham Dalton said:

“Transport is vital to securing the UK’s long-term prosperity, and the Highways Agency is a world class roads operator. Congestion on our major roads is frustrating for road users, bad for the economy and damaging to the environment – and that is why we are doing everything we can to tackle it. Overall these schemes will reduce congestion, improving the reliability of journey times and safety for road users.”

The schemes were completed as part of the £6.2 billion M25 Design Build Finance and Operate contract awarded to private sector consortium Connect Plus in May 2009.

Connect Plus Chief Executive Tim Jones said:

“The delivery of these major improvement schemes demonstrates the professionalism, dedication and ingenuity of all of our people. They should be justifiably proud of their achievements.”

Work on the first section of widening between Junctions 16 and 18 began in May 2009; and two months later the junction 27-30 work started.
Throughout the work temporary narrow lanes were used to create a safe working environment while keeping three lanes open to traffic in both direction at all peak times.

The widening projects have seen more than 11 million man hours worked; and the installation of 125 gantries, including the largest in single span gantry in Europe. Around 130,000 trees, shrubs and plants have been planted and more than 2,800 animals moved to new habitats.

One of the project’s greatest achievements has been the use of recycled material in the construction of the additional lanes. At least 90% of the aggregates used in the widening has been recycled.

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 other strategic roads on behalf of the Secretary of State.

2. The £6.2 billion Design, Build, Finance and Operate contract was awarded in May 2009 to Connect Plus, a consortium of Skanska, Balfour Beatty, Atkins and Egis. The contract included the widening of the M25 to four lanes between Junctions 16 and 23 and between Junctions 27 and 30, and the refurbishment of the Hatfield Tunnel on the A1(M). The contract also includes the operation and maintenance of the M25 and associated stretches of motorway and trunk roads and the Dartford Crossing for a 30 year period.

3. Work on the first section of widening between junctions 16 and 18 began in May 2009. The first six mile section was completed in July 2010, the eight mile section up to Junction 21a in September 2011, and main construction work on the eight-mile section to junction 30 last month. Work between junctions 27-30 began in July 2009. The first 5.3 mile section towards junction 28 was completed in July 2010; the 5.3-mile section to junction 29 in September 2011, and main construction on the final 5.3-mile section to junction 30 last month. Final completion work has also since taken place.

4. Maintenance and improvement projects: We plan maintenance and improvement projects carefully to allow road works to be completed safely, in a cost effective way while keeping disruption to road users to a minimum. We do as much work as possible overnight and when roads are less busy in order to keep more lanes open for road users at peak travel times. Drivers are advised to check their route for road works and allow extra time for their journeys where needed. We have a variety of journey planning tools that road users can use to check travel conditions on the roads we manage, and we will do all we can to keep road users informed.

5. Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and other strategic roads is available:

- From the web at www.highways.gov.uk/traffic or www.highways.gov.uk/mobile if using a phone or mobile device.
- By phone from the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 at any time. (Calls to 0300 numbers will cost no more than 5p per minute from a standard BT residential landline. Call charges from other landlines and mobile networks may vary, but will be no more than a standard geographic call and will be included in all inclusive minutes and discount schemes). Make sure it’s safe and legal before you call. Before using any mobile, find a safe place to park. Never stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway except in an emergency.
- On an iPhone app which will automatically select the region you are in. Free to download from the iTunes store or search for Highways Agency on your device.
- From Twitter – there are eight feeds with live traffic information provided by region. For information on roads in the south east region follow us @HAtraffic_seast or for the full index visit www.highways.gov.uk/twitter.

6. Receive our national and regional press releases by RSS and get the latest headlines straight to your desktop the moment we publish them to our website. Choose to receive a national press feed or one of our regionalised feeds - go to www.highways.gov.uk/rssnews for more information.

Issued by the Highways Agency.

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Contacts:

Andrew Broughton
Phone: 01883 745364
Mobile: 07825 674643
andrew.broughton@highways.gsi.gov.uk

Jane Manning
Phone: 01306 878110
jane.manning@highways.gsi.gov.uk

James. Wright
Phone: 01306 878 448
Mobile: 07813 778 689
james.wright@highways.gsi.gov.uk