Why drones are helping new work on the motorway

Drones monitor M6 from the junction with M69 for Hinckley

DRONES are being used to keep an eye on the multi-million pound congestion-busting ‘smart motorway’ works between Coventry and Coleshill.

Highways England are using the flying cameras to detail progress on the 14-mile stretch of the

M6, which have been running between junctions 2 (M69 Hinckley) and 4 (M42 (S)/A46) since March 2018.

They are set to remain until March 2020.

Specialists use the 3D footage to see the progress on gantries, foundations and other structures so that they can help decisions around the planned closures and to help plan future work and the needed.

It helps them reduce the amount of lane closures that teams carrying out inspections to works usually require, which then reduces disruption to motorists.

Peter Smith, 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 equipment piece of kit that provides us with detailed insight into scheme progress across a large area of the works in a much quicker and more efficient way.”

He added: “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.”

News about the use of drones comes as the teams working on the M6 upgrade have clocked up more than 1.1 million hours. Works are on track for the project to be completed by March 2020 as promised.

At the moment, a new concrete central reservation barrier is being installed along the stretch of the motorway.

The concrete barrier will reduce ‘cross over’ incidents, where vehicles involved in collisions spill over into the opposite carriageway, resulting in both carriageways having to close. A new ‘superspan’ gantry has also been fitted to house technology that will enable the creation of a further section of ‘smart motorway’ designed to improve traffic flow.

Once finished, new-look stretch of M6 will feature:

■ Three controlled the the motorway lanes, retaining the hard shoulder from J3a to J4 where the motorway will tie into the existing controlled motorway

■ A four-lane smart motorway between J2 to J3a 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.