Kier completes milestone in the M6 smart motorway project

“This scheme will bring real benefits to drivers travelling in Cheshire and to the wider economy"

A branch of the leading construction, property, and civil engineering group Kier, Kier Highways, has reached a substantial milestone in a project to upgrade the M6 motorway to a smart motorway, through the installation of three large cantilever gantries.

During the process of establishing the M6 as a smart motorway, Kier Highways was required to install the three gantries, which both weighed 24 tonnes and measured at 18 metres long, over the course of a nine-night period, while the motorway itself remained open to motorists.

The gantries themselves extend over the motorway between junctions 14 (Stafford) and 15 (Stoke) in the West Midlands and were installed with a contraflow in operation, meaning that three lanes of traffic remained in operation on the Southbound side of the dual carriageway with only one of the lanes heading North.

A construction team comprising of 57 workers were able to install the three large gantries, six smaller MS4 gantries, and additional 28 lighting columns over the nine-night construction process, with the M6 Junction 13-15 Project being the first of its like to operate under a contraflow traffic management system.

The Project Director at Kier Highways, Richard French stated: “We are coming to the end of a section of work on the northbound M6 and this critical activity makes the end date significantly closer. All teams have planned their activities meticulously and collaboratively, so that the result is completion to plan and on programme. There is a large amount of personnel involved and I would like to thank everyone for their solid performance during this complex activity.”

The M6 Smart Motorway Project officially commenced in 2017 and is scheduled to continue until 2022, with work scheduled to switch from the Northbound side of dual carriageway to the Southbound side, meaning that the contraflow will now be in operation on the Northbound lanes.

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