Making the switch to intelligent cat’s eyes

Switch Island in Merseyside is to benefit from the introduction of intelligent cat’s eyes.

Highways England is installing some 170 innovative new cat’s eyes at Switch Island, which is one of England’s busiest motorway junctions where the M57, M58 and three A roads converge, as part of a £3M project to improve safety. The new LED road studs, or intelligent cat’s eyes, light up in response to changing traffic lights. This will be the first time the technology has been used at a motorway junction to improve safety for the 90,000 vehicles that use the junction every day.

The new technology has already been installed at Hindhead Tunnel in Surrey, guiding drivers through the tunnel, but the Switch Island scheme will be the first time they have been linked to traffic lights at a motorway junction.

The LED road studs light up when traffic lights turn green so drivers can clearly see which lane they should follow. Cables under the road surface connect them to traffic lights through a nearby automatic controller unit. Visible up to 1,000m away, the new studs are far greater than traditional reflective cat’s eyes, and have been proven to help stop drivers drifting between lanes, reducing the risk of collisions.

Phil Tyrrell, Project Manager at Highways England, said: “We’re always looking for new ways to further improve journeys and safety for drivers, and I hope the new intelligent cat’s eyes will help better guide drivers around Switch Island.

“The innovative light-up road studs along with the other improvements we’re introducing will make it much easier to navigate the junction, benefitting the tens of thousands of drivers who travel through it every day.”

Work to improve congestion at Switch Island is due to start in February, and is being funded by the government’s £220M congestion relief programme. The scheme will take around a year to complete and is designed to improve the flow of traffic and enhance safety, following 49 collisions at the junction in the past two years. New traffic lights will be installed at a height of over five metres – higher than HGVs and double-decker buses – so that drivers approaching the junction can clearly see when the lights are changing.

Further improvements will see changes to the road layout and lane markings, new barriers between carriageways, coloured high friction surfaces and better signs. While a new 400m shared cycle path will be created through the junction, linking up with the existing cycle path alongside the A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road.

Jerry McConkey, Sefton Council’s Transportation and Highway Infrastructure Service Manager, said: “We have worked closely with Highways England and Merseyside Police to look at the issues at Switch Island and develop improvement proposals.

“As a result, we are delighted that these important safety measures are about to be introduced with Highways England implementing the latest technology solutions. This will further improve safety and give drivers a much higher level of confidence when negotiating this busy junction.”

The new intelligent cat’s eyes which are being installed at Switch Island were designed by Oxfordshire-based company Clearview Intelligence. Managing Director Nick Lanigan said: “The introduction of intelligent road studs, reacting to traffic light changes on a busy roundabout is a continuation of the traditional cat’s eye legacy but takes advantage of new technology available. The new studs have been proven to reduce lane transgression by over 50% in certain conditions so it’s a great way to help improve the safety for all road users.”

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