The M4 motorway (M4) is the main strategic route between London, the west of England, and Wales. It connects directly to the M25 and Heathrow Airport. The M4 carries over 130,000 vehicles per day, set to increase to an average of 160,000 vehicles per day over the next 20 years.
The Smart motorway scheme will use the latest technology to improve journeys by monitoring traffic flow and setting speed limits accordingly. This helps to keep traffic moving smoothly, instead of continually stopping and starting. Information about road conditions and speed limits will be displayed to drivers on electronic road signs. The proposal also involves converting the hard shoulder permanently to a traffic lane. This will create much needed extra capacity necessary to support economic growth. To enable the provision of a smart motorway along the whole length of the proposed scheme, it will be necessary to widen or replace a number of bridges where there is currently no hard shoulder.
The objectives of the proposed scheme are to:
- reduce congestion
- smooth the flow of traffic to improve journey times
- make journeys more reliable
- support the economy and facilitate economic growth within the region, by providing much needed capacity on the motorway techniques
- continue to deliver a high level of safety performance on the network using smart motorway techniques
- minimise environmental impacts of the scheme
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