Balfour and Skanska sign £321m deal for M25 managed motorway

The Highways Agency has selected Connect Plus to build and maintain the infrastructure for managed motorways on 46km of the M25 in two sections between junctions 5 to 7 in Kent and Surrey, and junctions 23 to 27 in Essex and Hertfordshire.

Under the managed motorway scheme, the hard shoulder will be converted to a traffic lane and new electronic message boards overhead will enable variable speed limits to be introduced as required.

This scheme includes the upgrade of the central reservation to a concrete barrier to restrict the impact of incidents and reduce delays for motorists, as well as the installation of road management technology including electronic matrix signs, CCTV cameras and emergency refuge areas for vehicles.

Work on the 25-month contract will begin this month and is scheduled for completion by February 2015.

Balfour Beatty chief executive Ian Tyler said: "We are very pleased to have been awarded this new contract on the M25.  It builds on our existing contracts across the UK roads network and strengthens our position in the transportation arena, which is a core strategic sector for us globally."

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