13 March 2009
Motorway lighting in two selected sites in the South West will be switched off between Midnight and 5am in a move to reduce carbon emissions and light pollution, the Highways Agency (HA) has announced. Lighting on the M4 between Junctions 21 and 22 near Bristol will be switched off from Midnight until 5am from the morning of Thursday March 26, and lighting on the M5 between Junctions 29 - 30 near Exeter is set to be switched off from Midnight until 5am from Thursday April 16. The motorway junctions will remain lit. Both motorway stretches have an excellent safety record and very low traffic flows between Midnight and 5am, and have been chosen for first phase of the Highways Agency's programme after careful assessment. Ginny Clarke, Chief Highway Engineer at the HA, said: "We are looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of operating the motorway network and this is one step in that direction. We expect up to 40 per cent savings in carbon emissions and energy use for each section of motorway where we do this, and local communities will benefit from reduced light pollution of the night sky. "The traffic flows are so low in the early hours that when taken together with the good safety record of the sites, there would be no case for installing new lighting if the decision was based on the overnight figures alone." Timing devices at the roadside will control when the lights switch off and on again. The Highways Agency's Regional Control Centre for the South West can override the mechanism if needed. The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) has welcomed the HA's new policy to switch off motorway lighting as it targets the safest and quietest motorways. IAM Director of Policy and Research, Neil Greig, said: “We were concerned that a rush to reduce the carbon footprint of motorway lighting might have led to safety taking a back seat. But the HA has struck the right balance by continuing to illuminate junctions and opting for low flow routes with a good road safety record.” Mr Greig emphasized motorways are our safest roads but collisions are more likely to take place at or near junctions. The IAM understands the HA has no plans to extend the switch off to ‘A’ class dual and single carriageways where lighting is key to reducing the risks of night time driving.
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