27 January 2011
Motorway lighting along three carefully-selected sections of motorway in the North West, West Midlands and East Midlands will be switched off between midnight and 5am in a move to reduce carbon emissions and light pollution, the Highways Agency has announced. Lighting at the following three locations will be switched off each night from midnight until 5am starting at 00:01hrs on 02 February 2011. The motorway junctions and their approaches will remain lit. North West: The M6 in Lancashire, junctions 26 to 27 (approximately 1.2 miles) West Midlands: The M5 to the west of Birmingham between Junctions 2 and 4 (8 miles) East Midlands: The M1 between Junction 16 and Watford Gap Services (6 miles) These stretches of the motorway have a good safety record between midnight and 5am and, after careful assessment, have been chosen as the latest sites for the Highways Agency’s national programme. Staff in the Highways Agency’s Regional Control Centres have the ability to override the switch-off mechanism, and will consider leaving the lights on should severe weather be forecast on these parts of the strategic road network overnight. Targeted switch-offs have been successfully delivered in other parts of the country over the last two years including stretches of the motorway network in Kent, Berkshire, Hampshire, Devon, Avon and Somerset and on an adjoining site on the M6 in Lancashire. Bob Castleman, Divisional Director for the Highways Agency, said: "We are continually looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of operating the motorway network and this is another step in that direction, bringing the total number of sites on England’s motorway network to ten. We expect these sites to work as successfully as everywhere else – achieving up to a 40 per cent saving in carbon emissions and energy use as well as giving local communities reduced light pollution of the night sky. “The latest sites have been carefully chosen because of their good safety record between midnight and 5am. In fact, using current standards there would be no case for installing new lighting at these sites based on the overnight traffic flow figures alone.” The Highways Agency has contacted emergency services to ensure they are aware of the switch-off.
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