Costain will be working for Highways England in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Transport for London and Kent County Council

The A2M2 connected corridor will see Costain deliver roadside technology which allows vehicles and infrastructure to connect wirelessly.

It means drivers can receive on-board warnings about things like road closures, congestion and speed limits.

Mike Wilson, safety, engineering and standards executive director, Highways England, said: “Having the technology in place to allow vehicles to connect to each other and the road around them has the potential to improve journeys, making them safer and more reliable by providing real-time, personalised information directly to the driver.

“It could also help us manage traffic and respond to incidents.

“The A2/M2 trial will test and demonstrate how this may work in the real world. We are delighted to be jointly funding and part of this international project.”

Costain will now be testing the wireless transmission of data to and from travelling vehicles.

Trial vehicles will be fitted with onboard technology that will communicate with roadside units via ITS G5 wireless communication and with the service provider via cellular communication.

This will convey information to the vehicle relating to road works, road conditions, temporary speed limits and the time remaining before a traffic light turns to green.

This information could then be used by the vehicle to vary speed, for example.

Costain will deliver the contract with core partners, Mott MacDonald, 4way Consulting, TRL, Kapsch TrafficCom AG, Altran, Cohda Wireless, Telent Technology Services Ltd and Telefonica.