Highways Agency Cuts Lights to Save Environment

Highways Agency to reduce carbon footprint by cutting motorway lighting in the early hours

The Highways Agency have announced that motorway lighting at two carefully selected sites in the South West will be switched off between Midnight and 5am in a move to reduce carbon emissions and light pollution.

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 Highways Agency, 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.”

Dated: 26 March 2009