Two 38 tonne, 40m wide gantries, spanning both the north and southbound carriageways, were installed by Kier’s M6 J13-15 project team in under 10 hours recently, as part of a smart motorway upgrade.

Built offsite, the gantries which will display variable speed limit signs, are the largest structures on the project. They were transported from the North East and on Saturday a 160 tonne crane lowered the gantries into place.

Both the north and southbound carriageways and will house latest technology to keep drivers informed on journeys.

Highways England Smart Motorway Project Sponsor, Peter Smith, said: “This is the first time we have attempted to install two superspan gantries in one night on this scheme and it was quite a challenge to get them both put in place and the M6 open by 8am.

“Thanks to careful planning and the efforts of the team on the night, everything went smoothly and we were able to get the motorway open shortly after 6am to minimise disruption for motorists.”