The Government has committed to investing in Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) research and development, having recognised the expected commercial and technological expansion of the CAV sector. The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) plan to capitalise on this growth and establish the region as an internationally-recognised centre for CAV development.

This project marks a critical step towards realising truly autonomous vehicles and securing the region as central to the sector. This collaborative project will build a test environment for connected and autonomous vehicles in the West Midlands. The Meridian 1 CAV testbed and the Meridian 3 extension, will stretch across 300 kilometres of public road in Birmingham, Coventry, and Solihull, enabling managed interaction between CAVs and other road users

TfWM are now seeking to appoint a Principal Contractor to deliver the required testbed infrastructure. Delivery will include: Provision of infrastructure and equipment as detailed in the accompanying specifications and Schedule of Quantities; Construction of new structures as detailed in the accompanying design drawings and specifications; Installation of equipment on new and existing structures as detailed in the accompanying design drawings and specifications; Commissioning and testing of all equipment following installation; Network and communications solution to connect all technologies.

This is a call off from the CCS RM1089 Traffic Management Technology 2 Framework - Lot 14 ' Intelligent Transport Systems'