Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE:JEC) announced today that, in a joint venture agreement with Atkins, it was awarded a contract by Highways England (HE) to provide design services for three smart motorway projects in England, United Kingdom.

Company officials did not disclose the contract value.

Under the terms of the contract, Jacobs and Atkins are initially providing design services for smart motorway projects being installed between junctions 13 to 15 of the M6, junctions 3 to 5 of the M20 and junctions 8 to 10 of the M23. The deployment of intelligent, integrated transport systems will provide traffic information to road users and enable improved monitoring of traffic levels.

These smart motorway schemes will see extra lane miles added to motorways, and form a part of the overall $23 billion (£15 billion) UK Government investment that Highways England is delivering between now and 2021. The smart motorways aim to reduce congestion and make journeys more reliable for road users, using a range of technology to vary speed limits and manage lane provision in response to driving conditions.

Jacobs Group Vice President Bob Duff stated, “These intelligent transport solutions are an important part of developing the UK’s transportation infrastructure. We are delighted to be working with Atkins and the other partners to support project delivery. Having worked with Highways England for more than 25 years, Jacobs understands HE’s vision for enhancing road user experience on England’s motorways.”

Jacobs delivers major transportation projects around the world, including projects for Highways England such as the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement project and the M1Junction 19 Improvement Scheme for the UK. Through its network of highway and traffic experts in the UK, Jacobs is providing a range of capabilities from transport planning and modeling, intelligent mobility, design, engineering, construction management and more to its clients. In 2014, Jacobs was awarded an ‘ITS (UK) Award for the Best Use of New Technology in the Highways Industry’ in the UK Highways Magazine Excellence Awards.

Formerly the Highways Agency, Highways England is the new government company charged with operating England’s motorways and major A roads. This includes modernizing and maintaining the highways; a network of around 4,300 miles.

Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of technical professional and construction services. Jacobs has operations in 250+ locations across more than 35 countries, and employs approximately 65,000 people.

Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management’s current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. For a description of some of the factors which may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements please refer to our 2014 Form 10-K, and in particular the discussions contained under Items 1 - Business, 1A - Risk Factors, 3 - Legal Proceedings, and 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements made herein.