English motorway gantries get new, more secure design

National Highways hopes design will prove more resilient to trespassers after last year’s Just Stop Oil protests

National Highways has unveiled a new design for motorway gantries that it hopes will prove harder for protesters to mount and use to cause disruption.

The renovated structures, which are expected to become the standard design in England from 2025, will have their maintenance steps hidden inside their pillars and will be more difficult to gain access to without authorisation.