Support services firm Carillion has kicked off 2012 with a contract on the Birmingham section of the M6 motorway.The £104.9m contract is to transform the section of the M6 between junctions 5 and 8 into a so-called managed motorway. Managed motorways use various technological features combined with new operating procedures to actively control traffic flow. This includes variable mandatory speed limits and opening up the hard shoulder to traffic to reduce congestion and improve journey times and safety.Advance works for the contract are due to start at the end of January 2012 and the main works by June 2012, subject to the completion of the statutory process, with contract completion scheduled for 2014-15. --jh