Features

Rajasthan is one of the most favoured tourist destinations of India for both domestic and international traffic on account of its rich array of historical forts, palaces, art and culture. In terms of area, Rajasthan is the country's largest state. Its size and strategic location means that it is traversed by substantial traffic linking the neighbouring states to the north and south. The National Highway (NH) road corridors currently accommodating this traffic are the NH-8, NH-11, NH-12, NH-14 and NH-1

This is the final section of a three-part series about preventive maintenance for pavements. Written by Alan S. Kercher, P.E., Kercher Engineering, Inc We practice preventive maintenance in our everyday lives and possibly with agency equipment such as dump trucks and backhoes, but when it comes to maintaining our roadways, most agencies will always defer repairs until the pavements have failed, resulting in very expensive repairs. This article will provide some guidance to help an agency make the switch fr

A team of eminent Russian specialists* introduce exciting new information technologies, such as the Internet of Things, and foresee their promising applications in the field of transport infrastructure development. Global economic growth, combined with explosive digital technology proliferation, brings new challenges to the field of transport infrastructure. Technical advances such as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), vehicle to infrastructure interfaces, global positioning, electronic toll collecti

In this second article of a three-part series on pavement preservation, Alan S. Kercher, of Kercher Engineering, discusses the different techniques that can be utilised as part of the preservation toolbox An agency should utilise a comprehensive preservation toolbox that includes various techniques, which can be applied to specific needs. There is no one technique that will cost-effectively address all pavement problems. However, there are many preservation techniques that can provide an agency with the ab

Michel Démarre gives some historical insights into public-private partnerships conceived to implement urban infrastructure projects, a concept that surprisingly dates back to as early as the 13th century! All over the world today, the role of public authorities in the process of planning and, in most cases, designing, financing and procuring urban roads is paramount. Even for modifications to existing roads, decisions are made by these public authorities (usually after due consultation with the population)

Oliver Carsten, Professor of Transport Safety at the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) at the University of Leeds, UK, discusses Intelligent Speed Adaptation, looking at its safety potential

GTZ highlights a pioneering scheme illustrating the potential of Bus Rapid Transit systems as a viable approach to alleviate the traffic and social problems faced by large cities worldwide Most major cities worldwide have been characterised by the phenomenon of steadily growing urbanisation accompanied by exponentially increasing numbers of private motorised vehicles. This has led to congested roads and sprawling cities, with commuters having to travel long distances to and from work. Despite huge inves

Tony Marshall, Director at Arup, looks at ways in which the company encourages sustainable mobility.From policy and systems development through to the design and execution of major infrastructure projects, he reviews Arup's global project experiences and research programmes. Space on roads throughout the modern world is decreasing as the volume of cars and road users increases. How can mobility be safeguarded without compromising quality of life or environmental well-being? As engineers, we have a responsib

Following a government decision, a new model for the management and financing of the road infrastructures sector was defined in 2007 and is now being implemented The national road agency (Estradas de Portugal or EP, EPE) was transformed into a state-owned public company, Estradas de Portugal, SA (EP, SA), and a new body, the Institute for Road Infrastructures (InIR), was created with public functions of regulation and supervision of road infrastructures. InIR is now the Portuguese national road authorit

New trials pave the way for smart road pricing using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In recent years, the concept of road charging has been gaining acceptability among Europe's policymakers.

The Portuguese experience with road safety has proved that planning, development, introduction, and hard work do pay off in the end. Paulo Marques Augusto, president of the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), explained that in the last 10 years a decrease of over 50% has been achieved in the number of fatalities on the road network despite a continuing growth in traffic demand (there are five million vehicles in Portugal), and a similar reduction in travel time on most of the connections between Lisbon a

Twenty years ago Portugal was bottom of the European league in terms of roads and safety. A series of ambitious plans has seen the country rise to the top. Patrick Smith reports on how this was achieved In Portugal, out of 3,600km of main national roads (IP+IC), some 1,500km of motorways/high-capacity routes are financed under public-private partnership (PPP) agreements. These are tolled either using shadow tolls (these are being phased out) or real tolls, and plans are in hand to make routes multi free-fl