Highway & Network Management

Colas drives measures to improve safety in Area 7 workzones

December 11, 2015

A pilot scheme in the United Kingdom by Colas and Solar and Electric Gates (S&EG) is using a new automatic gate to help protect operatives in Area 7 work zones. The Readi-Guard has been developed for the joint venture A-one+, led by infrastructure contractor Costain. Colas and S&EG joined forces to engineer the gate system, which opens horizontally to allow authorised vehicles into work areas. It safeguards workers because manual gate operation is not required. “The TM Access Gate is a well thought

More money for Associated General Contractors of America’s training

December 11, 2015

A US federal safety grant of has allowed the Associated General Contractors of America to continue to provide highway work zone safety training classes next year. The AGCA said it will use the US$120,000 (€107,000) Susan Harwood Training Grant from the US Department of Labor to offer the classes to highway, street and bridge construction workers. The classes will provide comprehensive information about proper set-up of highway work zones, flagger safety and heavy equipment management, said Stephen San

Workzone vests get wired for sound, thanks to Virginia Tech university

December 11, 2015

Researchers at Virginia Tech university in the United States have put small radio sensors on or inside vests to allows cars to “talk” to one another, roadside infrastructure, and personal electronics such as mobile phones. If a collision is about to occur between a vehicle and a worker, the vest can warn the worker in a matter of seconds about the impending crash. Likewise, the motorist will receive a dashboard notification.The instantaneous alert is possible by short-range communication, according to a sta

New techniques for tackling congestion

December 8, 2015

Transport experts from the Royal Academy of Engineering are proposing methods to reduce traffic congestion. These proposals are included in a discussion document intended to stimulate debate on congestion issues. The working group behind the paper includes industry experts and academic researcher. The team looked at technology and policy measures that could reduce congestion in the most critical transport sectors by 2030, evaluating which measures would be effective and value for money.

India’s major tunnel project well underway

December 1, 2015

The tunnelling portion of India’s Chenani-Nashri tunnel project has now been completed. This 9.2km tunnel is of major importance for India as it will improve the transport connection between the Kashmir Valley and Jammu, reducing the distance by 30km. The tunnel is expected to open for traffic in May 2016 and will feature modern safety systems, setting a precedent for India. Advanced technology will be installed to handle ventilation, communications and traffic management, as well as safety systems such as

Sandvik roadheaders working on highway project in Australia

November 20, 2015

Much of the excavation work for the North Connex highway tunnel project in Sydney, Australia will be carried out by roadheaders from Sandvik. In all, six MT720s, one MT620 and six MT520 machines will work on the project, in addition to six road headers from other suppliers. The work is being carried out by the Lend Lease–Bouygues Joint Venture (LLB JV) and is constructing a strategically important highway. The project is being sponsored by the NSW Government, Transurban and the M7 Westlink Shareholders.

Report into passively safe lighting columns

November 17, 2015

Lighting columns and other roadside structures such as overhead gantries play an essential role in road safety, by improving night time visibility or giving information to drivers. However old generation units themselves pose a potential hazard as they can be impacted by vehicles departing the roadway and potentially with fatal results in the event of a high speed crash. This is why newer passively safe columns have been developed, which are designed to collapse in a controlled fashion when impacted, reduci

Report into passively safe lighting columns

November 16, 2015

Lighting columns and other roadside structures such as overhead gantries play an essential role in road safety, by improving night time visibility or giving information to drivers. However old generation units themselves pose a potential hazard as they can be impacted by vehicles departing the roadway and potentially with fatal results in the event of a high speed crash. This is why newer passively safe columns have been developed, which are designed to collapse in a controlled fashion when impacted, reduci

Department for Transport data shows UK traffic growth

November 12, 2015

Data from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) shows that motor vehicle traffic has increased, for the tenth quarter in succession. Motor vehicle traffic in Great Britain increased by 2.2% in the year ending September 2015 from the previous year. The provisional figure of 505.76 billion vehicle km is the highest rolling annual total ever and 0.6% higher than the pre-recessional peak in the year ending September 2007. The upward trend in traffic volumes is likely to reflect growth in the UK economy, wi

UK support for speed cameras is high, except in London and north-east

November 6, 2015

A national UK survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has shown that although most drivers support speed cameras, people in London and north-east are less enthusiastic. The survey polled 1,000 drivers of all age groups across Britain and asked “It is now common for the authorities to use speed cameras at the side of the road to identify vehicles involved in speeding offences. How acceptable do you think this is?” The national average is 79% but only 69% of Londoners said it was acceptable, do