United Kingdom
Collecting analytical data on roads
Traffic Technology Today, 19.05.2022
The Welsh government uses artificial intelligence technology from Vivacity Labs to analyze the impact of reducing the speed limit on the number of pedestrians and the number of vehicles, as well as on the interaction of pedestrians and vehicles.
In 2019, plans were announced to introduce a new national speed limit of 20 mph in residential areas of Wales by 2023. Phase 1 of this process is the introduction of a 20 mph limit in eight test areas.
Vivacity Labs sensors are deployed to track changes in the number of pedestrians in shopping areas and changes in the exit speed of vehicles at informal crossings. By comparing the data on intersections within 20 mph and 30 mph, it is possible to determine the role that speed plays in the exit coefficients of vehicles at crossings.
Thanks to 3D pose detection, Vivacity Labs' "near miss" capabilities make it possible to accurately analyze the time after an invasion. It is possible to analyze the behavior of vehicles in response to the presence of pedestrians at crossings and provide data-backed evidence of pedestrian safety and compliance with traffic rules.
Mark Nicholson, CEO of Vivacity Labs, says: "This is an exciting, first-of-its-kind initiative in which the collection of data on productive behavior is achieved through the individual application of our innovative Near Miss technology."
Romania
Highway construction
World Highways, 18.05.2022
Italian contractor Webuild will work on a key project in Romania worth more than 1 billion euros. The firm will work as part of a consortium for the construction of the third part of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway.
According to the contractor, the third part of the motorway is the most difficult part, since it will cross the Carpathians between Kornetu and Tigveni for 37.4 km, of which 12.5 km will include bridges and viaducts, as well as a double tunnel with a length of 1.7 km.
The project will face key engineering challenges due to the topography of the planned route. The construction of a two-tube tunnel will be difficult, as will some viaducts and bridges.
The award of the contract followed an international bidding process involving construction companies from Austria, Italy, Romania, Spain and Turkey.
Commissioned by the Compagnia Nationala de Administrare a Infrastructurii Rutiere (CNAIR) on behalf of the Romanian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the work will be carried out by a consortium led by Webuild.
The Italian firm will own 90% of the shares of the project, and the local partner Tancrad — 10%. The contract will be 85% funded from the European Union, and the remaining 15% from public funds.
Webuild is already working on a part of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway. After the completion of the construction of five sections of the road, Sibiu-Pitesti will have a length of more than 122 km, connecting central and western Romania with the motorway network of Europe.
In addition to the tunnel, bridges and viaducts, the third part includes the design and construction of more than 23 km of a two-lane highway, two interchanges in Valen and Cornet, 18 km of reinforcement work, construction of a maintenance center and environmental conservation. There will also be a ferry for animals on the Olt River. This will help reduce traffic congestion between Cornetou and Tigweni by providing an alternative route for national roads.
https://www.worldhighways.com/wh10/news/romanian-road-contract-awarded-0
USA
Bridge replacement works in Georgia
World Highways, 19.05.2022
Work is planned to replace the bridge on the busy SR 400 road in the Atlanta area in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is planned to replace three bridges with new structures on the 26-kilometer section of SR 400, and the work should be completed in 2025.
The construction of new bridges will allow the construction of two new toll lanes in both directions. These additional express lanes will be added between the interchange with I-285 and McFarland Parkway.
The contract worth more than $55 million was awarded by the Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT). CW Matthews Contracting Company/Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering will perform the bridge construction works.
The bridges being replaced are at Pitts Road, Roberts Drive and Kimball Bridge Road. The bridge design and construction work is part of a phased implementation of the planned SR 400 Express Lanes project using an INFRA grant of $184 million received by the Georgia Department of Transportation to reduce congestion on this corridor.
https://www.worldhighways.com/wh10/news/georgia-bridge-replacement-works
Sweden
Use of recycled fly ash for road construction
World Highways, 23.05.2022
In May 2020, Ragn-Sells started construction of the first Ash2Salt processing plant at the processing site in Hegbithorpe near Stockholm — investments in the amount of 55 million US dollars were allocated.
Initially, the plant will be able to receive and process up to 135,000 tons of fly ash per year — slightly less than half of the 300,000 tons of fly ash that Sweden produces annually. Currently, about half of this amount is sent to a limestone quarry on the Norwegian island of Langoya, near Oslo.
Fly ash, which is classified as hazardous waste, is what remains after cleaning flue gases from waste incineration. The Ash2Salt plant will wash the fly ash and extract its constituent salts: sodium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride, and then sell them to manufacturers of various products and a number of commercial applications, including the production of road salt.
https://www.worldhighways.com/wh12/news/circular-salt-sweden