Do we need to put the brakes on Britain’s Smart Motorways? Almost all of us use the motorway network as part of our travels across the country and as Smart Motorways are continuing to be rolled out, we are all developing opinions and perhaps some understanding on their positive and negative impacts. Smart motorway is …

Telensa Smart City Sensors for Urban Data Project to be powered by Qualcomm chips Telensa, a leader in smart street lighting and smart city applications, today announced that its streetlight-based Multi-Sensor Pods, a key element of the Urban Data Project, will be powered by the Qualcomm® SDM845 processor from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. The Qualcomm SDM845 …

EBRD looks at working together for greener cities to help save the planet Urban rivers choked with plastic, exhaust fumes hazing up the sunset over traffic jams, industrial chimney stacks belching smoke, or decrepit old housing leaking heat into the sky. Cities are the source of 70% of energy use and 80% of greenhouse gas …

Extra lanes open on M6 in Cheshire as major upgrade nears completion Drivers heading towards Manchester on the M6 through Cheshire can use an extra lane from today – increasing capacity on one of England’s busiest stretches of motorway by a third. Highways England has opened a fourth lane on the northbound carriageway between Holmes …

Cities are undergoing transport revolutions The privately owned car has long been the leading means of transportation in big cities. But car pools, electric bikes and self-driving vehicles can challenge the car’s dominant position. Over the past 70 years, the car has had a major impact on urban planning and the way our cities are …

City dwellers are demanding smart traffic measures to cut commute times The UK is among the most congested countries in the world, with a reported 37.5 million vehicles registered for use on UK roads last year – and now a new report, by ATG Access reveals that almost two-thirds (65%) of city-dwellers are frustrated with …

Highways England looking for smart alliances for England’s busiest motorways Highways England has today invited companies to join a £4.5bn alliance to improve motorway journeys and continue work to connect the country, to deliver the roads of the future. The government company has launched the procurement process for its Smart Motorway Alliance. It needs six …

Over two thirds of people don’t know what a Smart City is Almost 70% of the UK public (68%) do not know what a smart city is or the benefits it can bring, according to new research. Despite widespread global investment in the digital transformation of public spaces and the smart city concept, a study …

Building a new City from the ground up With Santa Cruz emerging as Latin America’s fastest growing powerhouse, Bolivia’s biggest city is struggling to control its exponential spread. Now a brand-new city is being built from scratch to ease the boom town’s accelerated urbanization. In the fifth episode of The Megaproject Listing, Volvo Construction Equipment …

The visionaries shaping healthy cities of the future Did you know that cities account for three quarters of all global carbon emissions? Here we highlight the experts who are striving to create a cleaner and more socially responsible urban environment. According to the United Nations, by 2050, more than two thirds of the world’s entire …

Cleverciti Systems and FoxNet announce distribution partnership in Canada Cleverciti Systems Corp., a leader in comprehensive, high-tech solutions for outdoor and on-street parking detection, monitoring and guidance, and FoxNet, a Waterloo-based IT service provider, announced today a partnership to bring Cleverciti’s innovative parking solutions to FoxNet’s distribution network in the Canadian market. FoxNet will offer …

A connected world is in sight A simple Google search for ‘connected autonomous vehicles UK’ brings up over nine million hits, with most notably the UK Governments website providing a useful central point for their efforts (spoiler alert: there is a lot about funding opportunities and pictures of pods) in bringing together what is undoubtedly …

Galliford Try and Costain win Smart Motorway Award The Smart motorways scheme on the M1 between junctions 13 and 16 being progressed by the Galliford Try Costain joint venture has won Highways England’s Smart Motorways Programme project of the year award. All 12 ongoing schemes nationwide were assessed on the basis of safety, customer service …

The Future of Construction in America Exciting change will reward the aware contractor Hop in a car and drive anywhere and chances are the drive will be on roads and highways that need patching, resurfacing, or widening, and bridges often show signs of needed maintenance. Sadly, things are in bad shape. On the last two …

Siemens deploys 1,000th Traffic Enforcement Camera Siemens, a global leader in traffic management technology, has supplied and installed its 1,000th traffic enforcement camera in the UK this year to monitor traffic on the newly-constructed A612 Daleside Road bus lane, the first in the UK to allow exemptions to Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs). The milestone …

Telensa Partners with FarSite for Wireless Bin Sensing for Smart Cities Telensa, the world leader in smart street lighting and smart city applications, today announced that it is working with FarSite Communications to integrate its wireless bin monitoring into the Telensa smart city dashboard. By deploying FarSite wireless netBin sensors, local authorities and their contractor …

Aviva, BP, Hastings Direct and Honda R&D Europe unite for the evolution of transport The founder members of a Shared Research Programme (SRP) have been announced today: Aviva, BP, Hastings Direct and Honda R&D Europe. These major companies have confirmed their investment into a 3 year foundation research programme, led by TRL in a strategic …

Smart Motorway construction revolutionised by long-reach telescopic leader rig The construction environment around Britain’s SMART motorway network is set to be revolutionised by the impending arrival of the world’s first long-reach telescopic leader rig, due to land on British soil at the end of September. The TM 12/15 LR was specifically commissioned by the UK’s …

BAM awarded €60 million citydev.brussels multifunctional projects citydev.brussels, the public body responsible for the urban development of the Brussels-Capital Region, has awarded BAM the contracts for two new projects in the Brussels borough of Anderlecht. Both projects (with a combined value of €60 million) were jointly developed by the property development companies of BAM Belgium …

Smart motorway work set to increase Britain’s M62 capacity by a third Construction work to increase the capacity of one of the M62, the North West’s busiest stretches of motorway by a third started this weekend. Contractors for Highways England will begin work on the M62 near Eccles as part of a smart motorway project …

First Smart Motorway is fully-operational in Manchester Drivers using the M60 in Greater Manchester are now enjoying the benefits of the region’s first smart motorway. The technology went live on Tuesday on the final M60 section between junction 10 and junction 18, meaning that the whole of the motorway between junction 8 of the M60 …

Urban Observatory monitors Newcastle with new generation of sensors Air Monitors is playing a key role in the UK’s first Urban Observatory which has been designed to provide a digital view of how our cities work. The company has supplied air quality monitoring equipment which has been deployed across Newcastle and Gateshead in conjunction with …

Smart thinking could improve driver safety perception of Britain’s Smart Motorways Smart Motorways were first introduced in 2006 to address increasing congestion and since then have been proven to improve journey time reliability and prevent fatalities. Despite the Government’s Road Investment Strategy championing Smart Motorways with a £3 billion investment to add an additional 240 …

McCann helping to keep the midlands moving with M1 Smart Motorway junction works Nottingham-based civil and electrical engineering firm McCann is playing a key part in the upgrade of a major midlands route through the implementation of essential works as part of the M1 junction 23a – 25 smart motorway scheme. The project to upgrade …

It’s coming home! So be safe and marvel at England’s two ‘World Cup’ motorways Football mania is expected to leave England motorways with up to a third less traffic tomorrow night. As fans’ cheer on Harry Kane and co in their bid for World Cup semi-final glory, the country’s busiest roads are set to fall …

40 metre superspan electronic sign gantry to span M6 Smart Motorway in England A giant 40-metre-wide superspan gantry structure will be lifted into place over the M6 in Cheshire next week to help improve the journeys of the 118,000 drivers who use the route every day. The huge 20-tonne gantry will span the width of …

Will online shopping reshape our cities and transport infrastructure E-commerce has changed our shopping habits, and is also influences logistics, city infrastructure planning and properties. The impact will become more and more apparent as online shopping continue to increase driving deliveries and changing the way people interact with current retail centres. With e-commerce turnover increasing …

Do not use the motorway hard shoulder as a naughty step It’s a familiar scene for most parents driving on a motorway – children misbehaving. But the answer is not to do as one set of parents did and use the hard shoulder as a naughty step. The shocking action on the side of the …

Majority of UK drivers are concerned about Smart Motorway safety A SURVEY by road safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist has shown that two thirds of motorists are concerned about safety on smart motorways. In the survey, which was completed during March 2018 by more than 2,500 people, the main concern (expressed by 51%) …

Helix Core from Perforce chosen for Transurban’s IoT Urban Road Infrastructure Projects Perforce Software, a provider of solutions to enterprise teams requiring productivity, visibility, and scale along the development lifecycle, announced that Helix Core is the chosen version control system to support Transurban’s extremely large DevOps-based development projects. Transurban’s projects include express lanes and tunnels …

Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils pilot UK innovation in smart city services Essex County Council and Hertfordshire County Council have announced that they are working together to pilot new smart city services. The project, a partnership with Cambridge-based technology firm Telensa, will assess the potential quality-of-life and economic benefits of a range of smart city technologies. …

Clearview Intelligence wins Newcastle City traffic signal tender As leaders in the provision of alternatives to traditional vehicle detection loop technology, Clearview Intelligence has announced that their wireless vehicle detection tender has been successful for the Newcastle City Council’s ITT. The tender covers the provision of wireless vehicle detection kit, using Clearview’s M100 product range …

Cities of the future may be built with volcanic ash Study finds adding volcanic ash reduces the overall energy required to manufacture concrete. MIT engineers working with scientists in Kuwait have found that volcanic rocks, when pulverized into a fine ash, can be used as a sustainable additive in concrete structures. In a paper published …

MIT Intelligence Quest looks to drive positive influences on virtually every aspect of society MIT has announced the launch of the MIT Intelligence Quest, an initiative to discover the foundations of human intelligence and drive the development of technological tools that can positively influence virtually every aspect of society. The announcement was first made in …

MIT Professor releases a manifesto for designing cities “The city is a people’s art, a shared experience,” a Philadelphia architect and planner named Edmund Bacon once wrote, adding that any urban designer’s job was to “conceive an idea, implant it, and nurture its growth in the collective minds of the community.” It sounds like a …

Extra lanes to open before Christmas on Manchester smart motorway Drivers will be able to use over ten miles of extra lanes on the M62 near Rochdale in time for Christmas. Highways England is opening a permanent fourth lane in each direction between junctions 18 and 20 as part of a phased opening of the …

ODI welcomes new Geospatial Commission and measures to open up land data in UK The Open Data Institute has called for open land data for a long time, both in the UK and abroad. By opening up mapping data – previously only accessible to large companies who could afford it – the UK government will enable …

Amsterdam aims for smart city status with help from Schmidt sweeping technology Amsterdam is considered to be a smart city and with “Climate Street”, for example, it initiated a flagship project for the Netherlands as a whole. By 2040, Amsterdam wants to be one of the top cities in the world when it comes to …

Los Angeles DoT selects INRIX for Urban Mobility Intelligence Los Angeles drivers spent an average of 104 hours last year in traffic jams during peak congestion hours – more than any other city in the world – as identified by the 2016 INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard. To improve Urban Mobility Intelligence, the Los Angeles Department …

Traffic jams and congestion cost the UK £30 billion a year The UK is the third most congested country in Europe and we spend an average of 32 hours each year stuck in peak hour traffic. According to the latest report from Inrix the combined cost of congestion on the UK’s roads added up to …

Wider lanes for drivers on England’s M62 smart motorway near Rochdale Drivers on a 5-mile stretch of the M62 near Rochdale can now benefit from wider lanes, helping to improve the flow of traffic on one of the busiest motorways in the region. Temporary narrow lanes have been removed between junctions 18 and 20, marking …

AGD Systems brings next-generation ITS solutions to Traffex Road Expo Scotland AGD Systems, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of ITS product solutions, will be exhibiting at this year’s Traffex Road Expo Scotland – 1-2 November 2017, at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh. AGD’s new 350 Traffic Control Radar will headline its Traffic & Pedestrian Control …

Smart and responsive Pedestrian Crossing unveiled in London The world’s first responsive road crossing is being showcased in London as a prototype solution, aimed at tackling the 7,000+ incidents recorded each year at UK crossings between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. Urban design technologists Umbrellium created the crossing for insurer Direct Line, in response to research …

Driving efficiency into road planning In the highways industry, there is, quite rightly, a well-worn path of using Consultants to advise on best practice. There is nothing wrong with this approach as long as you are sure the Consultants are knowledgeable on the latest thinking and open minded to trying new ideas, but all too …

Atkins and Moovit partner to help shape future transit systems and smart cities Design, engineering and project management consultancy, Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, and Moovit, the world’s largest transit data and analytics company, have signed a global agreement that will help cities improve their transit systems and become more efficient smart cities. …

Three ways that universities can improve their parking acumen with intelligence Across the Higher Education sector, universities are having to become increasingly streamlined, find new ways to exploit their estates to maximise income, and secure alternative funding streams outside of the traditional routes. Driving efficiency, reducing costs, maintaining and improving the estate, and increasing the …

Pre-construction planning software helps build Winery Visitor Centre In the world of fine wine there was a time long ago when those with sophisticated palettes would harrumph and turn up their nose at the thought of sipping an American-produced wine. It was harshly referred to as drinking swill. It was thought that the climate, growing …

Siemens upgrades their hosted traffic management platform Siemens, a global leader in traffic management technology, has announced major upgrades to the latest hosted application modules for Stratos, the company’s cloudbased strategic traffic management solution. According to David Pregon, Senior Product Manager (Systems), with the latest updates to Strategy Manager, Traffic Signals and Journey Time modules, …

Signalling the way forward for traffic controls The JCT Symposium always signals the start of the next round of events for Clearview Intelligence. JCT takes place at the University of Warwick every September and offers a unique opportunity for traffic signal engineers to exchange knowledge, experience and good practice. This year, the multi-award winning intelligent …

Major new ITS contract awarded to Siemens in Northern Ireland A new long-term contract to maintain traffic management equipment throughout Northern Ireland (NI) for a minimum period of four years has been awarded to Siemens by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), NI. With traffic signal equipment at more than 1,200 sites, 950 Safer Routes to …

AGD launches next-gen Traffic Control Radar at JCT Symposium AGD Systems, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of ITS product solutions, will launch its next-generation AGD 350 Traffic Control Radar at JCT Symposium & Exhibition – 20-21 September 2017, at the University of Warwick. The 350 is a sophisticated multi-lane loop replacement radar with stationary …

How to get a good return from your road safety investment The latest reported road casualties in Great Britain figures are due out later this month. Based on the last 5 years of results, a sudden decline in road deaths in not anticipated. Improvements in the number of deaths on our roads have stagnated since …

Stress absorbing membrane delivers a stronger, safer and more reliable motorway A Stress Absorbing Membrane Interlayer has delivered stronger, safer and more reliable running lanes for the M3 smart motorway project in Surrey. More than 130,000 vehicles use the M3 between Junctions 2 (Thorpe and the M25) and 4a (Farnborough) every day. As part of …

Connected cities need connected car parks A ‘connected city’, also known as a ‘smart city’, relies on an intelligent infrastructure which utilises the wealth of innovation and technologies created by Internet of Things (IoT) and applies them to urban needs. There is a plethora of new and emerging devices and equipment that can sense the …

Atkins and INRIX sign BIG DATA global partnership for transportation infrastructure projects Atkins, one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, has signed a global partnership agreement with INRIX, the world leader in connected car services and transportation analytics, which will enable traffic information from millions of miles of road to …

Look No Wires – Using wireless vehicle detection to reduce congestion Traffic flows better and congestion is reduced when signalised junctions use adaptive traffic control (ATC) systems such as SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique) and MOVA (Microprocessor Optimised Vehicle Actuation). As a traffic engineer you will be well aware of the benefits of adaptive …

Cheshire’s new smart motorway safety barrier nears completion Last 4-tonne concrete blocks lifted into place on M6 A new 20-mile-long concrete safety barrier on the M6 in Cheshire is nearing completion as part of a £274 million project to upgrade the route to a smart motorway. The Highways England scheme between junction 16 at Crewe …

Clearview Intelligence celebrates Brake Award nomination for safety innovation Clearview Intelligence has long been an active supporter of Brake, the road safety charity, so was were delighted to learn that they are finalists in the Brake Fleet Safety Awards 2017 for the Innovation category. Clearview believe that innovative and infrastructure-based technology solutions will make the …

Doka’s Concremote concrete sensor technology crowned “Commercial Innovation of the year” Doka UK was awarded for the innovative concrete- sensor technology Concremote with this year’s Construction News Award. Concremote allows construction firms to digitally monitor their concrete mix by providing live data on the temperature and hydration of in-situ concrete. The award-winning concrete sensor technology …

Targeting night-time road safety will reduce fatal accidents The 11th road safety performance index report was released last month. This report monitors progress on the European Union’s commitment to reduce road deaths by 50% between 2010 and 2020, and ranks all EU countries according to the percentage change in road deaths as they work towards …

Providing local parking can be a juggling act There is a juggling act that Local Authorities face when providing parking facilities. They are having to face up to a no-win situation. If they please their residents by reserving parking spaces they will risk upsetting visitors. If they provide visitors with plenty of parking to their …

M3 Motorway in England gets first ‘Orange’ Smart Motorway Emergency Area The first of a new-style smart motorway emergency area, where drivers can stop in an emergency, is being trialled on the M3 in Surrey. The redesigned emergency area has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to help improve its visibility make …

Summer’s coming! Keep the holiday traffic flowing smoothly with Clearview The summer holiday season is almost upon us and with it the inevitable increase in traffic on the roads. Clearview Intelligence has the solutions to keep the traffic moving, minimise congestion, and driver frustration. Have the right data at your fingertips to make informed decisions …

INRIX and APCOA partner to provide the most comprehensive parking data in Europe INRIX the world leader in connected car services and movement analytics, and APCOA Parking Group, the largest European parking operator, today announced a major new partnership to exchange parking information. This new deal strengthens INRIX’s parking offering and means its customers, who …

INRIX powers the first on-street parking service in a connected car INRIX, the world leader in connected car services and transportation analytics has announced the availability of its On-Street Parking service for the new BMW 5 Series Sedan. INRIX delivers the industry’s first real-time on-street parking service in a connected car, which uses historical and …

Parsons joins MIT Industrial Liaison Program Parsons announces that it has joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Industrial Liaison Program (ILP), a program dedicated to creating and strengthening mutually beneficial relationships between MIT and corporations worldwide. Parsons and MIT held an ILP kickoff meeting in Cambridge, MA, on June 26, 2017. By participating in …

Scotland’s M8 closure journey times monitored by Clearview Intelligence As part of a significant upgrade to the Scottish motorway network Transport Scotland put in place a 10-week diversion on all M8/A8 approaches to the Baillieston interchange while they connected the newly built M8 motorway section with the existing network. Throughout the period of the necessary …

Highways England opens new fourth lane on M3 smart motorway Main construction on a £174 million project to upgrade the M3 in Surrey and Hampshire to a smart motorway has been completed on time Highways England announced today (Saturday 1 July). Overnight on Friday 30 June, the last of the cones were removed and a …

Parsons’ I-80 SMART Corridor Project named operational efficiency project of the year Parsons recently accepted the “Operational Efficiency Project of the Year” award from the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) for the I-80 SMART Corridor Project that uses Parsons’ Intelligent Transportation System technology to maximize safety and efficiency of one of the busiest transportation corridors in …

ProCon Partners on route for bumper year with a share of £2.4 billion Highways England contracts ProCon Partners, the leading project controls consultancy, has won a series of projects with Highways England to ensure the smooth delivery of smart motorway installations across England. The five projects, which have a combined overall value of £2.4billion, will …

Asian Development Bank calls for integrated transport solutions and urban planning for liveable cities in Asia Providing sustainable transport solutions for Asia’s rapidly growing cities is the region’s most urgent transport challenge. Developing Asia now has 33 cities with a population of more than 5 million people. This rapid urban growth has created an enormous strain …

Parsons and MIT host infrastructure, smart cities, and transportation workshop In early March, Parsons and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT’s) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering hosted the Infrastructure, Smart Cities, and Transportation workshop. The day-long event brought together leadership representatives from Parsons and faculty, postdocs, and alumni from cross-cutting MIT programs to explore …

3DRepo develop safety virtual reality app for Balfour Beatty and Highways England 3DRepo is working with Balfour Beatty, Vinci and Highways England to deploy a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation for Zero Harm Health and Safety Training. Part of the Smart Motorway programme, the fully immersive simulation is designed to prevent on-site accidents by making highways …

The California Energy Commission is investing in a US$2 million study to see whether piezoelectric crystals can be used to produce electricity from the mechanical energy created by vehicles driving on roads. Thousands of piezoelectric crystals could be embedded in the road to convert mechanical energy from the weight of passing vehicles into electricity. It is estimated that piezoelectric …

Roadbounce App measures road roughness and driving comfort – on the go! Road roughness and unevenness play an important role in the quality of driving experience, vehicle fuel consumption, and is a major indicator of problems in the roadway that have developed or are about to develop. To provide an effective system to measure road …

Solar Roads – A great idea in principal The latest excitement being generated by the alternative energy industry is Solar Roads. Colas, a subsidiary of the French engineering firm Bouygues, has developed its Wattway solar road technology and has plans for about 100 trials worldwide including three trial sites in the United Kingdom. More than …