Skip to main content

ITS awards for highways technology company

Two projects which highways technology company Rennicks says could set the blueprint for a fresh approach to road safety have sparked a double celebration for the company. It has landed the title of Road Marking Project of the Year at the recent Highways Magazine Excellence Awards for a ground-breaking scheme in Scotland using solar-powered active road stud technology. And the company also clinched an ITS Ireland ITS Excellence award after providing the largest solar-powered variable message signs for t
October 31, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Two projects which highways technology company Rennicks says could set the blueprint for a fresh approach to road safety have sparked a double celebration for the company.

It has landed the title of Road Marking Project of the Year at the recent Highways Magazine Excellence Awards for a ground-breaking scheme in Scotland using solar-powered active road stud technology.  And the company also clinched an 7075 ITS Ireland ITS Excellence award after providing the largest solar-powered variable message signs for the inter-urban motorway network in Ireland.

The company’s SR-15 units use LED and solar technology to create delineation shown to be far more effective than traditional retroreflective road studs.  The studs made a big impact in Scotland, where a local authority became the first in the country to install the technology on a major route. Incidents on a stretch of the A719 in East Ayrshire are said to have been reduced by 100 per cent.

Road safety expert Alan Vass, of the Ayrshire Roads Alliance, said such dramatic results could prompt a new approach to highway markings across the country.

Rennicks won the ITS Ireland award after supplying the National Roads Authority with three 5.1 x 3.6m fixed solar-powered full matrix signs capable of remote communication and control. Solar technology enables the signs to be installed in rural areas where there is limited access to electricity supplies.

The signs, which deliver VMS capability in almost any location, were installed as part of a pilot project at strategic locations on the M7, M8 and M11 in Ireland.

Group managing director Michael Flanagan says the prestigious industry prizes are rich reward for the company’s intelligent approach. He said: “We are looking to make big strides in the world of intelligent traffic solutions (ITS) so these awards are a great boost to everyone involved. Intelligent thinking is at the core of our business and this success is a clear illustration that we’re on the right track.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK’s M6 to get VMS to boost safety
    November 18, 2014
    Four of the latest variable message signs (VMS) are to be installed around junction 35 of the M6 motorway at Carnforth, giving drivers better warnings of incidents and other information about the motorway such as weather conditions. As part of the work, new CCTV cameras will be mounted on the VMS signs and standalone masts, allowing Highways Agency traffic officers at the North West Regional Control Centre at Newton-le-Willows to monitor and manage motorway incidents more effectively. A similar, US$2
  • Authorities select enforce now, pay later option
    October 19, 2015
    Outsouring of enforcement services is on the increase internationally as highway and traffic authorities seek further support in resources and expertise from the private sector. Jon Masters reports. Signs of a significant company making moves into a new market can usually be read as indication of likely growth in that particular sector. Q-Free’s expansion from tolling operations into general traffic enforcement could be viewed as surprising as it is moving into what are relatively mature and consolidating m
  • Colombian highway sees ITS tested to the extreme
    November 13, 2014
    One of the most challenging road construction and ITS projects currently underway is the upgrading of the road from Bogota to Villavicencio. Currently it takes four hours to make the 86km journey between Bogota and Villavicencio using the existing single lane in each direction road which passes through some very challenging terrain. It is the only ground connection between central Colombia and the eastern region which represents 40% of the country’s territory.
  • McCain VMS for PennDoT I-76 smart corridor near Philadelphia
    November 15, 2018
    McCain’s variable speed limit signs have been chosen for the new Interstate 76 (Schuylkill Expressway) smart corridor initiatives. The Swarco Group subsidiary says the deal with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDoT) is one of its largest variable messaging signs (VMS) deployments on the US east coast. McCain distributor M.H. Corbin has been awarded the contract for 76 signs to be installed over the next year along nearly 50 miles of the I-76 between King of Prussia and Philadelphia – a majo