Skip to main content

Technology trial a first for roads scheme

A US$124.8 million (£88.4 million) project to upgrade access to one of the UK’s busiest ports is trialling the use of technology to improve the monitoring of highway equipment located along the road, such as street lighting and drainage, to aid future maintenance. Contractors working on the A160 Port of Immingham improvement scheme are using the RedBite asset tool, developed by a Cambridge-based company, to tag Highways England owned assets. RedBite is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge and a m
April 7, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A US$124.8 million (£88.4 million) project to upgrade access to one of the UK’s busiest ports is trialling the use of technology to improve the monitoring of highway equipment located along the road, such as street lighting and drainage, to aid future maintenance.

Contractors working on the A160 Port of Immingham improvement scheme are using the RedBite asset tool, developed by a Cambridge-based company, to tag 8101 Highways England owned assets. RedBite is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge and a member of the HyperCat Consortium. The technology uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Quick Response (QR) Codes and GPS tags.

Once the product is tagged, the data is securely transmitted to a webpage where all data relating to that piece of equipment or asset is recorded for future use.

This is said to be the first time the technology has been used on a road project.  Items which have been tagged so far along the A160 include lighting columns, signs, pavements, culverts and gullies.

The Port of Immingham is the UK’s largest port by tonnage and handles up to 55 million tonnes of goods every year, including nearly 20 million tonnes of oil and 10 million tonnes of coal.

The scheme will see a three-mile section of the A160 between the A180 and the Port of Immingham upgraded to a dual carriageway along its entire length.

Once completed, traffic congestion should be reduced, journey times become more reliable, and safety improved for road users and the local community. There will also be improved access to the Port of Immingham and the surrounding area.

Related Content

  • May 23, 2018
    Drivers urged: ‘Don’t put road workers lives at risk’
    A road junction in Merseyside, UK, has become a hotspot for life-threatening incidents to construction workers, says Highways England. Contractors have reported 23 incidents in two months where their safety has been put at risk by drivers ignoring overnight closures. Road users have driven into roadworks for the £3m improvement project at Switch Island, where the M57, M58 and three A roads all join. One lorry driver travelled through the construction area without stopping - forcing workers to get out
  • August 11, 2021
    Consortium to study UK eHighway feasibility 
    Partners including Siemens hope overhead electricity lines will serve major roads by 2030s
  • April 26, 2013
    ITS asset management matters
    Maintenance of on-road ITS kit needs to become more sophisticated; while new technologies can deliver better road maintenance. David Crawford investigates both sides of the issue "Good information is key to effective ITS asset maintenance,” says Ian Routledge of the Ian Routledge Consultancy (IRC), whose Imtrac (Information Management for TRAffic Control) system is poised for European expansion. Developed as an ‘intelligent filing cabinet’ for storing information about on-road equipment, the online database
  • May 19, 2017
    Trials of new technologies to counter age-old work zone challenges
    New solutions are being used to improve the management and safety of work zones on roads both big and small, as Jon Masters discovers. The UK government has recently been going to some lengths to paint a picture of a nation embracing a future of digital technology – understandably given the economic concerns arising from exiting the European Union. In December last year, however, the UK National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) put down a somewhat different marker for where the UK is now in terms of mobile c