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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ETSI launches first European live trial for intelligent transport systems
    September 21, 2016
    ETSI is launching its 5th ETSI ITS Plugtest, a two week testing event for co-operative transport systems focusing on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, an event which contributes to ITS deployment, tests interoperability of ITS equipment from all key vendors and demonstrates the convergence between ITS and Internet of Things. Testing will take place from 7 to 17 November around the port of Livorno in Italy. In addition the Sea Port Innovation Conference Day will be held on 1
  • Open road tolling: safer with less congestion
    January 30, 2012
    Michael J. Davis of PBS&J looks at the positive effect that open road tolling can have on safety
  • Kapsch to upgrade Maryland’s toll collection equipment
    April 24, 2018
    Kapsch TrafficCom will replace all of Maryland Transportation Authority’s (MDTA’s) roadside tolling equipment. For the upgrade, valued $67m (£47m), Kapsch will utilise radio-frequency identification (RFID) toll readers, automated number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and scanners in the mixed-mode lanes. The company will also install its stereoscopic vehicle detection and classification sensor (nVDC) in the all-electronic toll lanes.
  • A need for order in evolution
    February 27, 2012
    The hit film Jurassic Park took its name from one of the several geological periods or epochs (as they are also known) in which dinosaurs were the dominant land-dwellers.