News

Passenger drones could be seen in the skies above Dubai as early as July 2017, according to the city’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). Speaking at the World Government Summit, Mattar Al Tayer, chairman of RTA, said the pilotless drones, designed to carry a weight of 100kg and a small suitcase, will have a range of 50 km and are on track to take off beginning in July 2017. The drones are part of Dubai’s strategy on autonomous transportation, under which 25 per cent of all journeys within the Emirat

Cintra and Plenary, which have a long history of partnering on infrastructure projects, have combined to create a joint venture business to compete in the Australia and New Zealand road infrastructure market, with a focus on toll road and concession projects. Netflow brings construction capability through Cintra’s sister business Ferrovial Agroman. Cintra CEO Enrique Diaz-Rato said Netflow will play an important role in creating competition in the sector by looking to develop roads with a sharp focus on

Here has announced plans to partner with Japanese car electronics company Pioneer Corporation to deliver fully integrated global SD (standard definition) and HD (high definition) mapping solutions mapping solutions and next generation location-based services for the automotive and other industries. These solutions are intended to support new innovations for customers in in-vehicle infotainment and autonomous driving as well as in any industry where location intelligence can be applied. Here and Pioneer

Sensys Gatso Group has received orders for traffic safety systems valued at US$1.3 million (SEK 11.9 million) from the Flemish Government in Belgium. According to Sensys Gatso, the Belgian market is an important one for the company, which has already received an order from the Belgian Capital Region this year. The country’s market is regionalised and consists of several customers.

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has awarded International Road Dynamics (IRD) a five-year traffic data collection installation and maintenance contract valued at US$7.34 million. Under this agreement, IRD will install, upgrade, repair, operate, and maintain permanently installed traffic data collection sites located within the state of New York. Six types of traffic data collection sites are covered under this contract, including continuous count, automatic vehicle classification

Nedap and local partner Cross have teamed up to monitor on-street parking in the Turkish city of Izmir. As part of a city wide implementation of traffic management, 2,000 parking spaces have been equipped with Nedap’s wireless parking sensor system Sensit, integrated with the Cross InVipo traffic management platform. The system monitors vehicle occupancy of individual parking spaces and provides motorists with real-time information on available spaces via a wide network of variable message signs. In add

US engineering services firm Parsons has received the 2017 Grand Award in the transportation category from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Missouri for the Columbia I 70 Bridges design build project. Parsons was the lead designer for this US$18 million project for the Missouri Department of Transportation, which involved replacing six deficient bridges with five new weathering steel plate girder bridges while accommodating 80,000+ vehicles per day on the road. Built in 1957, the existing

Swarco Traffic is sponsoring the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE) Professional Certificate in Traffic Signal Control, a two-part course that enhances the knowledge and understanding of traffic control schemes. The sponsorship is helping cut the cost for delegates to attend the course, to ensure more within the industry are able to attend. Part one, held between 22 and 23 March, will provide delegates with a broader knowledge and general understanding of the sector, while part two, held on 9 and 10 Ma

Poland's General Directorate for National Roads and Highways awarded CH2M a contract for the feasibility study for the expansion of the country’s 70 km long National Road No.8, which is intended to improve travel times for the 30,000 daily vehicles using the heavily-trafficked portions of the road. As part of the contract, CH2M will develop a corridor study, feasibility study (STEŚ), conceptual design for the selected best option and adjust the model functional and utility program. The feasibility study

Plans to sell the UK’s M6 toll road have failed, according to a report by the Financial Times. The road’s banker owners announced plans to sell the road in February 2016 and are now said to be considering refinancing the business after struggling to secure a US$2.3 billion (£1.9 billion) sale price. Opened in 2003 and operated by Midland Expressway, a subsidiary of Macquarie, the toll road was designed carry 72m000 vehicles a day, but has failed to live up to expectations, with an average of around 4

Swedish bus manufacturer Scania is to supply the Iranian province of Isfahan with 1,350 buses for public transport for Isfahan and four other Iranian cities. The first of these new buses, which are intended to improve air quality in the cities, will be in operation at the end of 2017. Air pollution in Iranian cities has steadily increased in recent years; in cooperation with Iranian authorities, Scania has developed solutions that ensure that local emissions are kept to a minimum with the current fuel qu

Smart motorways expert Mouchel has been appointed by AECOM to jointly deliver two of the latest schemes awarded by Highways England on their smart motorway programme, which includes the M62 Junction 10 to 12 and the M6 Junction 21a to 26, in a contract worth around US$3.5 million (£2.8 million). Both schemes are intended congestion by improving transport links between Warrington and Wigan for the M6 and between Liverpool and Warrington New Town, and Manchester for the M62, while supporting economic growt

Clean diesel technology is the best choice for mitigating NOx emissions in the US as part of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, according to the non-profit education association Diesel Technology Forum. In a presentation at the 2017 Energy Policy Outlook Conference hosted by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), Ezra Finkin, the policy director for the Forum, highlighted why clean diesel technology is the best and most cost-effective choice for the immediate mitigation

During the 2017 Transit Bus Summit in Dallas, Texas Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) will discuss its connected vehicle platform and transit performance analytics, which it says can ensure transit vehicles adhere to published timetables and improve operational efficiencies through detailed performance insights. GTT’s industry-leading Opticom traffic signal priority system with built-in active schedule and headway management capabilities helps to keep transit services on time and performing optimally in

Smart Cities Council has announced named US cities Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia as the five winners of the Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge Grant program. Over 130 cities were involved in the application process. The winning cities will receive a tailored Readiness Workshop during 2017 to develop a roadmap for applying smart technologies to further innovation, inclusion and investment within their cities. They will also receive supporting products and services from Counci