News

Voters in Baldwin County, Alabama, US, will be asked to approve a county toll authority in the November ballot, according to WKRG. The agency would manage the construction and operation of future toll roads, including the Baldwin Beach Express North, which would connect Interstate 10 to Interstate 65. Voters will be asked to approve a Baldwin County toll authority on the November ballot. It would give the legislature the power to establish a toll authority to oversee the construction and operation of fut

Infrastructure firm AECOM has been selected by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) to provide design services for its initial Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) deployment. This project is part of the Mid-American Association of State Transportation Officials (MAASTO) US$25-million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to provide innovative solutions to critical truck parking needs. As part of this approximately US$4-million contract, AECOM

Dynniq has been awarded a five year contract to deliver the Traffic Signals Asset Renewal (TSAR) programme to upgrade existing traffic signals equipment across the UK City of York, which is looking to reduce its annual maintenance costs. Over five years, the programme will see Dynniq replace around sixty traffic signal junctions and crossings with completely new equipment to a newly developed standard York specification. These installations will utilise the latest traffic controllers from the Dynniq PTC

A joint venture in Japan will begin creating high-definition 3-D maps for self-driving cars in September as part of a government effort to have such vehicles on the road by 2020, when the Tokyo Summer Olympics will be held, reports Nikkei. Mitsubishi Electric company Dynamic Map Planning, mapmaker Zenrin and nine Japanese auto makers will begin creating high definition 3D maps for self-driving cars, digitally charting the country's key expressways by driving a vehicle loaded with special surveying equipm

Eliminating tolls on state highways throughout Texas would be prohibitively expensive, state legislators who are considering such a plan have learned, says the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships. Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) undertook research how much it would take to eliminate the highways for which it is responsible. It estimates the price of removing tolls on those highways would be at least US$24.2 billion and would increase over time, TxDOT executive director James Bass

Flir’s traffic webinars during September provide an introduction to the TrafiOne smart city sensor for traffic monitoring and dynamic traffic signal control. TrafiOne uses thermal imaging to detect the presence of pedestrians and cyclists that are approaching and waiting at the kerb or using the crossing. What’s new in FLUX 3.0 looks at the new features of this video management system, which collects traffic data, events, alarms and video images created by a wide variety of video detection modules. Th

Züblin Scandinavia, a Swedish subsidiary of construction group Strabag, has been awarded the contract by the Swedish Maritime Administration Sjöfartsverket to build a new lock and to enlarge the Södertälje Canal, a part of the Mälaren project, located south of Stockholm in Sweden. The project, with a contract value of US$143 million (€127 million), comprises the construction and installation of a new lock head, lock gates, lock chamber, machine control house, new sheet piling along the canal including a

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has selected 61 projects in 41 states, the Virgin Islands and Indian Country to receive a share of nearly US$211 million to replace, rehabilitate and purchase transit buses and related equipment and construct bus-related facilities. Among the projects selected to receive 2016 Bus Program funding are the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, which will receive approximately US$5.8 million for the expansion and replacement of transit veh

Australia’s first real-world trial of road charging options has found that motorists are open to a different way of paying for the nation’s roads. Transurban chief executive officer Scott Charlton said the first stage of the Melbourne Road Usage Study suggested a user-pays system could work in Australia, providing fair, sustainable and flexible funding for the infrastructure. The 18-month study, led by Transurban and supported by independent research and technology specialists, looked at how people used

Car-sharing network Zipcar has exceeded the million member milestone with operations in more than 500 cities and towns in eight countries across the globe. Zipcar’s annual member survey revealed that nearly 10 percent of members get rid of a car after joining, and 32 per cent would have purchased a vehicle without the presence of Zipcar. As a result of Zipcar’s global membership in eight countries

French autonomous vehicle manufacturer Navya is to partner with transport operator Keolis, supported by Lyon Metropole, in a pilot which will see driverless minibuses on the streets of Lyon.

Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Capital Metro) in Austin, Texas, has partnered with HaCon and Bytemark to develop trip planning tools for both web and mobile platforms. The CapMetro App, which has already been downloaded more than 250,000 times, now features updated traveller tools that provide door-to-door trip planning and real-time data visualisation on a predictive live map.

According to a new survey of almost 1,200 people by road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, 74 per cent of drivers think insurers should provide cover for damage caused by hackers accessing control systems in driverless cars. The results of this survey have been used to guide IAM RoadSmart’s response to the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles’ consultation, Pathway to Driverless Cars.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced 18 infrastructure projects across the country that will receive federal grants as part of the new FASTLANE program. The grants, totalling nearly US$800 million, will be combined with other funding from federal, state, local and private sources to support US$3.6 billion in infrastructure investment in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Michigan would no longer require a driver to be inside a self-driving car while testing it on public roads, according to Associated Press. The legislation was passed unanimously this week by the state Senate, where backers touted the measures as necessary to keep the US auto industry's home state ahead of the curve on rapidly advancing technology.