News

According to a recent poll by infrastructure group HNTB, 79 per cent of US residents would support "would support the addition of a toll on a non-tolled surface transportation facility if it resulted in a safer, congestion-free and more reliable trip." The poll also found 83 per cent of its respondents would also support tolls on highways that are currently free, which has been a source of contentious debate in Washington. HNTB Toll Services Chairman Jim Ely said the finding bolstered the argument o

A widespread congestion-busting road improvement programme worth hundreds of millions of pounds has now tackled 39 bottlenecks, with more than another 80 to be completed in the next seven months. According to the Highways Agency, the US$515 million ‘pinch point’ programme will cut congestion, increase safety and improve journey times and help support the creation of 300,000 new jobs and 144,000 homes. The improvement plans, part of the biggest programme of road enhancements since the 1970s, were dra

In an order worth US280,000, Sensys Traffic is to supply an undisclosed customer in the US with speed in red light monitoring systems The order has been placed by Sensys' partner in the USA, Sensys America and delivery is planned to take place over the course of the current year.

Brazil's transport ministry has approved a plan from mining and transport company Vale to carry out US$4.68 billion in railway infrastructure works. The project falls under the country's northern region logistics program and will facilitate transport of production from Vale's (US$17.6 billion Carajás Serra Sul iron ore project (S11D) which begins in 2015. Civil works will take place along Pará state's Sudeste railway network, connecting S11D to the Carajás railroad, which links to the Ponta da Madeira

Transport engineers and planners in the USA and Australia are set to benefit from innovative road striping and traffic management design software previously only available in the UK. UK company Keysoft Solutions’ new AutoStripe application has been developed by Keysoft Solutions to enable users to design road markings quickly and efficiently in AutoCAD. AutoStripe is based on the developers’ popular KeyLines software extensively used in the UK but has been adapted specifically to comply with North Ame

Robert Poole, co-founder of the Reason Foundation, has worked on transportation policy for more than three decades and is an influential voice on tolling, congestion pricing and infrastructure finance. Writing in his monthly newsletter (link http://reason.org/news/show/surface-transportation-news-131) he voices his scepticism of vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology which may one day allow cars to communicate with each other and with traffic infrastructure to avoid colli

ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) and IBM Singapore have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate and explore opportunities to leverage transport data analytics to promote smarter mobility. The MOU will enable both companies to develop a mutually beneficial partnership into new strategic growth areas in transport data analytics for exchange technical dialogue around their products and capabilities, specifically on the use of smart analytics for urban mobility solutions. They will explo

The Navegantes international airport in Brazil's Santa Catarina state is to be expanded under the federal government's regional plan. The goal is to convert it into a multimodal terminal for cargo and passengers to complement port logistics in the area, civil aviation minister Wellington Moreira Franco said during a meeting with state mayors.

As transportation industry experts from around the world gather in Austin, Texas for the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, 14-17 September, infrastructure solutions firm HNTB Corporation announces the results of a new America THINKS tolling survey, including the public’s views on tolling in the State. According to the survey, close to three in four (73 per cent) Texans who regularly drive on roads or bridges with tolls are pleased with the value

The European Commission has released US$15.3 billion of EU funding to improve European transport connections and invited Member States to propose suitable projects to use the funding. Proposals must be submitted by 26 February 2015. EU financing for transport has tripled to US$33.6 billion for the period 2014-2020, compared to US$10.3 billion for 2007-2013, under the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). This is the first tranche of the new funding for transport to be made available. The funding will

Located near the French capital Paris, the innovative city Les Mureaux successfully introduced smart parking sensors to monitor parking spaces in blue zones this year. The town is using Nedap’s wireless vehicle detection system Sensit, a network of wireless parking sensors which detect vehicle occupancy in parking spaces. The system collects parking data and shares that information with third party parking guidance, enforcement and intelligent transport systems. Information on the real-time availabili

Inrix has been selected by the I-95 Corridor Coalition as one of their preferred providers of real-time traffic information. The majority of member states in the I-95 Corridor Coalition are continuing to use Inrix XD traffic information to help them streamline daily operations, pinpoint investments and deliver better traveller services. The I-95 Corridor Coalition is an alliance of transportation agencies, toll authorities, and related organisations, including public safety, from the State of Maine to t

A consortium of Strabag and its subsidiary Heilit and Woerner has been awarded a US$51.7 million design-and-build contract for a 7.6 kilometre bypass around the city of Kościerzyna in northern Poland. The project comprises the construction of three traffic lanes with one additional lane that can be adapted for traffic if needed. It also includes nine civil engineering structures, including bridges and a railway overpass; environmental protection measures such as noise barriers and wildlife crossings; a

US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a new initiative to reduce the growing number of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities through a comprehensive approach that addresses infrastructure safety, education, vehicle safety and data collection. Injuries and fatalities of pedestrian and people bicycling have steadily increased since 2009, at a rate higher than motor vehicle fatalities. From 2011 to 2012, pedestrian deaths rose six per cent and bicyclist fatalities went up almost s

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and mobile ticketing solutions provider Bytemark are to team up to offer mobile and web based ticketing for the state’s BusPlus program. The BusPlus program, a partnership between MassDOT and private bus operators, offers new regional transportation services to increase intercity and commuter transportation options available across the Commonwealth and New England. The free BusPlus app will utilise Bytemark’s patented mobile ticketing solution,