News

Austria-headquartered Efkon Group has announced that its Efkon India subsidiary has received four prestigious tolling and ITS contracts valued at some US$8.8 million in total. The company has received a repeat contract from Oriental Structural Engineers to provide the complete ITS product-mix for the Nagpur Bypass project. This contract includes the delivery of advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) for 117 kms and 44 lanes of semi-automatic toll system integrated with a weigh-in-motion (WIM) system. Ef

Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) has published the 2011 Congested Corridors Report, the first nationwide effort to identify reliability problems at specific stretches of US highway responsible for significant traffic congestion at different times and different days. Researchers noted that the corridors included in the report were identified by the data itself.

Telvent GIT has successfully launched Maryland’s “511” Traveler Information Service for the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. The service is currently operational and providing information to an average of 14,000 callers and web site visitors each week. Features include an automated interactive voice response (IVR) telephone system for users to access traffic information dialing the “511” code and using voice commands, and a companion website showing traffic information and

Road safety continues to improve in France, according to the latest official statistics. Data from the French Interior Ministry reveals that there were 3,980 road fatalities in the country between 1st November 2010 and 31st October 2011, the lowest number of road-related deaths recorded since 1945. During October 2011, there were 377 road deaths, a 6.4% decline over the same period in October 2010. The French authorities hope to further improve road safety with the planned introduction of a new driving lice

Repair work is underway in Nepal on a key bridge located on the Ratna Highway. The 117m bridge over the Bheri River links Surkhet and Dailekh was built in 1988 by a Chinese construction company and now required urgent repair. Work being carried out includes the removal of corrosion from truss sections using sand blasting and repainting to provide long term protection. Another major part of the repair involves raising the Eastern end of the bridge, which has damaged bolts and subsided due to overweight vehic

Demand for asphalt in the US construction sector is expected to grow 7.4%/year to 31.6 million tonnes in 2015, according to research by the Freedonia Group. This growth will show a rebound from the 2005-2010 period, when consumption declined sharply due to the recession. The Cleveland-based industry market research firm has produced its new study, Asphalt, which shows that paving products accounted for 80% of asphalt consumption in 2010. The report continues that demand for asphalt paving products will bene

The organisers of the 19th ITS World Congress & Exhibition being held from 22-26 October 2012, in Vienna, Austria, have issued a call for papers for the event. The premier ITS event in 2012, coordinated by Ertico - ITS Europe, with the active participation of the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, AustriaTech, ITS Vienna, and the European Commission, aims to have as many female speakers at sessions as possible and is strongly encouraging women in ITS to submit a paper.

The locations of charging points for plug-in vehicles are to be systematically mapped across the UK country to make it easier for motorists to go electric. The National Chargepoint Registry, to be developed by POD Point, a UK-based charge point manufacturer, will be a publicly-accessible database of charge points across the UK. It will allow businesses to innovate and provide products, such as satnav and mobile apps, for plug-in vehicle owners to access. Motorists will then know where and how they can charg

Autovie Venete, the managing company of Italy's motorway routes A4 Venice-Trieste, A23 Palmanova-Udine South and A28 Portogruaro-Pordenone-Conegliano, has deployed a real time traffic video surveillance system based on Infinova cameras and fibre optic transmission technology that was installed by Infinova integrator GSG International.

Econolite has announced that its aluminum enclosures used for its National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) line of traffic cabinets has received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification UL 508A Type 3R for Enclosed Industrial Control Panels in the US and Canada. The Type 3R rating ensures these enclosures provide proper protection against weather hazards, such as rain, sleet, wind blown dust, and damage from external ice formation. The enclosures are designed to allow rigid mounting for pole

Romania's long planned highway expansion programme is finally gathering pace. Funding for the projects has been provided but although many feasibility studies had been carried out, little work had been carried out until now.

Plans for work to a 150km section of the Corridor Vc highway in Bosnia will commence in 2012. Construction of 45km of the highway will be financed by the Government of Federal Bosnia, while the remaining 110km is due to be financed by foreign investors. The cost of the project has not been revealed at this stage. The plans were announced by Bosnia’s Ministry of Urban Planning.