A research project led by council directors in collaboration with EY, O2 and Ringway plans to investigate using digital innovation to create a road system for the future.
Council directors' body ADEPT will work with private sector partners to examine how the adoption of new technologies can be sped up in a climate of increasing demand and ever greater financial pressures on local authorities.
Entitled Paving the way to future-proof road networks the project will look at technology such as smart sensors that could monitor traffic flow, structural changes, air pollution and temperature monitoring.
Neil Gibson second vice president of ADEPT and project lead for ADEPT said: ‘The impact of new digital technologies on our road systems over the coming decade cannot be underestimated and local authorities need to be at the forefront of implementing innovation.’
The research project will look at how new and innovative technologies can be used in the construction, maintenance and operation of highways and highways systems. It will explore how existing and emerging technologies can assist and what are the challenges and barriers to take up that will impact on their adoption.
Yogesh Patel, Ringway process and improvement director, said: ‘Digital innovations presents many opportunities for our industry to not only deliver a more connected service to our customers and clients, but could also enable a transformational change in the efficiency of highway infrastructure construction, management, maintenance and operations.'
The project will run from March until July 2017with a final report published in the summer.
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