Smart motorway' innovation for achieving greater safety and hard shoulder management

Callaghan, N; Avery, T and Mulville, M (2017) Smart motorway' innovation for achieving greater safety and hard shoulder management. In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 33rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2017, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK.

Abstract

The success of the United Kingdom’s implementation of sustainable development goals rely, to some extent, on the ability of the construction industry to develop resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation. Carbon emissions caused by both road transport and road construction are particular concerns as emissions continue to grow both in absolute terms and as a proportion of total emissions. In an attempt to tackle traffic congestion whilst deliv­er­ing improved environ­men­tal out­comes, smart motorways are becoming more prevalent through technology-driven approaches such as active traffic management (ATM) systems, hard shoulder management (HSM) systems and digital enforcement cameras. Such technologies are able to monitor and respond to fluctuating traffic conditions by altering the speed limit to smooth traf­fic flow, acti­vate warning signs to alert users of haz­ards up ahead and permit the use of the hard shoul­der, either perma­nently or at peak times.This paper investigates smart motorways as a way of reducing congestion and carbon emissions. Central to this, is the exploration of how such motorways are being managed; the drivers and barriers influencing their implementation and their contribution to sustainable infrastructure. This research is one of the first which deals specifically with the topic of smart motorways, where much of the focus to date has been on smart cities alone.

Item Type: Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords: innovation; smart motorways; infrastructure
Index terms: traffic management, sustainable development goal, road construction, exploration, enforcement, construction industry, implementation, becoming, carbon emission, traffic congestion, smart city, United Kingdom, industrialization
Subjects: economic development, civil engineering, Geography, health safety and environment, sustainable design, philosophical process, industry analysis, transportation engineering, climate science, urban sustainability, operations management, environmental resource management, contractual arrangements
Topics: Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Sustainability, Procurement, Urban Studies, Site Management
Descriptive scope: 3 PCT

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here