Entrance Road Research Articles

Analisa Kerusakan Jalan Akibat Beban Kendaraan di Gerbang Masuk Kota Jambi Paal 10 – Simpang 4 Paal 10 Kota Jambi

The Palembang - Jambi highway is a very busy route. Along the road at the entrance to Jambi City, Paal 10 - Simpang 4 Paal 10, Jambi City is passed by many vehicles because this road is one of the roads that is open to pass through heavy vehicles carrying loads. This is also one of the causes of rapid damage to flexible road pavement. The aim of this research is to determine the average daily traffic volume of vehicles passing through the asphalt pavement at the entrance gate of Jambi City, Paal 10 - intersection 4 Paal 10, Jambi City, to find out the effect of vehicle load on the level of road damage on the entrance gate of Jambi City. Paal 10 – Simpang 4 Paal 10 Jambi City. This research method uses guidelines from Bina Marga Pd T-14-2003. Average daily traffic data (LHR) on the entrance road to the city of Jambi Paal 10 – intersection 4 Paal 10 Jambi City on Saturday is 6,702 vehicles, on Sunday it is 6650 vehicles and on Monday it is 6719 vehicles. From this data, the total LHR from the vehicle analysis results is 1115 vehicles/hour. and the results of the Truck Factor calculation are 3.775 > 1, where this value shows that the condition of the damage to the road at the entrance to the city of Jambi Paal 10 - intersection 4 Paal 10 Jambi city is due to the excessive load of vehicles passing through it. The excessive load factor that occurs causes 2 types of damage, namely groove distortion with a high level of damage and alligator cracks.

Traffic Volume Forecast of Parking Lot Entrance and Exit Roads

As people's living standards improve, commercial plaza development also more and more quickly, commercial plaza and the surrounding areas of transport vehicles, in the parking lot entrances and exits of highway road traffic conditions, the parking lot entrances and exits of low traffic capacity and traffic organization chaos (motor vehicles, electric vehicles and the status of the bicycle traffic complex). It is necessary to predict the traffic volume of the entrance and exit roads of the parking lot. In ningyang county lingyun building as an example, through direct observation records investigation parking lot parking condition and facilities, analysis of traffic organization form of the parking lot entrances, investigate the status of the parking lot entrance road and surrounding roads, using artificial paper counting method to collect parking entrance road traffic flow, speed and other data, The time series moving average and exponential smoothing are used to predict the traffic volume at the entrance and exit of the parking lot. The prediction results show that the two methods are suitable for the parking lot entrance traffic volume prediction, and the moving average method is more accurate than the exponential smoothing method, which is closer to the actual value.

Development and Application of Digitally Intelligent Traffic Signal Lights in the "Internet+" Era

Traffic signal lights are an important part of the modern urban transportation system and play a vital role in the control and management of urban road traffic. Based on the research background of the "Internet+" era, this paper expounds the combination and spatial application configuration of traffic lights in China, and deeply analyzes the advanced functions of traffic lights after intelligent transformation and upgrading, as well as the convenient and green travel experience provided. By using the example analysis method, through the flow data collection of each entrance road at the intersection of Weiyang Road and Fengcheng 2nd Road in Weiyang District, Xi'an City, with the help of Synchro software, the difference in control efficiency between the use of traditional timing signal lights and the use of intelligent induction collaborative signals is compared, and the necessity of the advancement and development of digital intelligent signal lights is further demonstrated.

Optimization of Signal Timing for Urban Expressway Exit Ramp Connecting Intersection.

To alleviate the traffic problems of congestion and queue overflow on a mainline at the intersection of an urban expressway exit ramp articulation during peak hours, a bi-level programming optimization model of signal timing is proposed. The lower-level optimization objective is to maximize the capacity of the expressway exit ramp that articulates with the entrance road, while the upper-level optimization objective is to minimize the average vehicle delay and the number of stops per vehicle, taking into account the queue length in the direction of the ramp and other directions. The particle swarm optimization algorithm is selected to solve the proposed model, applied to a real case, and is validated using MATLAB and VISSIM simulation platforms. The simulation results show that the average vehicle delay and the number of stops per vehicle in the exit ramp on the expressway are reduced by 22.09% and 18.60%, while those in the intersection area are reduced by 20.96% and 17.19%, respectively. The conclusion indicates that the signal timing scheme obtained by this method can effectively improve the traffic efficiency at the intersection of the exit ramp on the expressway and alleviate the problem of congestion and the overflow of the exit ramp back to the mainline.

Measurements of Terrestrial Gamma Dose Rate Distributions along Idiroko Road, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria: Health Implications on Roadside Dwellers

An extensive study concerning the terrestrial gamma dose rates of the surface soils from Canaanland entrance Road, Ota to Eleha Complex along Idiroko Road, Ota has been carried out to cover the road running across both areas. The In-situ measurements of gamma dose rates and radionuclides were carried out using the Gamma detector (Super Spec RS 125). The result shows that the average outdoor gamma dose rate in the study area is 73.57 nGyh−1. The average values of the radionuclides obtained were 32.9 Bq/kg for 238U, 68.4 Bq/kg for 232Th, and 328.7 Bq/kg for 40K. The background dose rate of 113.3 nGy/h was found in station 9 and is twice higher than the recommended permissible limit of 59 nGy/h suggested by UNCSEAR, 2000, and ICRP, 1999, respectively. Results were obtained based on radiological parameters for the outdoor absorbed dose rate (Dout) with a mean value of 73.57 nGyh−1, the indoor absorbed dose rate (Din) with a mean value of 131.84 nGyh−1, the annual effective dose rate (AEDR) with a mean value of 0.74, the radium equivalent (Raeq) with a mean value of 156.0, the internal hazard index (Hin) with a mean value of 0.51, the external hazard index (Hex) with a mean value of 0.42 and the excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) with a mean value of 2.57. Similarly, results obtained from estimated radiological parameters show that the station with the highest value for radium equivalent (Raeq), external hazard index (Hex), internal hazard index (Hin), and annual effective dose rate (AEDR) is Station 9 at 237.91 Bq/Kg, 0.64, 0.72 and 1.13 mSvy−1 respectively while the station with the lowest value for radium equivalent (Raeq), external hazard index (Hex), internal hazard index (Hin) and annual effective dose rate (AEDR) is Station 17 at 85.58 Bq/Kg, 0.23, 0.27 and 0.40 mSvy−1 respectively. This study will serve as a guide on assessing the road construction materials on radioactive contents before application to reduce the exposure risks to the populace along the busy roadsides.

An Analysis of the Effect of Non-Parking Facilities in Parking-Only Buildings on the Traffic Inducement Rate

The designation parking-only building (POB)was first introduced in the Parking Lot Act on 14 December 1991. According to the law, POBs can be used for purposes other than parking facilities, that is, non-parking facilities (NPFs), up to 70% of the total floor area. In addition, the POB is an infrastructure in accordance with the National Land Planning and Utilization Act. Excessive introduction of NPFs in a POB weakens the public nature of the building and creates additional demand for parking due to NPFs, thus changing the original meaning of a parking lot. However, on the other hand, NPFs in POBs have a positive aspect in that they contribute to the realization of a compressed city through mixed-use development and increased user convenience. This study investigated and analyzed the usage status of NPFs for POBs in 31 cities in Gyeonggi-do, Korea. In addition, the amount of traffic generated by NPFs was defined as the traffic inducement rate (TIR) and policy implications were presented by analyzing the influencing factors. The ratio of NPFs in POBs was 20% on average, but 3% in public parking lots, and 24% in private parking lots. Most of the NPFs used were for-profit facilities such as neighborhood living facilities and sales facilities. As a result of analyzing the factors affecting the TIR, it was analyzed that the larger the total floor area of a POB, the higher the private ownership, the smaller the number of parking spaces; and the larger the entrance road width, the greater the TIR. In order to prevent excessive change in the use of POBs, the ratio limit of NPFs will be gradually lowered in proportion to the total floor area and public parking lots will be expanded. In the planning stage, meticulous district-wide planning is required for the use and ratio of NPFs in POBs according to the access road type. This article will be meaningful if you want to supply a POB that satisfies suppliers, consumers, and users. In particular, it will enable government officials who decide and implement policies related to POBs to recognize that full-scale research is necessary.

Impact of community masking on COVID-19: A cluster-randomized trial in Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION:Mask usage remains low across many parts of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic, and strategies to increase mask-wearing remain untested. Our objectives were to identify strategies that can persistently increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of increasing mask-wearing on symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections.RATIONALE:We conducted a cluster-randomized trial of community-level mask promotion in rural Bangladesh from November 2020 to April 2021 (N = 600 villages, N = 342,183 adults). We cross-randomized mask promotion strategies at the village and household level, including cloth versus surgical masks. All intervention arms received free masks, information on the importance of masking, role modeling by community leaders, and in-person reminders for 8 weeks. The control group did not receive any interventions. Participants and surveillance staff were not informed of treatment assignments, but project materials were clearly visible. Outcomes included symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (primary) and prevalence of proper mask-wearing, physical distancing, social distancing, and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 illness (secondary). Mask-wearing and distancing were assessed through direct observation at least weekly at mosques, markets, the main entrance roads to villages, and tea stalls. Individuals were coded as physically distanced if they were at least one arm’s length from the nearest adult; social distancing was measured using the total number of adults observed in public areas. At 5- and 9-week follow-ups, we surveyed all reachable participants about COVID-19–related symptoms. Blood samples collected at 10- to 12-week follow-ups for symptomatic individuals were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.RESULTS:There were 178,322 individuals in the intervention group and 163,861 individuals in the control group. The intervention increased proper mask-wearing from 13.3% in control villages (N = 806,547 observations) to 42.3% in treatment villages (N = 797,715 observations) (adjusted percentage point difference = 0.29; 95% confidence interval = [0.26, 0.31]). This tripling of mask usage was sustained during the intervention period and for 2 weeks after. Physical distancing increased from 24.1% in control villages to 29.2% in treatment villages (adjusted percentage point difference = 0.05 [0.04, 0.06]). We saw no change in social distancing. After 5 months, the impact of the intervention on mask-wearing waned, but mask-wearing remained 10 percentage points higher in the intervention group. Beyond the core intervention of free distribution and promotion at households, mosques, and markets; leader endorsements; and periodic monitoring and reminders, several elements had no additional effect on mask-wearing, including text reminders, public signage commitments, monetary or nonmonetary incentives, and altruistic messaging or verbal commitments.The proportion of individuals with COVID-19–like symptoms was 7.63% (N = 12,784) in the intervention arm and 8.60% (N = 13,287) in the control arm, an estimated 11.6% reduction after controlling for baseline covariates. Blood samples were collected from consenting, symptomatic adults (N = 10,790). Adjusting for baseline covariates, the intervention reduced symptomatic seroprevalence by 9.5% (adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.91 [0.82, 1.00]; control prevalence = 0.76%; treatment prevalence = 0.68%). We find that surgical masks are particularly effective in reducing symptomatic seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2. In villages randomized to surgical masks (N = 200), the relative reduction was 11.1% overall (adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.89 [0.78, 1.00]). The effect of the intervention is most concentrated among the elderly population; in surgical mask villages, we observe a 35.3% reduction in symptomatic seroprevalence among individuals ≥60 years old (adjusted prevalence ratio = 0.65 [0.45, 0.85]). We see larger reductions in symptoms and symptomatic seropositivity in villages that experienced larger increases in mask use. No adverse events were reported.CONCLUSION:A randomized-trial of community-level mask promotion in rural Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the intervention increased mask usage and reduced symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, demonstrating that promoting community mask-wearing can improve public health.

The Impact of Community Masking on COVID-19: A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Bangladesh

Author(s): Abaluck, Jason; Kwong, Laura H; Styczynski, Ashley; Haque, Ashraful; Kabir, Md. Alamgir Kabir; Bates-Jeffries, Ellen; Crawford, Emily; Benjamin-Chung, Jade; Raihan, Shabib; Rahman, Shadman; Benhachmi, Salim; Zaman, Neeti; Winch, Peter J; Hossain, Maqsud; Mahmud Reza, Hasan; All Jaber, Abdullah; Gulshan Momen, Shawkee; Laz Bani, Faika; Rahman, Aura; Saiha Huq, Tahrima; Luby, Stephen P; Mushfiq Mobarak, Ahmed | Abstract: Mask usage remains low across many parts of the world during the COVID- 19 pandemic, and strategies to increase mask-wearing remain untested. Our objectives were to identify strategies that can persistently increase mask-wearing and assess the impact of increasing mask-wearing on symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial of community-level mask promotion in rural Bangladesh from November 2020 to April 2021 (N=600 villages, N=342,126 adults). We cross-randomized mask promotion strategies at the village and household level, including cloth vs. surgical masks. All intervention arms received free masks, information on the importance of masking, role modeling by community leaders, and in-person reminders for 8 weeks. The control group did not receive any interventions. Neither participants nor field staff were blinded to intervention assignment. Outcomes included symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (primary) and prevalence of proper mask-wearing, physical distancing, and symptoms consistent with COVID-19 (secondary). Mask-wearing and physical distancing were assessed through direct observation at least weekly at mosques, markets, the main entrance roads to villages, and tea stalls. At 5 and 9 weeks follow-up, we surveyed all reachable participants about COVID-related symptoms. Blood samples collected at 10-12 weeks of follow-up for symptomatic individuals were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. There were 178,288 individuals in the intervention group and 163,838 individuals in the control group. The intervention increased proper mask-wearing from 13.3% in control villages (N=806,547 observations) to 42.3% in treatment villages (N=797,715 observations) (adjusted percentage point difference = 0.29 [0.27, 0.31]). This tripling of mask usage was sustained during the intervention period and two weeks after. Physical distancing increased from 24.1% in control villages to 29.2% in treatment villages (adjusted percentage point difference = 0.05 [0.04, 0.06]). After 5 months, the impact of the intervention faded, but mask-wearing remained 10 percentage points higher in the intervention group. The proportion of individuals with COVID-like symptoms was 7.62% (N=13,273) in the intervention arm and 8.62% (N=13,893) in the control arm. Blood samples were collected from N=10,952 consenting, symptomatic individuals. Adjusting for baseline covariates, the intervention reduced symptomatic seroprevalence by 9.3% (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.91 [0.82, 1.00]; control prevalence 0.76%; treatment prevalence 0.68%). In villages randomized to surgical masks (n = 200), the relative reduction was 11.2% overall (aPR = 0.89 [0.78, 1.00]) and 34.7% among individuals 60+ (aPR = 0.65 [0.46, 0.85]). No adverse events were reported.n

SPATIAL 3D DOCUMENTATION OF HISTORICAL MINING REMNANTS IN FORESTED AREA IN THE ERZGEBIRGE/KRUŠNOHOŘÍ MINING REGION UNESCO SITE

Abstract. This contribution deals in the possibilities of 3D documentation of historical mining relicts hidden in the forest. On the Czech – German border, in the Ore Mountains, several historical mining relicts are located there. There are interesting underground spaces (historical mines), some of which have recently been made available for visits by tourists. But there are many relicts on the surface that are linked to mining and are not known or on the fringes of interest. These are mining pits, dumps, water works, remains of buildings and historic entrance roads. Many of them are in forest areas, were not documented or archaeologically explored, and have recently been devastated by amateur collectors equipped with metal detectors who unfortunately destroy unexplored localities to find interesting relicts. For the basic documentation and delimitation of these objects, aerial laser scanning (ALS) and personal laser mobile scanning (PLS) were used; some finds were documented by close-range photogrammetry.

Implementasi Multi Factor Evaluation Process untuk Penentuan Tempat Pembuangan Akhir Berbasis Web Aplication

Determining the final waste disposal site is a complex problem for Lamandau Regency, which is a developing district, the more people there are every year, the more waste is produced. However, determining the location is still done subjectively without considering the influencing factors and is still manual. In problems like this, the decision support system can be used as a solution to help make decisions. This study aims to implement a decision support system in determining the final disposal site using the Multi-Factor Evaluation Process (MFEP) method which is applied in the form of a Web Application using a prototype model. In determining the final disposal site, there are 5 criteria to be assessed, namely: Cover Land with an initial weight of 0.2, Rain Intensity with an initial weight of 0.1, Nature Reserve with an initial weight of 0.2, Agriculture with an initial weight of 0.3 and Entrance roads with an initial weight of 0.2, and the number of alternatives consists of 5 locations. The findings show that the error rate of this system is below 5%. After testing all modules or system components, all of them were successful and feasible to be used as a tool in determining the final place of development.

Optimal off-ramp terminal locating strategy based on traffic safety and efficiency

ABSTRACT Off-ramps are key nodes which connect urban elevated highways and auxiliary roads, and the distance between an off-ramp terminal and an intersection (ORTI-D) relates directly to traffic safety and efficiency. The authors introduced a new off-ramp terminal locating strategy considering traffic safety and efficiency synthetically. After building a basic VISSIM simulation model which included two-lane off-ramp, one-lane auxiliary road before the weaving area and four-lane entrance road before a no-signal intersection, the functional relationships of the LWA (Length of Weaving areas)-TIT (Time integrated time-to-collision) and the LWA-TTD (Total traffic delay) were developed. On this basis, the genetic algorithm was used to obtain the traffic safety-efficiency optimal ORTI-D and a positive correlation between the weaving proportion and the optimal ORTI-D was found. The methods developed in this paper can satisfy the requirements of off-ramps engineering design and contribute to solve traffic safety and efficiency problems in traffic management.

Sustainable Fruition of Cultural Heritage in Areas Affected by Rockfalls

This paper deals with the evaluation of rockfall risk in cultural heritage, in the frame of a quick protocol for a preliminary zonation, to ensure the safe management and sustainable fruition of the sites. Several historical complexes in mountainous areas are indeed threatened by rock slope instability, and rockfalls can be counted among the main causes of fatality. In such a complex, a rockfall risk zonation would represent a useful management tool for both the choice of specific safe tourist paths, but also for the proper employment of economic resources allocated for mitigation measures. Nevertheless, the management of cultural heritage lacks such plans and tourists are often exposed to risks, while funds are often employed without a specific priority. In this paper, a quick procedure was tested at the historical complex of Taormina (southern Italy), which hosts numerous tourist spots often affected by rockfalls. The Saracen castle, for example, is currently closed to the public due to the rockfalls that repeatedly affected the entrance road, while Castelmola village, counted among one of the most beautiful Italian villages, stands on the top of a cliff affected by frequent rockfalls involving the only access road. The approach is composed of several steps and requires a heavy site characterization in terms of historical records and geostructural setting. The risk assessment procedure was chosen among the semiquantitative ones available in literature, and the final assessed risk was represented on a thematic map to provide a tool which could be used as a base for the planning of final remedial works.

Effectiveness of Road Mitigation for Common Toads (Bufo bufo) in the Netherlands

Roads and traffic may have major impacts on amphibian populations, primarily as a result of amphibian road mortality. A variety of measures have been developed to prevent road mortality of amphibians, such as the construction of fences to keep the animals off the road and amphibian tunnels to provide them a safe passage. We carried out a capture-mark-recapture study to evaluate the performance of two tunnels and permanent drift fences for common toads at a local road in the Netherlands. We found that of the marked toads only 31% used the tunnels to cross the road. We assessed four possible explanations for the fact that a proportion of the toads did not use the tunnels: for toad groups that used the tunnels, as compared to toad groups that did not use the tunnels, (1) the mean distance between the location of first capture and the nearest tunnel was significantly smaller; (2) the mean movement distance along the fence was significantly larger; (3) the number of toad groups that walked in the wrong direction after encountering the drift fence was lower; (4) the mean number of nights between first and last capture of the toad group was significantly higher. Over all study years 28% of the migrating toads-marked and unmarked-that attempted to cross the road ended up on the road pavement, despite the mitigation. Migrating population numbers decreased with about 75% after the mitigation measures were installed. We emphasize that better baseline studies on where toads cross before mitigation and improved knowledge on effects of tunnel design and the distances the animals move along a drift fence are vital to mitigate road impacts properly and maintain viable toad populations. We recommend to base tunnel densities on the mean movement distance of the toads that move only small distances and spent relatively little time along the drift fence, install drift fences that go well beyond the location where toads cross the road, take appropriate measures at entrance roads and at fence ends and consider alternatives to tunnels and fences, such as the creation of breeding waters on both sides of the road.

Experimental radon exhalation measurements: Comparison of different techniques

Radon is a gas produced from the radioactive natural disintegration of radium and uranium, which is present in soils and different building materials. Due to its gaseous nature, it emanates to the surface and penetrates both by convection and diffusion into the houses. According to recent studies, radon is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer, and it has prompted legislative changes to reduce exposure to this gas.In Spain, the current legislation -R.D. 783/2001 Regulation on Sanitary Radiation Protection and IS-33 Instruction of the Nuclear Safety Council, establishes uniform rules for workers’ health protection in radioactive installations. In 2013, the European legislation was updated with Directive 2013/59/EURATOM which sets limit values and action plans for radon exposure for homes, public buildings and workplaces for any entrance roads (soil, building materials or water). This Directive must be incorporated before 18th February 2018 into Spanish legislation, so it is necessary to perform, prior to that date, appropriate protocol techniques and methodologies for the measurement radon concentrations in air. This work aims at a preventive approach to the situation. That is, to measure the concentration levels of radon exhaled prior to the design and construction of the dwellings to avoid their accumulation insideThe main purpose of this work is the comparison of different radon exhalation measurement techniques in order to define the most appropriate methodology in different cases for the implementation of the new radon control Directive.

The Memorial Centre of Homeland War Vukovar, Croatia

The military siege of Vukovar began on 25 August and ended on 20 November 1991. During the three-month period, the town was completely surrounded and all entrance roads were blocked. The only way into the town was the so called “corn road”, the supply route that connected Vukovar to Vinkovci via Bogdanovci and Marinci. On 1 October the JNA (Yugoslav National Army) captured Marinci, thus cutting off the only remaining communication with Vukovar (Sucic, 2011, 33). Even though the town was total...

Forecasts of 21st Century Snowpack and Implications for Snowmobile and Snowcoach Use in Yellowstone National Park

Climate models project a general decline in western US snowpack throughout the 21st century, but long-term, spatially fine-grained, management-relevant projections of snowpack are not available for Yellowstone National Park. We focus on the implications that future snow declines may have for oversnow vehicle (snowmobile and snowcoach) use because oversnow tourism is critical to the local economy and has been a contentious issue in the park for more than 30 years. Using temperature-indexed snow melt and accumulation equations with temperature and precipitation data from downscaled global climate models, we forecast the number of days that will be suitable for oversnow travel on each Yellowstone road segment during the mid- and late-21st century. The west entrance road was forecast to be the least suitable for oversnow use in the future while the south entrance road was forecast to remain at near historical levels of driveability. The greatest snow losses were forecast for the west entrance road where as little as 29% of the December–March oversnow season was forecast to be driveable by late century. The climatic conditions that allow oversnow vehicle use in Yellowstone are forecast by our methods to deteriorate significantly in the future. At some point it may be prudent to consider plowing the roads that experience the greatest snow losses.

Intelligent Controlled Compact Parking for Modern Parking Management on German Motorways

The high density of commercial freight transport on motorways makes it difficult for truck drivers to find safe parking places especially for longer rest periods during the night. Even though expansions have been made to satisfy the demand in Germany, overcrowding and dangerous situations still occur as a result of vehicles parking on the entrance and exit roads of rest areas. In 2005 a control procedure called “Convoy Parking” was installed at the rest area Montabaur on the A3 motorway in Germany. Convoy Parking is subject to a patent (EP 1 408 455 B1, 2007). Convoy Parking requires all drivers entering their departure time at a terminal in front of a barrier. Subsequently, on the basis of the input data, the automatically detected vehicle length and the actual situation at the rest area, a free parking row is assigned and trucks can be parked sorted. The German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) developed a new control procedure called “Intelligent Controlled Compact Parking” (hereafter referred to as “Compact Parking” for short) to achieve that trucks are parking in a compact way, side by side and without a driving lane between trucks. Convoy Parking and Compact Parking have a very different control procedure and appearance. While Convoy Parking assigns a parking row to the driver, Compact Parking deliberately leaves the choice of the parking row to the drivers themselves. Drivers do not have to disclose their departure time to any system and they are not stopped by any barrier because Compact Parking offers a wide range of departure times on variable message signs. Drivers ought to use the parking row where their intended departure time is offered. With the innovative system Compact Parking the capacity of an existing rest area can be quickly increased without enlarging the area. This also avoids long-term planning approval procedures and is friendly to the environment. Besides, the safety for all users of the rest area can be improved by reducing illegal parking. Compact Parking is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). The first installation of Compact Parking is under construction at the rest area Jura-West on the A3 motorway (Northern Bavaria). The Autobahndirektion Nordbayern (Motorway Directorate for Northern Bavaria) is the central agency to plan, build and run the motorways in Northern Bavaria and got the approval of the BMVI to realize the pilot project. BASt accompanies the pilot project and leads the implementation of the control procedure. The opening is scheduled for summer 2015.

Puente arco intermedio de las Llamas en Santander

Las Llamas’ Bridge is settled in Santander and crosses over the Atlantic Park, giving access to the University from the main entrance road to the city. The designed bridge is an intermediate arch bridge with a main span between abutments of 102m. The center arch crosses 7.8m high over the deck in a length of 60m, continuing beneath the deck with two straight inclined legs reaching its bearings on hinges 81.6m apart. The inclined legs continue underground until they reach its foundation on the existing rock bed 9m below. Arches are made of self-compacting white concrete C-60. The connection between arch and deck is materialized by means of stainless steel rod hangers. The deck is organized in a central box girder with two lateral cantilevers of 9m supported on inclined precast elements. The vaulted central reservation passing through the arch end openings holds a bicycle path.

Evaluation of Building Projects Using Earned Value Technique

This study evaluates building construction projects using the Earned Value Analysis technique, the Experimental Approach, and Value Concept Analysis. The aim was to compare the cost incurred for an identified amount of work done on a project with the cost budgeted for the same work. The results were used to calculate the Cost Performance Index (CPI) for each project. The experimental approach was used to detect the true cost-effect relationships, while the value concept analysis was used to estimate the value of selected projects as they relate to cost. Two methods were adopted in collecting the empirical data for the study. The first involves the review of relevant literature to provide a sound background to the study. The other method involves the collection and analysis of data obtained from records of the construction firms sampled. Data obtained from each method was calculated, analyzed and presented in tables. It was discovered from analyses that projects that were abandoned for some time before completion has radios that indicate a low level of Value Engineering in their design and construction. For example, projects like the Adamawa Plaza and the Eagle square in Abuja show favorable ratio of 1 and 0.9 respectively, which is less than 1. The results further show that for Adamawa state stadium in Yola, the CPI is far much greater that 1.0 it shows a value of 5.3. This denoted that only about 20 percent of the total contract work was done. The value of money spent is far greater than the work done. Other projects like the Federal University of technology entrance road gave a value rating of unity (1.0) this implies that the project is fully completed and the cost completely paid hence the value of 1.0. On the other hand, it was observed that the total cost of the Eagle Square in Abuja was increased by 14% before the completion of the project. This increase in cost affected the value of the project as the cost performance index reduced to 0.8 instead of 1.0 as the case would have been. Finally, the study revealed that the cost of a project is tied to its function. Abandoned projects always lead to increase in the cost of completion whereby the Cost Performance Index (CPI) of such projects increases. The implication of this is that there is gross misuse of money. Keywords; Value engineering, Value analysis, Value concept, Function Analysis, Cost performance index.

At Night We Play Hearts

I had a good buzz going by the time I was dropped off in Gardiner, Montana by Wayne, a ranch hand who'd fished cans of Pearl from a Coleman cooler strapped into the bed of his pickup as he drove the twenty miles from Miner at breakneck speed. Before that I'd smoked a bowl with two French-Canadian seminarians who'd played Dinah-Moe-Humm over and over on a boombox inside their VW van, such that when they dropped me off at the turnoff for Pray and the head of a trail they were going to hike into the Absaroka Range, Frank Zappa's funk-inspired classic satire about a sexual dare gone wrong (or right, depending on how you looked at it) was grinding in my head and would be for days. Inside Red's Blue Goose Saloon I ordered another Pearl. It was too early to hitchhike to the Boiling River Hot Spring, and I didn't relish the prospect of baking on Yellowstone's North Entrance Road. From where I sat, Roosevelt Arch, two stone pillars supporting voussoir and spandrel, wavered in the dis tance like a mirage into which a person might vanish. Better to arrive at the hot spring at twilight, I told myself, as I had the previous summer when I'd stumbled onto an orgy and found myself naked in a natural bath with more than a dozen naked strangers, three-quarters of them female and all of them drunk or stoned or tripping. That summer I'd worked for the Hamilton Stores Corporation selling fishing tackle, light groceries, and camping supplies to tourists staying at the Lake Campground and wouldn't have known about the spring at all?it wasn't officially designated on any map?if a hippie couple a few years older than me hadn't come into the store needing duct tape to mend a rip in the floor of their tent. The woman was slender and gorgeous with straight dark hair that fell to breasts covered by blue threadbare crepe and pupils con tracted to the size of periods. The man looked both young and wizened, his eyes sparkling as if through his sun-bleached curls they saw what ordinary mortals could not. As I waited on them, he told me they had wintered in Big Bend National Park, where at night they'd waded across the Rio Grande to the Mexican village of Boquias, purchased peyote buttons for six pesos a piece, and brought them back to the campground where they sold them at a 131