Highway Construction Projects Research Articles

A study on settlements of road embankments on soft ground using vertical drains

In civil engineering, the study of embankment settlement on soft ground is a vital geotechnical task in order to maintain serviceability of the road embankment, pavement, and facilities. This paper presents a study on settlements of road embankment on soft ground using vertical drains, including prefabricated-vertical drain (PVD), sand drain (SD), and sand compaction pile (SCP) on a number of packages of Hanoi – Haiphong Expressway Construction Project. The effectiveness of settlement prediction of vertical drain solutions is evaluated considering the ratios between the observed consolidation settlements and settlements predicted in the Detailed Design, in relation to the thickness of soft soil and the depth of treatment. Regression analysis is used to establish the correlation between the observed settlement and the height of embankment. The results show that (i) the design generally overestimated settlements; (ii) the ratios between observed and predicted settlements tend to positively correlate with the thickness of soft soil and the depth of treatment, and (iii) there are positive correlations between the height of embankment and the observed settlement. These correlations can be a valuable source of reference for anticipating settlements in basic design of highway projects with soft ground treated by vertical drains, in the regions that have geological stratum similar to Thabinh and Haihung formations of Bacbo Plain

Assessment of Schedule Quality Problems from the DOT Schedule Reviewers’ Perspective: Case of TxDOT

A construction schedule review is an essential aspect of schedule management for U.S. state departments of transportation (DOTs) to deliver transportation construction projects on time. Despite their importance, current literature pays limited attention to addressing schedule quality problems for highway construction projects. This research aims to assess schedule quality problems from DOTs’ perspective and suggests recommendations to improve DOTs’ schedule review practices. To achieve this, two questions were formulated: 1) What schedule problems do DOT schedule reviewers perceive as vital to schedule quality? and 2) What schedule problems do DOT schedule reviewers find repeatedly? This research first reviewed relevant literature and identified 44 schedule quality problems noted about highway construction. Based on these 44 problems, a survey was developed to assess the level of impact and the likelihood of occurrence of each problem. The survey was deployed to Texas Department of Transportation practitioners with schedule review experience. The analysis prioritized the problems by the relative impact and frequency, and DOTs can utilize this analysis to improve their schedule review process and practices. This paper contributes to the academic body of knowledge by investigating the schedule quality problems in highway construction and DOT practitioners’ perceptions of the schedule quality problems. Its industry contribution includes providing the methodology for DOTs to assess their schedule quality problems.

Research on Performance Evaluation Index System of Rural Highway PPP Project

In recent years, China has actively and steadily expanded the effective investment in rural transportation infrastructure, actively guided social capital to participate in rural development, promoted the combination of PPP model and all aspects of rural areas, and implemented a new round of rural road construction and transformation. Rural highway construction is an important measure to promote rural economic development. Because of the wide range of rural construction in China and the huge capital investment and demand, it is necessary to build a scientific and comprehensive evaluation index system to evaluate the performance of rural highway construction projects, analyze the evaluation results, and put forward feasible suggestions to help decision makers grasp the benefits and effects of construction, and take targeted measures to guide and promote the positive development of rural highways. Taking the northern extension project of XL highway as an example, this paper constructs a performance evaluation index system, which can provide reference for the project management of XL highway and other highway projects.

Analysis of Bridge Inspection Technology for Highway Reconstruction and Expansion

This article focuses on bridge testing technologies in highway construction and expansion projects. It provides an overview of the inspection process for bridges in highway reconstruction and expansion projects, the main inspections, and strategies for improving the quality of inspections. Relevant units should conduct bridge inspections using appearance inspections, special inspections, and bearing capacity assessments in highway reconstruction and expansion projects. To effectively improve testing quality, relevant units should also focus on establishing and improving testing standards, strengthening material testing, and improving the overall quality of the testing personnel. This research aims to enhance the quality of highway reconstruction and expansion projects by supporting the sensible application of bridge inspection technology.

Analysis of Site Construction Management of Huangshi Section of Wuyang Expressway

In recent years, all aspects of our society have been in rapid development. The construction of the highway has also been greatly promoted, especially in the field of transportation, and has made a lot of achievements. With the continuous advancement of social development, the quality requirements for highway projects are also increasing. Therefore, the construction unit should deeply understand the problems existing in the current construction management and take effective measures to strengthen the construction management to ensure the safe and reliable operation of highways. This paper takes highway project construction management as an example, adopts the literature research method and case analysis method, and carries on a series of analyses of the Wuyang Highway Huangshi Section project and current Chinese highway project construction management by searching the literature about standardized highway construction. First of all, the background and significance of the research topic, as well as the status quo at home and abroad, are introduced, and the main research content and purpose of this study are proposed. Secondly, the content and concrete measures of standardization of expressway construction are expounded, respectively. Thirdly, on this basis, combined with the example of the Wuyang Expressway Huangshi Section project construction management, the highway project construction management is analyzed and studied. In the process of research, some problems existing in the construction management process at this stage are put forward. Finally, the paper puts forward the improvement measures and further optimization plans for the problems. In this paper, the freeway project construction management is studied, and the theory is explored for the development and improvement of our country's freeway project construction management system.

Research on Clustering of Material Inspection Data for Highway Construction Projects Based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering

In large-scale highway construction projects, the project implementers will carry out detailed testing of various material indicators used in the project. By processing and analyzing these material testing data, we can reasonably classify large-scale highway construction projects, so that each project implementer can better manage the quality of the materials, which will greatly help all parties to strengthen the quality control of the project and improve the level of project management. This study first preprocesses the material testing data to obtain a structured data set suitable for data analysis. Then statistical features are constructed for the features in the dataset, including maximum, minimum, mean, median and standard deviation, to improve the performance and accuracy of the model. Next, the clustering hierarchical clustering method is applied for classification and the classification results are visualized in the form of dendrograms. Finally, through the comparison of performance analysis and clustering evaluation indexes, it is concluded that the classification of works into 3 or 4 categories according to material performance is in line with the actual level of engineering quality.

Сохранение биоразнообразия в Прибайкальском национальном парке при строительстве дорог

The article deals with the issue of biodiversity conservation in a unique natural area located in the northern part of the Small Sea. The Zama area is an inaccessible tourist site due to the local road, where you need to drive at least 80 km along a difficult road strewn with boulders. The highway construction project will change the habitats of Red Book and endemic species of the Pribaikalsky National Park (PNP). The article considers the toponymy, climatic and edaphic characteristics of the area. The ecological characteristics and floristic richness of the habitats of plant species in the PNP are also explored. Plant communities of successional type in anthropogenically disturbed areas are described. The reasons for anthropogenic impact and recommendations for the restoration of natural communities are provided. The changes and the effect of human activities are described. The research materials can be used for creating an information basis for decision-making on preventing negative consequences of tourism activities and the environmental safety of Lake Baikal.

Application Strategies of Shotcrete Anchor Support Technology in Highway Bridge and Tunnel Engineering

This article analyzes the application strategies of shotcrete anchor support technology using a highway bridge-tunnel construction project as an example. The article covers various strategies, including support plan formulation, mortar shotcrete anchor construction, grid steel frame construction, steel mesh construction, and concrete support construction. This analysis aims to provide a guideline for those interested in applying this technology and improving the quality and safety of highway bridges and tunnels construction.

Carbon emission scenario prediction for highway construction projects

In order to carry out the research on the measurement and prediction of carbon emissions from highway projects, the prediction index system is constructed by selecting seven influencing factors, namely, urbanization rate, industrial structure, energy intensity, energy structure, key low-carbon technologies, highway construction planning, and green financial support. The carbon emission coefficient method is used to measure the carbon emissions of highway projects from the perspective of energy consumption, and finally, a carbon emission scenario prediction model based on the scenario analysis method and the LSTM algorithm of the recurrent neural network is constructed to put forward a new way of predicting the carbon emissions of highway projects. Taking Hunan province as a case study object, the carbon emission trends in the next 15 years are predicted under three scenarios: low carbon, baseline, and high carbon. The results show that the highway project in Hunan province is expected to peak in 2031 under the low-carbon scenario, in 2037 under the baseline scenario, and around 2044 under the high-carbon scenario. It is also found that energy saving and emission reduction measures have a certain lag in the emission reduction effect of highway projects. Finally, based on this, suggestions and countermeasures for carbon emission reduction of highway development in Hunan province are proposed.

Assessing the causes of claims in highway construction projects with a case study: a construction practitioner’s perspective

Assessing the causes of claims in highway construction projects with a case study: a construction practitioner’s perspective

Research on Over-the-Horizon Perception Distance Division of Optical Fiber Communication Based on Intelligent Roadways.

With the construction and application of more and more intelligent networking demonstration projects, a large number of advanced roadside digital infrastructures are deployed on both sides of the intelligent road. These devices sense the road situation in real time through algorithms and transmit it to edge computing units and cloud control platforms through high-speed optical fiber transmission networks. This article proposes a cloud edge terminal architecture system based on cloud edge cooperation, as well as a data exchange protocol for cloud control basic platforms. The over-the-horizon scene division and optical fiber network communication model are verified by deploying intelligent roadside devices on the intelligent highway. At the same time, this article uses the optical fiber network communication algorithm and ModelScope large model to model inference on real-time video data. The actual data results show that the StreamYOLO (Stream You Only Look Once) model can use the Streaming Perception method to detect and continuously track target vehicles in real-time videos. Finally, the method proposed in this article was experimentally validated in an actual smart highway digital infrastructure construction project. The experimental results demonstrate the high application value and promotion prospects of the fiber optic network in the division of over the horizon perception distance in intelligent roadways construction.

Research on Energy Consumption Monitoring and Evaluation Technology for Asphalt Mixing Plants Based on the Internet of Things

The construction process of asphalt pavement in highway construction projects is a key link in energy consumption and emissions, and the production of asphalt mixing stations is the main energy consumption link of asphalt pavement. Currently, targeted energy consumption evaluation and monitoring of asphalt mixing stations still lack systematic research. This article first determines the evaluation indicators for energy conservation and emission reduction of asphalt pavement. By decomposing the energy consumption composition of the asphalt mixing station, a energy consumption evaluation system for the asphalt mixing station consisting of three parts: heating drum, asphalt heating and insulation system, and power system is established. After calculation, the predicted natural gas conversion rates for each ton of SMA-13 asphalt mixture in the upper layer, AC-20 asphalt mixture in the middle layer, and AC-25 asphalt mixture in the lower layer are 8.07, 7.41, and 6.87 m3, respectively. The predicted results fit well with the measured data. Finally, through the development of hardware and software, the energy consumption evaluation and monitoring of asphalt mixing stations based on the Internet of Things were achieved, which played a promoting role in the environmental protection evaluation of highway pavement construction.

Proposing Solutions to Tackle the Issues of Slow Progress and Lack of Materials for Mekong Delta Expressway Construction Projects in Period of 2021-2025

Up to now, Vietnam has spent 12 years implementing the State’s policies on building an expressway system, and has initially achieved certain promising results. However, regarding projects which have been put into operation and projects which are in the preparation phase for implementation in the Mekong Delta, there have been many major shortcomings in materials, design, traffic safety, and the environment, etc. Therefore, timely adjustments and improvements are needed to avoid unfortunate consequences and losses both in the immediate and long term. The article used the method of synthesizing research and analysis to evaluate the current status of expressway construction projects in the recent period, mainly on Mekong Delta Expressway projects, and offered 4 solutions based on a practical basis to make prompt adjustments for sustainable development of the Mekong Delta including 1) solution 1; 2) solution 2; 3) solution 3; 4) solution 4.

Analysis of Highway Project Construction Technology Management

Highway engineering construction plays a pivotal role in driving urban economic development, in the face of modern urban transportation high-quality development. To achieve high-quality development in modern urban transportation, it is imperative to engage in effective management practices. This article analyzes the technology involved in highway engineering construction, delving into key aspects of highway construction technology, and examining measures for managing and controlling highway engineering construction technology effectively.

Forecasting Final Cost and Time Rates of Highway Construction Projects in Iraq Using Regression Analysis

The construction process is fraught with risks and uncertainties, which grow in proportion to the size and complexity of the project. The project is considered successful if it is completed within the specified time and cost and with the required quality standards. The time and cost overrun of building projects and highways is a critical issue because of the great risks that result from it, which affect the project completion process and sometimes put it to a halt. In this paper, an attempt was made to predict the final cost rate and final time rate of such projects before starting work, using the technique of reverse elimination regression analysis. The study covers a group of highway projects in Diyala Governorate, where the records of (25) projects that were completed during (2012-2021) were used to develop and validate the regression model. Based on the experts' convictions, there are nine factors that are considered the most influential on the final cost and final time. Hence they are used as input parameters for the form. These factors are; bid cost, bid duration, change order cost, change order duration, final cost, and final duration, no. of change order, start time and final time. It was found that the developed regression model has the ability to predict the final cost rate (FCR) and final duration rate (FDR) for highway projects as outputs with very high goodness of fit and coefficient determination ( ) of (98%) and (96%) for FCR and FDR respective.

Performance indicators for public evaluation of environmental management plan implementation in highway construction projects

PurposeEvaluating the implementation of environmental management plans (EMPs) in highway construction projects is essential to avoid climate change. Public evaluations can help ensure that the EMP is implemented correctly and efficiently. To allow public evaluation of EMP implementations, this study aims to investigate performance indicators (PIs) for assessing EMP implementation in highway construction projects. To that end, the study objectives are to compare the critical PIs between environment auditors (EAs) and environment officers (EOs) and among the main project stakeholders (i.e. clients, contractors and consultants), create components for the critical PIs and assess the efficiency of the components.Design/methodology/approachThe paper identified 39 PIs from interviews with environmental professionals and a systematic literature review. Then a questionnaire survey was developed based on the PIs and sent to EAs and EOs. The data were analyzed via mean score ranking, normalization, agreement analysis, factor analysis and fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE).FindingsThe analyses revealed 21 critical PIs for assessing EMP implementation in highway construction projects. Also, the critical PIs can be grouped into four components: ecological, pollution, public safety and ecological. Finally, the overall importance of the critical PIs from the FSE is between important and very important.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first-of-its-kind study on the critical PIs for assessing EMP implementation in highway construction projects.

Electro-cementation of calcareous sand using colloidal silica (CS) nanoparticles and alumina powder

The research investigates the effectiveness of a ground improvement technique that involves the electro-cementation of an onshore calcareous sand containing 95.3% calcium carbonate through a series of laboratory experiments. Colloidal silica (CS) nanoparticles and alumina powder were introduced as pozzolanic materials in the sand, and a direct current (DC) was passed through the sand-silica-alumina mix inside an electrokinetic (EK) cell. The method resulted in the electro-cementation of the calcareous sand through the formation of calcium silicate hydrates (C–S–Hs) and calcium aluminate hydrates (C–A–Hs) as products of the pozzolanic reactions between Ca(OH)2, SiO2 and Al2O3 after electrolysis occurred. Iron-rich cements were also formed by the degradation of anodes. These newly formed compounds changed the nature of the treated soil from a granular material into a rock. Results show that the compressive strength of the resulting rock formation is significantly improved. The treatment can be considered as an artificial lithification process through which the nature of the treated soil was changed from a granular material into a rock formation. The electro-cementation achieved by the treatment was further assessed by spectroscopic analyses including FE-SEM, EDX and XRD, which confirmed the formation of cementing agents within the structure of the treated sand. Potential applications of the technique include caissons, highway construction projects, dune fixation and erosion control, in addition to liquefaction mitigation due to electrolysis of pore water and plugging the pores with cementitious materials.

Application of Grounded Theory Method in Exploring the Discourse of Involuntary Resettlement and Challenges Encountered

Grounded theory demystifies complex real-world contexts such as community related issues where human interactions between the affected people and government officials are inexorably complex. Forming an integral part of a case study on involuntary resettlement using Grounded theory, the aim of this paper is to provide an in depth description on the methodology adopted. Illustrating how the Grounded theory was used to explore the phenomenon of involuntary resettlement due to a highway construction project in Sri Lanka, the paper explains the challenges the researcher encountered in maintaining theoretical sensitivity, yielding codes and categories, undertaking theoretical sampling, achieving theoretical saturation, validating research outcome and defying their own biases. In conclusion, this paper shows that the research approach have lent itself to a unique Grounded theory research study which dealt with involuntary human resettlement. The study makes an original contribution to the body of knowledge on how Grounded theory research methodologies can be applied to research contexts such as involuntary resettlement.

Managing Housing and Infrastructure Needs for a Fully-fledged Involuntary Resettlement: The Case of Central Expressway in Sri Lanka

Housing with infrastructure needs are basics in resettlement projects having a public stake. As part of a study exploring how these needs can be effectively addressed, this paper identifies the gaps in managing these infrastructure needs in one of the highway construction projects in Sri Lanka namely Central Expressway, Phase 1. This case study provides a perspective in exploring the issues encountered by the affected people using grounded theory. The paper presents the recommendations to minimize such gaps. Data was collected through unstructured interviews comprising both the beneficiaries and the government officials, reducing opinion bias. Gaps identified were ad-hoc erection of houses, lack of infrastructure facilities, security, safety and health issues, delay and insufficiency of compensation and inefficiency in administrative functions and information asymmetry. Some kind of interventionist approach is inevitable to enhance beneficiary participation and knowledge sharing in order to minimise these gaps, the majority of which has been outweighed by the perceived land value. The findings of this research will help detect the existing gaps in involuntary resettlement and institutional inefficiencies that hamper the progress of resettlement.

Rush hour-and-a-half: Traffic is spreading out post-lockdown.

Traffic congestion is ubiquitous in major cities around the world. Congestion is associated with a slew of negative effects, including delays and local air pollution. Because of the negative effects of congestion, governments invest billions of dollars into the highway system to try to reduce congestion and accommodate peak-hour automobile travel demand. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant disruption to transportation systems globally. One impact was a drastic reduction in travel, leading to free-flowing traffic conditions in many previously-congested cities. As lockdowns eased, traffic volumes returned to near-normal levels. However, the temporal pattern of demand may differ, due to increased remote work or other factors. In this article, we examine the temporal distribution of highway demand in California, using data from over 3,500 traffic sensors. We find that peak-hour automobile travel is spreading in the post-lockdown period. In addition to decreased traffic congestion, this finding also has implications for infrastructure investment. Roadways are generally sized based on peak-hour demand. As the peaks spread, some highway construction project may prove unnecessary. It may be possible to reallocate road space to other uses with fewer tradeoffs in terms of traffic congestion.