Stretch Of Road Research Articles

Black-Spot Identification from Ramol Cross Road to Kathwada Cross Road

Road accidents are a vital issue that is occurring all over the world. Accident severity is increasing with the exponential increase in vehicle population. Accident leads to disability, pain, suffering, grievous injuries, hospitalization expenditure, damage to health and property, social suffering, general degradation of the environment, and, in extreme cases, death. This study aims to identify black spots in the selected stretch involving four major intersections from Ramol crossroad to Kathwada crossroad of Ahmedabad. Data collection consists of collecting past accident data from traffic police station headquarters. The collected data are categorized into fatal accidents, grievous significant accidents, and minor accidents. The data is analyzed using the accident data collected, the Weighted Severity Index (WSI) method, and the PTV Visum software. WSI is estimated for the accident data for the year 2019-2023. By accident analysis, seven black spots were identified in this study. Inspecting the road stretch noted several issues and probable causes of accidents were identified. Poor road conditions, including cracks and potholes, affect road safety. Improper road markings and signs are one of the causes of accidents. The audited road stretch includes recommendations to prevent the number and severity of accidents.

Design of a new low-noise pavement

This paper presents the results obtained from the tests carried out on the different asphalt mixes that have been developed as part of the PERSEUS project. This project aims to develop a low-noise pavement in which, in addition to traditional parameters such as texture or absorption, which have been defined based on aggregate size and void content, the aim has been to improve the acoustic response by introducing rubber as a substitute for part of the aggregate in the recipes. Within the framework of the project, porous mixtures and also stone mastic are being developed to determine the solution with the best acoustic characteristics and durability. The paper presents the results of acoustic characterization tests carried out (absorption, airflow resistance) in the phase of design of mixtures, as well as those obtained from the mechanical impedance test, which together with the results of the mechanical tests will conclude which is the ideal mixture to be tested on a stretch of road with real traffic.

Variable-density thinning designs for harvester-based operations in Northern Europe

ABSTRACT Variable-density thinning (VDT) can be used to start the conversion of young homogeneous conifer plantations to the single-tree selection system. A design for VDT is presented, which is adapted to harvester-based operations in northern Europe without prior tree marking and the low target diameters in the region. Six treatment cells with a size of 10 × 10 m are placed along a 30 m stretch of a strip road with treatments gap (removing all but understory trees), skip (no thinning), and four treatment cells with crop tree-based crown thinning, which removes two dominant competitors of 1–4 crop trees per cell. Skips might in later thinnings be converted into gaps, which is why skips and gaps are placed systematically in the 2 × 3 treatment blocks. Assignment of the crop tree number variants to treatment cells are decided by the harvester operator based on the given stand structure and presence of crop trees meeting all selection criteria. So far, five operations have confirmed the practicality of this design and given some insight into the learning process of harvester operators with these new methods.

An Investigation of Double Collisions of Pickup Trucks with Multiple Fatalities in Narathiwat Province, Thailand, October 2023

On 11 Oct 2023, a pickup truck crashed into a roadside tree in Narathiwat Province, southern Thailand after overtaking another vehicle. We conducted a descriptive study by reviewing medical records and interviewing rescuers, officers, survivors, and witnesses. We surveyed the collision site, reviewed video records, and used Haddon’s matrix to assist with the analysis. A pickup truck carrying 11 passengers (including the driver) overtook another pickup truck on a stretch of road. The driver of the first pickup truck lost control due to tire deflation and crashed into a tree resulting in eight deaths (72.7%) and three hospitalizations (27.3%). All deaths were caused by severe head injuries. Multiple factors during pre-crash (vehicle unfamiliarity leading to improper passing sight distance and speeding), the crash (overloaded truck and a roadside tree), and post-crash such as poor communication, contributed to the severity of this event. The driver of the truck had no driving license and was unfamiliar with the vehicle. Six passengers were sitting in the truck’s cab and three were in the cargo bed. Pre-crash and crash speeds were determined to be 80 and 100 kilometers per hour, respectively. The passing sight distance was grossly insufficient. Poor communication in the rescue process and the crowd of people at the scene resulted in improper emergency management. Strengthening law enforcement, increasing the number of speed limit signs, felling roadside trees, and practicing mass casualty incidents should be implemented.

Crossings and collisions – Exploring how roe deer navigate the road network

ContextTo investigate the major impact of roads on wildlife, most studies focus on hot-spots of wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) to identify areas in need of mitigation measures. However, on road stretches where the frequency of WVC is low, a question arises: is this because those locations are 'safe’ places for wildlife to cross the road with little risk of collisions; or is it because individuals avoid approaching and crossing the road in these locations?ObjectivesIn this study, we addressed this gap by evaluating how roe deer crossings are related to WVC risk across the road network.MethodsWe used 56 076 WVC locations between 2013 and 2017 to predict the spatiotemporal risk zones in response to environmental, road-related and seasonal predictors using Species-Distribution Modelling (SDM). We compared the predictive WVC risk to the location of 20 744 road crossing by 46 GPS-collared roe deer individuals.ResultsWe found that the risk of WVC with roe deer tends to be higher on federal roads that are present in a density of approximate 2.2 km/km2 and surrounded by broad-leafed forests and demonstrate that SDMs can be a powerful tool to predict the risk of WVC across the road network. Roe deer crossed roads more frequently in high WVC risk areas. Temporally, the number of WVC changed throughout the year, which can be linked to roe deer movement patterns rather than landscape features. Within this study, we did not identify any road segments that were a complete barrier to roe deer movement.ConclusionsThe absence of complete barriers to roe deer movement detected in the present study, might be due to the low spatial variation of the landscape, coupled with the high individual variation in movement behaviour. By applying our approach at greater spatial scales and in other landscape contexts, future studies can continue to explore the potential barrier impacts of roads on landscape connectivity. Exploring the relationship between crossing activity and collision risk can improve one’s ability to correctly identify road stretches that require mitigation measures to improve connectivity versus reduce collisions.

Identification and Mitigation of Subsidence in Karstic Areas with Sustainable Geotechnical Structures: A Case Study in Gallur (Spain)

In various areas of the Ebro valley in Spain, including the region discussed here, the risk of sinkholes is becoming particularly severe, particularly impacting urban areas and roadways where land subsidence from karstic processes is common. However, knowledge of the area, its geological–geotechnical configuration, and the carrying out of specific research studies are allowing solutions to be tested in an attempt to resolve these situations. A case in point is the examination of settlement issues along a stretch of the access road leading to the city of Gallur from the east (known as Camino Real) in the Zaragoza province, Spain. Numerous surface manifestations of recent subsidence and/or collapse activities have been observed, manifesting as craters and ground undercuts, some several meters in diameter. The prevalence of highly karstifiable materials in the area, evident from the existence of subsidence pockets and collapse dolines, poses significant safety concerns, particularly for traffic and town access, prompting the closure of Camino Real for several years. Local and provincial authorities have embarked on studies to try to recognise this type of situation. Reports aimed at defining karstification processes, conducting geomechanical analyses of subsidence and cavity collapses, and proposing technical measures to mitigate risks have been prepared. Finally, a consolidation solution was proposed based on injections at column-depth of mortar with special characteristics, combined with the replacement and reinforcement of the most superficial soil by means of high-tensile-strength geotextile meshes.

Analysis of the Effect of Side Obstacles on Performance on the Z.A. Pagaralam Road Section

Development in Bandar Lampung is increasing rapidly, causing an increase in transportation development. The development of transportation in the city of Bandar Lampung is currently still experiencing severe problems, so traffic hours often occur. The high level of congestion on the highway is caused by several things, including the unbalanced road capacity and vehicle volume and the presence of side obstacles, which add to congestion on the Z.A. Pagaralam road section. Apart from being a public road, Pagaralam is also located in one of the busiest economic centers in the city of Bandar Lampung. Along this stretch of road are campuses, schools, shops, pharmacies, shopping centers, and street vendors, and it is also a transfer point for passengers moving from one public transport to another, causing many side obstacles to occur on the road. To overcome this, it is necessary to analyze the influence of side obstacles on traffic performance. Data analysis was carried out using the PKJI 2014 method. The analysis of traffic volume obtained a value of 4747.75 cur/hour. The analysis results of the highest side obstacles were obtained on Tuesday at 12.00 – 14.00 segment 1 amounting to 838.90 incident weights. Keywords: Traffic Volume, Side Obstacles, PKJI 2014.

Review Paper on Road Safety Analysis

Road safety analysis refers to thoroughly examining roads and general transportation infrastructure using various analytical methods. It usually involves a multidisciplinary team with the local governing body and other stakeholders to check for potential safety issues and bring improvements within the same. The purpose of this review paper is to study the causes of road accidents and identify the active blackspots present in Raipur city. The goal is to prevent accidents by making sure road infrastructure is designed and optimised for safety and efficiency. According to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), Government of India, road accident blackspot on National Highways is a road stretch of about 500m in length in which either 5 road accidents (involving fatalities/grievous injuries) took place during the last three calendar years or 10 fatalities took place during the last three calendar years. Through detailed study and analysis, one can surmise that Road Safety Analysis can be easily broken down to factors such as types of road users, presence of traffic calming devices, weather conditions, whether users possess a driver’s licence and much more. Furthermore, it is important to address the deficiency and failure of one or more elements in road infrastructures to curb the issue of road accidents by understanding the data obtained accordingly. Key Word: Road accidents, Blackspots, Road Safety Analysis

Comparison of Geometric-based Travel Time Prediction between Cars and Trucks

Travel time can be estimated using various approaches, such as historical data, traffic data, machine learning, and road geometry. In this paper, our focus is on prediction based on road geometry. By utilizing the curvature data of a road computed from GPS data, it is possible to determine the design speed of a specific road section. This information can then be used to estimate the time it would take to travel that particular stretch of road. For this paper, we test the algorithm on a 1.7km road in Kulim, Kedah, and observe its reliability of prediction for cars and trucks. While it provides accurate predictions for cars, it produces higher errors for trucks, implying that the approach is more suitable for cars than heavier vehicles. Insights gained from this research can inform future efforts to refine prediction models and enhance the accuracy and reliability of travel time estimation based on road geometry, especially for heavy vehicles.

Ambient temperature modelling from surface characteristics and associating urban morphology with thermal discomfort

Urban heat island assessment is of paramount importance when monitoring microclimate changes, increased heat stress, mortality and energy consumption. Simply analysing land surface temperature patterns for human comfort and health assessment is often inadequate. In this study, we attempt to resolve this inadequacy with ambient temperature modelling from multiple surface characteristics for a tropical megacity. A 336 datapoint‐based multilinear regression model was formulated to predict the maximum summer air temperature with a mean absolute error of 0.694°C. Specific locations of critical thermal environments were demarcated with Getis‐Ord statistic. Based on our results, extreme hotspots covered 10.53 per cent of the city on a daily basis at 99 per cent confidence level. The application of an outdoor thermal comfort index highlighted the existence of very strong heat stress zones over 14.67 per cent of the study area. The air temperature hotspots were verified with intra‐urban variation in carbon sequestration. This environmental parameter was used to strengthen the observed results since, carbon sequestration directly links urbanization with degradation of thermal environments. Further, five urban morphological parameters were analysed to conclude that building density and height were the most significant urban design factors leading to increased air temperature. Simultaneous local climate zone mapping depicted that heat islands were dominated by mid and high‐rise built‐up areas, of which 68.44 km2 of that area is suitable for vertical and roof gardening. Another 33.29 km of road stretch was delineated within low‐rise built‐up areas with scope for green landscaping to improve urban sustainability.

Establishment of the Common House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus (Duméril & Bibron), on Saba, Dutch Caribbean

The Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is recently being reported from multiple islands across the Lesser Antilles: Antigua, Dominica, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, and St. Martin (Brisbane et al. 2021, Dewynter et al. 2022, Griffing et al. 2022, Thorpe 2022, Questel et al. 2023, Thibaudier et al. 2023, Lindsay et al. 2023). Here, we report on the establishment of the species on Saba, Dutch Caribbean. On 27 November 2023, between 19.30–20.30 h, we surveyed buildings, walls, rock crevices and piles of wood, brick, concrete, and metal, including building supplies, on the Fort-Bay Road, adjacent to the Fort Bay harbor on Saba (17.61615, -63.25039). We found H. frenatus at eight locations along a 520-meter stretch of road, either on walls, next to the road between rocks, or between aforementioned materials. At each location one animal was captured, totaling four adults and four juveniles. The lamellae on the 4th and 5th digit were used to confirm species identity (Krysko and Daniels 2005). We collected one adult (Figure 1) that has been provided to Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, for deposition in their collections. We note that Hemidactylus mabouia was also found at three sites within the 520-meter stretch, but never closer than ~30 meters to Hemidactylus frenatus, which is a known competitor of other gecko species (Petren & Case 1996).

A user perception based approach to derive policy intervention areas for enhancing walkability of cities: Experience in Kerala, India

While walkable pedestrian infrastructure is essential for the sustainable growth of cities, the prevailing facilities in emerging countries such as India are not suitable for pedestrians. A user perception-based approach is presented here to identify intervention areas for enhancing the walkability of cities and also to prioritize catchment areas for improvement. The methodology includes seven stages in which perception data collected from the pedestrians are subjected to fuzzy-based Importance Satisfaction Analysis (ISA). The factor structure and management schemes developed using ISA were instrumental in deriving interventions areas. The study was conducted with reference to a road stretch of 5 km in Kollam District, Kerala, which is classified into five catchments. Among the 17 selected attributes, 12 attributes were identified as intervention areas in a single catchment, which shows the alarming situation of pedestrian infrastructure in Indian cities. The sidewalk related deficiencies were identified as common intervention areas across various catchments. Increased vehicular volume on roads, absence of guard rail, and lack of facilities for differently-abled pedestrians were the other common deficiencies. An index is developed for prioritizing pedestrian catchments. This may be useful, especially for countries with financial constraints, to prioritize the catchments based on the need for improvement. Although the findings are city-specific, the approach and experience presented here are useful for enhancing the walkability of pedestrian infrastructure in other cities.

Pothole detection in the woods: a deep learning approach for forest road surface monitoring with dashcams

ABSTRACT Sustainable forest management systems require operational measures to preserve the functional design of forest roads. Frequent road data collection and analysis are essential to support target-oriented and efficient maintenance planning and operations. This study demonstrates an automated solution for monitoring forest road surface deterioration using consumer-grade optical sensors. A YOLOv5 model with StrongSORT tracking was adapted and trained to detect and track potholes in the videos captured by vehicle-mounted cameras. For model training, datasets recorded in diverse geographical regions under different weather conditions were used. The model shows a detection and tracking performance of up to a precision and recall level of 0.79 and 0.58, respectively, with 0.70 mean average precision at an intersection over union (IoU) of at least 0.5. We applied the trained model to a forest road in southern Norway, recorded with a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)−fitted dashcam. GNSS-delivered geographical coordinates at 10 Hz rate were used to geolocate the detected potholes. The geolocation performance over this exemple road stretch of 1 km exhibited a root mean square deviation of about 9.7 m compared to OpenStreetMap. Finally, an exemple road deterioration map was compiled, which can be used for scheduling road maintenance operations.

Traffic and weather influence on small wildlife carcass persistence time on roads

The rapidly expanding road network threatens the persistence of many terrestrial species through mortality associated with wildlife-vehicle collisions. Roadkill monitoring under-estimate actual collision numbers as the time during which roadkill carcasses remain visible on the road is often shorter than the frequency of road monitoring. By placing passerine and amphibian carcasses on stretches of roads we surveyed every 2 h, we fine-tuned existing persistence estimates for these species. The time for half of the carcasses to disappear was less than 30 min for birds and 1–18 h for amphibians depending on the volume of traffic, which is much shorter than previous estimates. We show the implications of our results by performing roadkill surveys on common toads 3 h after the window of reproductive migration, showing roadkill is under-estimated by half, and by estimating from citizen-science data that passerine collisions could be as high as 10 individuals.km-2.year-1 in south-eastern France.

BiLSTM- and GNN-Based Spatiotemporal Traffic Flow Forecasting with Correlated Weather Data

The timely and accurate forecasting of urban road traffic is crucial for smart city traffic management and control. It can assist both drivers and traffic controllers in selecting efficient routes and diverting traffic to less congested roads. However, estimating traffic volume while taking into account external factors such as weather and accidents is still a challenge. In this research, we propose a hybrid deep learning framework, double attention graph neural network BiLSTM (DAGNBL), that utilizes a graph neural network to represent spatial characteristics and bidirectional LSTM units to capture temporal dependencies between features. Attention modules are added to the GNN and BLSTM to find high-impact attention weight values for the chosen road section. Our model offers the best prediction accuracy with a mean absolute percentage error of 5.21% and a root mean squared error of 4. It can be utilized as a useful tool for predicting traffic flow on certain stretches of road.

Post-earthquake highway reconstruction: Impacts and mitigation opportunities for New Zealand pinniped population

Knowledge of how roads impact wildlife populations is limited but required to inform management and mitigation. Prioritising sites for mitigation involves identifying the most at-risk areas and populations, particularly after substantial changes to roading infrastructure.We identify hotspots for New Zealand fur seal (NZFS: Arctocephalus forsteri) incidents (live or dead NZFS) on State Highway 1 (SH1) around Kaikōura, on New Zealand's South Island, and analyse whether hotspot locations have persisted following earthquake-induced road reconstruction. We also assess spatial, environmental, and temporal influences of NZFS incidents.Spatial records of incidents along SH1 were analysed to identify contemporary and former hotspots using Kernel Density Estimation Plus and a Poisson-based method. Spatial, temporal and environmental data were collected to assess these factors’ effects on incident location and timing.Between 2012 and 2022, an average of 59 incidents were recorded annually along 90 km of SH1. Ten significant hotspots accounted for 89% of incidents, along 2.75 km of road. Hotspot concentration shifted following road reconstruction. Incident numbers were significantly positively associated with traffic volumes and windspeed, and significantly negatively associated with temperature and rainfall. Autumn experienced significantly more incidents than any other season. Road-abutting NZFS breeding areas explained most of the spatial variation in incidents.SH1 is a threat to Kaikōura's NZFS, with its effects changing following an earthquake impacting NZFS distribution, and associated highway reconstruction. Hotspot analysis and current road protections suggest the risks could be substantially reduced by barrier construction along short stretches of road. This type of assessment should continue as climate change raises sea levels and increases storm events globally. This analysis and mitigation approach could be used for any wildlife across numerous landscapes.

Exploring the vegetation of the coastal road in Puerto Cisnes, southern Chile: a vascular plant inventory.

In areas of low disturbance, such as the Aysén Region of Chile, the presence of roads can inadvertently facilitate the spread of invasive species. To address this issue, it is imperative to maintain up-to-date biological inventories, as they serve as a primary source of information for the conservation of species and ecosystems. However, the maintenance of systematic inventories of vascular plants in Chile is virtually non-existent, especially outside protected wilderness areas. The data we have come from an inventory of vascular plant species along a stretch of coastal road in Puerto Cisnes (Aysén Region), characterised by a cut slope in the rock. The site is located between mountain ranges, in a region known for its protected wilderness areas and low levels of anthropogenic alteration. The study adopted an observational sampling design, using the road as a transect. For each species identified, the growth substrate, habit and dispersal mode were recorded. A total of 70 species (36 herbs, 23 shrubs and 11 trees) belonging to 42 families were found. The most represented families were Hymenophyllaceae (nine species) and Myrtaceae (four species). We recorded nine introduced species belonging to seven botanical families (Cirsiumvulgare (Savi) Ten., Crocosmiacrocosmiiflora (Lemoine ex Burb. & Dean) N.E.Br., Cytisusscoparius (L.) Link, Digitalispurpurea L., Lotuspedunculatus Cav., Plantagolanceolata L., Polygonumcampanulatum Hook. f., Prunellavulgaris L., Rubusconstrictus Lefèvre & P.J.Müll). Of these nine species, seven are invasive, while the remaining two species have not been assessed for invasive potential (i.e. Crocosmiacrocosmiiflora and Polygonumcampanulatum). In particular, Crocosmiacrocosmiiflora and Rubusconstrictus are new regional records. The majority of species were found growing on the ground (44 species), while a significant proportion were found exclusively on rocky slopes (17 species). According to their seed dispersal mechanism, the most common syndromes were anemochory (32 species) and ornithochory (20 species). Other mechanisms such as mammalochory, ballochory or myrmecochory were less common (less than four species). This study provides valuable data on the vascular flora of Puerto Cisnes, Chile, a modest human settlement in a minimally altered landscape. The region, dominated by native forests and a burgeoning salmon farming industry, has few inventories, so the database presented here adds significantly to local botanical knowledge. The main novelty of this research is that it is the first inventory carried out on a road in a slightly altered area surrounded by protected wilderness areas (such as Magdalena Island National Park and Queulat National Park). The study systematically categorises species according to substrate, habitat and dispersal mode, dimensions that are rarely combined in a single database.The inventory identifies 70 species (36 herbs, 23 shrubs and 11 trees) in 42 families. The most represented families were Hymenophyllaceae (with nine species) and Myrtaceae (with four species). Additionally, we recorded, two introduced species (Crocosmiacrocosmiiflora and Rubusconstrictus) at least 100 km south of their known distribution.

Economic Evaluation of Traffic Congestion & Design of Traffic Signal with Simulation at Ottapalam

Abstract: Traffic congestion is the most outstanding performance of the negative externalities of urban road traffic, which is characterized by the negative effects of time delay, energy waste, air pollution and many other impacts. It affects people’s daily life and could cause stress other than time and monetary loss. Traffic congestion causes negative impacts to transport sector and cause a massive increase in the transportation cost. Time is a precious commodity that we all have an equal amount of, and it is something that should not be wasted. A lot of our time is being wasted due to traffic congestion. Therefore, the study of impact of delay at important and busy road stretches in monetary terms is important. This study evaluates the traffic congestion cost at Ottapalam city which prevail heterogeneous traffic conditions. Congestion cost estimations are done by considering the factors including delay, traffic volume, passenger occupancy, and value of travel time of different vehicle types. The results obtained indicated that there was a considerable monetary loss due to traffic delay in the form of opportunity costs. So, there was a need to reduce this monetary loss by bringing suitable measures. The traffic condition of the selected road is found out using simulation by PTV Vissim software after implementing a traffic signal at a busy intersection between the road stretch. The reduction in traffic congestion shows the rightful implementation of the traffic signal.

Bronze Jugs from Ahmad's Workshop of 11th Century from Southeast Kazakhstan

The authors publish the materials related to three unknown before toreutic products produced in the 11th century. Production technology, shapes and ornamentation of pitchers, as well as their labeling, were improved on the stage of production of elite jars from bronze. These jars were found on the hillforts of Taraz and Kysmyshi during archaeological research as well as accidental finding of jar on the Talgar hillfort. Their ornithomorphic forms, brought to the perfection of stylization, artistic formation, characterize pitchers. In the bibliographic review of the study of such pitchers, which has been updated few times by J. Ilyasov, no attention is paid to Kazakhstani materials. Now that gap is filling. Three published jugs were marked with engraved inscription: «Amali Ahmad» («Ahmad's work») and the master's stylish-florid medallion. The sites of all known finds or buyouts by collectors of such jugs are well known and localized along the stretch of the Great Silk Road between Eastern Iran and Western China: all Central Asian countries, as well as Northern Afghanistan and Xinjiang. The analysis of the materials of the micro-material of two pitchers can tell about the place of production of pitchers, given in the appendix.

Effectiveness of Climbing Lanes for Slow-Moving Vehicles When Riding Uphill: A Microsimulation Study

Long uphill stretches of single-carriageway rural roads with one lane per travel direction may reduce the Level of Service (LoS), due to the decreased speed of heavy vehicles. In those circumstances, a slowdown of traffic, resulting in the formation of platoons, may be generated due to the difficulty of performing overtaking maneuvers safely. To solve this critical issue, an additional (climbing) lane for slow vehicles may be included in the road platform. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of such climbing lanes in a real case in Italy (National Road n. 4 “Via Salaria”—around 44+000 km). Using a microsimulation model implemented in VISSIM, the study analyzes speeds and travel times, delays, and queuing waiting times, comparing the Actual Scenario (AS) without climbing lanes, with two counterfactual scenarios: the first one (CS1) with three stretches of climbing lanes, and the second one (CS2), with just two stretches, in which the first two additional lanes of CS1 are merged together. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of installing climbing lanes on road sections with the described characteristics, and the potential of microsimulation models also to carry out such kind of evaluations.