Technological advancements can have a direct impact on how roads are utilized and composed- especially, it impacts the cost and speed of road construction. The rise in autonomously-driven vehicles is expected in the upcoming years. The number of vehicles that can function without manual drivers can increase driving precision and accuracy. Due to improve accuracy, the demand for wider lanes can decrease drastically.
While the built of traditional lanes had to be kept broad enough to prevent human errors, there’s an ongoing discussion to decrease the width or dimension of future roads or lanes. The good news is that with the help of road works, the task of reducing width of roads has become easy. However, with the help of relevant expertise, these roads can still accommodate heavy-duty trucks and passenger vehicles. Earlier, the task of road designing or road construction did not require any sort of analytics or digitization.
However, such technological advancements can have a direct impact on road construction and design down the line. To get started, roads can evolve into a network and infrastructure necessary to measure or guide, roads are no longer a passive network. The roads that will be constructed in the near future can include an array of sensors embedded within their structure. These sensors can also be positioned near the existing roads.
As a result, the sensors can be helpful in guiding vehicles- the vehicles can drive closer to each other. It helps to increase the capacity of the lane by 50 to 60 percent. Other kinds or sensors can be helpful in predictive maintenance processes. It helps to reduce costs, operational timing of roads or road closures.
Use of advanced materials can accelerate road design tasks. With the rise in road transportation modes and vehicle uses, the demand for durable roads is increasing day by day. It’s expected that the construction of new roads can be done with the help of new construction materials like plastic along with an asphalt mix.
This method of construction can increase the durability of roads up to fifty to sixty percent- it is durable in comparison to conventional asphalt roadways. Even existing roads must undergo certain refurbishment to comply with these modern demands. While such upgrades are limited to the top-most layers of roads, the process is considered cheap. Road resurface services are relatively cheaper when compared to construction of new roads from the very beginning.
Road works can reduce the number of stages involved in construction of roads or can help to swap obsolete steps with technically advanced methods. These modern methods can disrupt the conventional process of road construction, while reducing construction costs and time. It includes three steps:
With the help of big data, road work companies can assess the location, timing, and size within a few hours or days. This process can last up to one month when carried out with the help of conventional methods.
Tech-enabled survey and modelling procedures helps to design the roads optimally.
When prefabricated parts and new materials are sued in the construction or manufacturing process, the process can speed up. It ensures the process can commence before the end of step two.
Why is road widening procedure a necessary part of the vehicle-driven and technologically advanced era?
A small uptick in road traffic can increase the intensity of road traffic or volume of vehicles on the road. The existing or current network of roads should be widened to accommodate almost all size and volumes of vehicles. As a result, the road works companies aim to improve the riding quality, while ensuring road safety. It helps to decrease the chances of accidents as well.