What Happened?
Cities are investing in new technology to take better care of roadways through efficient monitoring and repairs.
Skid-Resistant Surface
The Missouri Department of Transportation is testing an anti-skid surface treatment to make roadways safer and more efficient during inclement weather. If the new material proves to reduce the number of crashes, as well as the number of vehicles forced to run off the road, the state will start installing the surfacing on major roadways throughout the state this summer, Fox 2 Now St. Louis reported.
Microsurfacing
Lake County, Illinois, has plans to use $540,000 in motor fuel tax funds to preserve two roadways before extensive and costly repairs will be needed. Through a technique called microsurfacing, the Division of Transportation will place a thin seal on the top of existing pavement rather than completely resurface the road. This seal acts as a weatherizing tool that fills in ruts and improve skid-resistance to make roadways safer in between major repairs, the Daily Herald reported.
The microsurfacing technique is not designed for highly damaged roadways with significant distress and potholes. Rather, the seal works most effectively on roadways in good condition that do not need immediate repairs. By prolonging the lifespan of roadway surfacing in between repairs, the Division of Transportation can free up money, resources and manpower to address more immediate roadway repair demands and stretch funding, the Daily Herald reported.
Pothole Killers
Bridgeport, Connecticut, has adopted a new system to quickly and safely repair roads that are found ridden with potholes once winter snow melts away. The innovative system uses spray injection technology to fill potholes quickly while using less labor and taking up less time on the streets, CT News reported.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation is also considering adopting the spray injection technology in replacement of the more traditional method of using hot and cold patches. While initial costs will be relatively high to purchase or contract the spray injection system, the technology will pay off in the long term by creating more secure patches over potholes that require less frequent repair and maintenance. This will cut down on labor and material costs while boosting roadway efficiency, Providence Journal reported.
Pothole Patcher
In Staten Island, a pothole patcher device is helping local street crews resurface entire strips of rough roadways in a third of the time it takes more traditional practices to patch potholes. The specialized road resurfacing machine does not fill individual potholes, but rather recovers entire chunks of roadways that have been badly damaged due to wear and extreme weather conditions, SI Live reported.
Monitoring System
San Diego announced it will spend $550,000 to lease two cars equipped with cameras to assess town roadways and determine where repairs are needed immediately. The cars are outfitted with line scan cameras to generate condition data that helps maintenance crews predetermine the cost of maintaining the city’s road network. Over the next year, the vehicles will assess nearly 3,000 miles of roads as part of a five-year plan to prioritize and improve all San Diego streets, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
Predicting Potholes
Researchers in the UK are developing software to help city transportation departments identify roadway distress early to better predict repair needs before conditions deteriorate too far. Nottingham Trent University researchers are working on technology that would monitor the surface of roads and track underlying damage that could become a pothole if left unattended, CityLab reported.
The scanners monitoring roadway conditions detect the symptoms associated with a gradual breakdown of road surfaces. The scanners collect roadway data that can is compiled into a three-dimensional map of the ground for easy viewing and analysis. Once any sign of breakdown is detected, transit departments can start maintaining roads and mitigating more extensive and costly repairs, CityLab reported.
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