This article reports on how the Highways Agency (HA) has been explaining the role of technology in delivering the targets set in the UK Government's 10 Year Transport Plan. The HA is responsible for managing the UK's motorway and trunk road network of about 6000 miles, which carries one third of car traffic and two thirds of road freight traffic. Traffic levels are expected to grow by about 20% during the next ten years, but the UK target is to hold congestion over this period to 5% below its level in 2000. The road safety target is to reduce the numbers of fatalities and serious injuries by one third by 2010. The HA has a 'triple package' of innovative technology, including new variable message signs (VMS), automatic incident detection, and upgrading the HA's national telecommunications fibre optic cable network. Together, these technologies will provide the intelligent road infrastructure to enable key road projects to proceed. The main targets are to: (1) install 'automatic hold-up warning systems' on 30% of English motorways by 2004; (2) install 200 more motorway monitoring cameras by 2004; (3) triple the number of VMS on national roads by 2003; (4) provide real-time strategic traffic management from a new national control centre from 2002; (5) support development of in-car information systems; and (6) introduce several controlled motorway sections on the M25 and elsewhere.
Samenvatting