Closed Projects – ERF

Sopranoise

ERF Editor — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 10:19:04 +0000

The SOPRANOISE project addresses new tools to assess acoustic performances of Noise Barriers (NB) as they are effectively used along road networks.

The Project targets at improving how to assess acoustic performances, not only after NB installation, but also throughout their whole lifetime. The primary aim is to develop innovative quick and safe methods to easily characterize installed NB in-situ, with the clear intention to submit those methods to CEN for standardization.

This research will also provide key information to infrastructure administrators for planning, procurement and lifetime management of NB, mastering how NB reduce noise within a long-term perspective.

FORESEE

ERF Editor — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 17:13:56 +0000

FORESEE Website

The FORESEE project is developing a toolkit to provide short and long term resilience schemes for rail and road corridors and logistics terminals that are able to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events produced by humans or the nature.

The multidisciplinary team of experts working in the consortium will facilitate the use of methodologies and tools already existing in the market to study the risk and costs associated with the impact of extreme events. The research will also integrate satellite and terrestrial data in the analysis and assessment of hazards with their respective impact on passengers and freight terminals.

The innovative multimodal approach will deploy cutting-edge technologies able to deploy long-term asset management strategies. FORESEE will provide road authorities and managers with a solution to anticipate, absorb, adapt and rapidly recover from a potentially disruptive hazard during the entire lifecycle of the transport infrastructure: planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance.

QUIESST

ERF Editor — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:14:40 +0000

Noise Reducing Devices – NRD (barriers, claddings, covers and added devices following EN14388) play an important role in noise reduction: optimizing their global performance is of major concern towards Sustainable Surface Transport.

QUIESST merged, for the very first time and within a true holistic approach, “true” intrinsic products characteristics, whatever their materials and shapes, together with their extrinsic ones, in order to assess their actual global capacities to reduce the amount of people exposed to noise (END target). It addressed 5 main topics:

Near /far field relationship: linking the intrinsic characteristics to the corresponding extrinsic far field effect
In-situ measurement methods: developing methods relevant of the actual intended use, allowing long term performances control
Comparing NRD’s performances with different test methods: building a database comparing both existing and new tests results, and providing the relevant relationship
Optimising NRD’s global performance through a holistic approach: considering acoustic, non-acoustic and global impact optimization, multicriteria optimization strategies, and possible global performance indicators
Sustainability: defining the relevant generic criteria and developing the first existing NRD’s overall sustainability assessment method.

The results of the research on those 5 topics were assembled in a “Guidebook to NRD optimisation” as a reference tool for noise mitigation. To obtain the Guidebook, please contact the ERF Secretariat.

LABEL

ERF Editor — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:12:48 +0000

LABEL was a € 2.7 million European Commission co-funded project, aimed at establishing and encouraging a certification system, with broad acceptability, for Truck Parking Areas in Europe.

In two main approaches, a number of mutually supportive actions were proposed. The two approaches included:

Systematic gathering, scrutiny and discussion of existing national and international guidelines, recommendations and regulations regarding the security and quality of truck parking areas. The shaping a new quality and security labelling and certification scheme
Application and validation of the thus found scheme as the core element of a comprehensive labelling system, leading to the introduction of a European Blue Label scheme for Rest Areas / Service Stations / Truck Stops for the Professional Driver.
Comprehensive labelling system was designed to seek broad governmental and industry acceptance. The business incentives and the high communication value of the support measure were considered to establish the labelling system beyond the project. Also, extensions for focus on e.g. dangerous goods are possible.
Facilitate selection of sites to be certified, as well as to incorporate as many sites as possible into an assessment scheme through an additional computer-assisted system. Moreover, several self-assessment tools encouraged site operators to improve on quality, safety and in particular security.

Ongoing projects

CIRCUIT Ongoing projects

GINA

ERF Editor — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 17:08:03 +0000

GINA was part of the Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technology Development which concretely addressed the adoption of EGNOS/Galileo in the road sector with regards to different specific aspects:

The technical feasibility and economic viability of a large scale, GNSS-only road pricing scheme which is not yet proven
The potential benefits related to congestion and pollution management
The potential of VAS running on a road pricing platform as well as the use of the same Onboard Equipment shared by different applications
The added value of the EU technology as compared to GPS-only in terms of performance or cost improvement has to be fully understood.

2018-07-09To confront these barriers, the GINA Project intendeds to leverage on three main activities:

An in-depth analysis of all the factors affecting a nationwide GNSS-based road pricing solution and VAS running on the same platforms. Legal, regulatory, interoperability and standardisation aspects were analysed. Given the importance of understanding EGNOS/Galileo commercial feasibility, special emphasis was placed on market and business aspects.
A large-scale nation-wide demonstration of a GNSS-based road pricing scheme and VAS was implemented in the Netherlands. The trial complied with a list of requirements defined by real end-users.
A solid awareness-raising strategy was deployed and contributed to the adoption of the EU GNSS for road pricing and VAS.

Durab Roads

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:12:32 +0000

The project

DURABROADS main objective is to provide a sustainable growth through the development and demonstration of cost-effective, eco-friendly, durable and resilient pavements. These pavements will be based on innovative nanotechnology enhanced asphalts and through the optimization of procedures to build and rehabilitate long-life, safer and greener roads. The consortium will also consider main transport challenges which Europe is facing at the moment. Improvement citizens daily life in terms of mobility and exportation of innovative European knowledge to third countries will play a key role in the project.

Solution

DURABROADS aims at developing pavements adapted to new challenges and achieving an efficient, smarter and safer mobility. In addition, DURABROADS solutions will optimize road construction and rehabilitation procedures while minimizing the negative impact on the environment. The development of innovative nanotechnology-enhanced binders will be carried out to improve resilience and durability of asphalt mixes. Moreover, the consortium will focus in particular on research of Warm Mix Asphalt technology and the maximum addition of wastes and by-products to minimize environmental impacts.

DurabRoads Website

Closed Projects

SustainEuroRoad

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 15:04:39 +0000

About

SafetyCube (Safety CaUsation, Benefits and Efficiency) is a research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizons 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, in the domain of Road Safety. The project started on May 1st, 2015 and will run for a period of three years.

Objective

The primary objective of the SafetyCube project is to develop an innovative road safety Decision Support System (DSS) that will enable policy-makers and stakeholders to select and implement the most appropriate strategies, measures and cost-effective approaches to reduce casualties of all road user types and all severities in Europe and worldwide.

SustainEuro Road Website

Closed Projects

LCE4ROADS

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:49:05 +0000

LCE4ROADS is a 36-month FP7 project, funded by the European Commission and started on 1^st October 2013, entitled “Life Cycle Engineering approach to develop a novel EU-harmonized sustainability certification system for cost-effective, safer and greener road infrastructures.“.

Overview

The EU Ecolabel identifies products and services that contribute to sustainability because they have demonstrated a reduced environmental impact throughout their life cycle. There are already more than 17,000 EU Eco-labelled products on the market, but there are no references for road products and infrastructures The concept of the LCE4ROADS project arises from the necessity for a new, green, holistic and EU-harmonised certification system integrating a Life Cycle Engineering (LCE) approach: environmental indicators along with the economic, technical and social aspects, for the assessment of future and existing road infrastructures, as well as their construction materials such as asphalt mixtures and cement-based materials.

This methodology, together with a guide for road certification and a multi-criteria software tool to be developed, will define criteria and provide recommendations, supporting and motivating relevant stakeholders and industry to include greener, more cost-effective and safer technologies in their road construction, maintenance and renewal projects. In order to achieve the expected results, a complete work plan has been put together that will move from the definition of the new certification/rating methodology considering existing relevant labelling approaches, plus the analysis of road products, to the development of guidelines and a software tool that, thanks to the direct involvement of CEN in the project, will motivate future EU-harmonized certification approaches for roads that would grant the implementation of the LCE4ROADS results.

The LCE4ROADS project will contribute to the implementation of European policies and strategies, boosting the integration of transport in sustainable development promoting technologies and materials that reduce pollutant emissions and the use of natural and financial resources.

LCE4Roads Website

Closed Projects

ECOROADS

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:44:22 +0000

The need

The general objective of the ECOROADS project is to overcome the barrier established by the formal interpretation of the two Directives 2008/96/EC (on road infrastructure safety management) and 2004/54/EC (on tunnels), that in practice do not foresee the same Road Safety Audits/Inspections to be performed on open roads and in tunnels.

The main problem is that, while from the user (driver) point of view a road is a unique linear infrastructure generally in open terrain and sometimes in closed environment (tunnels), the strict application of the two Directives may lead to a non-uniform approach to the infrastructure safety management outside and inside tunnels.

Objectives

To overcome this barrier, ECOROADS projects aims at the establishment of a common enhanced approach to road infrastructure and tunnel safety management by using the concepts and criteria of the Directive 2008/96/CE on road infrastructure safety management and the results of the two related
European Commission’s (EC) studies on Directive 2008/96/EC, covering the open road safety management and Directive 2004/54/EC, covering the tunnels.

Such an objective will be achieved through the following specific activities:

Workshops with the stakeholders (European tunnel and road managers);
Exchange of best practices and experiences between European tunnel experts and road safety professionals
Pilot joint safety operations in (at least) five European road sections in transition (which feature both open roads and tunnels)
Recommendations and guidelines for the application of the RSA and RSI concepts within the tunnel safety procedures and operations

Ecoroads Website

Closed Projects

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 652821

FOTsis

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:25:51 +0000

FOTsis (European Field Operational Test on Safe, Intelligent and Sustainable Road Operation) is a large-scale field testing of the road infrastructure management systems needed for the operation of seven close-to-market cooperative I2V, V2I & I2I technologies (the FOTsis Services), in order to assess in detail both 1) their effectiveness and 2) their potential for a full-scale deployment in European roads.

Objective

Specifically, FOTsis will test the road infrastructure s capability to incorporate the new cooperative systems technology and provide the following services in four European Test-Communities (Spain, Portugal, Germany and Greece) regrouping 9 Test-Sites:

S1: Emergency Management

S2: Safety Incident Management

S3: Intelligent Congestion Control

S4: Dynamic Route Planning

S5: Special Vehicle Tracking

S6: Advanced Enforcement

S7: Infrastructure Safety Assessment

Using an integral and comprehensive approach, FOTsis will therefore review the road infrastructure and communication networks required to secure a proper connectivity from the traffic control centres (and all the information they already have available, enhanced with the V2I data) with the users/vehicles.

Relying on the common European and open ITS architecture guideline proposal (supported by the project COMeSafety), able to incorporate available and future ITS services and systems, FOTsis aims to contribute to the safety, mobility and sustainability challenges faced nowadays by the European road transport system.

The project represents a major step forward to better connect vehicles, infrastructures and traffic management centres, the main focus being placed on the responsibilities of the road operator.

FOTsis Website

Closed Projects

Rainvision

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:23:38 +0000

About

Road markings are an essential component of a modern road infrastructure, providing valuable guidance to vehicles on the road and, thus improving safety and driver comfort. While previous research has confirmed the correlation between road safety and road markings during dry night-time conditions, there has been little focus on wet and wet and rainy conditions.

RAINVISION aims to fill the gap by studying the influence of road marking on driver behaviour, by mainly analysing how different age groups (young vs middle vs old) and different gender groups (male vs female) adapt their driving behaviour on the basis of the visibility and retroflectivity of road markings under all weather conditions, (i.e. dry, wet, wet and rainy) during night time driving.

To undertake this task, the RAINVISION consortium, comprising five partners from five European countries, will deploy a three level innovative approach that will entail, first a simulation phase, second an off-road test track and finally, an on-site field operational test.

The results of the various trials will be transposed into a recommendations handbook aimed at road authorities and operators that will be presented once the RAINVISION project concludes its operations at the end of 2013.

Rainvision Website

Deliverables:

– Deliverable 1.1: State of the Art on markings research, evolution of EN 1436 and test methodolodies

– Deliverable 2.1: Report on Driver Simulation Study

– Deliverable 3.1: Report on Track Test Naturalistic Driving Study

– Deliverable 4.1: Report on Road Test in United Kingdom Road Test in United Kingdom

– Deliverable 5.1: Recommendations Handbook

– Deliverable 6.2: Project Leaflet

Closed Projects

White Roads

erfbe — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 14:08:29 +0000

Research in the field of road safety is often developed in a negative framework; thus, it is usual to analyse roa d, us er and vehicle conditions after an accident.

There are many road sections along the European network that, despite the same density of traffic flow and similar road infrastructure features, register fewer accidents. These sections can usually be found before and after stretches of road that are characterised by a high level of accidents.

This proposal seeks to provide a positive approach to road safety. Starting from the assumption that more useful information can be obtained analysing road sections with low road accident frequency, the project aims at identifying the best road sections in Europe and comparing them to the adjacent stretches characterised by a higher volume of accidents.The concept suggested will be called “white spot”, in clear opposition to the so-called “black spot”, following the initial experience on “white spots” and “white roads” in Spain.

The undertaking of such a comparative analysis will enable the project to highlight the factors responsible for a lower accident frequency, in spite of similar traffic volumes and road infrastructure characteristics. The conclusion will take the form of a white roads checklist and will complement existing Guidelines for the design, maintenance and management of “roads without accidents” (RIPCORD-ISEREST) as well as expected guidelines at member state level, as laid down by Directive 2008/96/CE.

Closed Projects