road aesthetics - nordic road and transport research · tics and road structures. the work is...
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NORDICROAD AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH | NO.3 | 2008 WWW.NORDICROADS.COM
Road AestheticsP6
Noise ReducingP21
2 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3www.nordicroads.com
News from Contents
Swedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)
VTI is an independent, internationally establishedresearch institute which is engaged in the transportsector. Our work covers all modes, and our core com-petence is in the fields of safety, economy, environ-ment, traffic and transport analysis, public transport,behaviour and the man-vehicle-transport system inte-raction, and in road design, operation and maintenan-ce. VTI is a world leader in several areas, for instancein simulator technology.
Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)
The Road Directorate, which is a part of TheMinistry of Transport, Denmark, is responsible fordevelopment and management of the nationalhighways and for servicing and facilitating traffic onthe network. As part of this responsibility, theDirectorate conducts R&D, the aim of which is tocontribute to efficient road management and to thesafe use of the network. The materials researchcomponent is carried out by the Danish RoadInstitute.
Technical Research Centreof Finland (VTT)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a con-tract research organisation with a staff of 2,800. Inthis joint publication, the VTT expertise areas coverresearch and development of transportation, logis-tics and road structures. The work is carried out infive research groups employing a staff of 60.
Icelandic RoadAdministration (ICERA)The ICERA's mission is to provide the
Icelandic society with a road system in accordancewith its needs and to provide a service with the aimof smooth and safe traffic. The number of employe-es is about 340. Applied research and developmentand to some extent also basic research concerningroad construction, maintenance, traffic and safety isperformed or directed by the ICERA. Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.
Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is oneof the administrative agencies under the Ministry ofTransport and Communications in Norway. TheNPRA is responsible for the development and mana-gement of public roads and road traffic, as well as theVehicle Department. This responsibility includesresearch and development of all areas related to roadtransport and the implementation of R&D results.
Institute of TransportEconomics (TØI), Norway
The Institute of Transport Economics is the natio-nal institution for transport research and develop-ment in Norway. The main objectives of theInstitute are to carry out applied research and pro-mote the application and use of results throughconsultative assistance to public authorities, thetransport industry and others. The Institute is anindependent research foundation employing aboutone hundred persons.
Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is a joint publi-cation of six public road and transport researchorganisations in the Nordic countries, Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The mainobjective of the publication is to disseminate re-search results and news from the institutions, espe-cially to researchers and decision makers. Each insti-tution is responsible for the selection and presenta-tion of the material from its own scope of activities.
Nordic Road & Transport Research is publishedthree times a year. It is regularly sent out, free ofcharge, to recipients selected by the six jointpublishers. Free sample copies are also sent out onspecial request.
Reproduction and quotation of the texts are allow-ed if reference is made to the author and source.However, legislation regulates and restricts the rightto reproduce the illustrations. Please contact therespective publishing institution for information.
Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents of the publi-
cation:
Please write to the author or to the respectivepublishing organisation.
Requests for back issues, and notification of add-ress changes:
Readers outside the Nordic countries: please writeto the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.
Readers in the Nordic countries: please contactthe publishing institution of your country.
Addresses: see back cover.
The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions
Editor-in-Chief, SwedenMagdalena Green, [email protected]
DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, [email protected]
FinlandKari Mäkelä, [email protected]
IcelandG. Pétur Matthiasson, [email protected]
NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, [email protected] Aas, TØI [email protected]
Graphic DesignJohnny Dahlgren Grafisk produktion AB,
Linköping, Sweden
Issue 3,900
ISSN 1101-5179
CoverVTI/Hejdlösa bilder
In Brief | p4The Motorway in Denmark | p6The Landscape has an Effect on Driving | p8Planting in Connection with Road Constructions | p9National Tourist Routes – the World’s most Beautiful Drives | p10Beautiful Roads Award | p12Aesthetic Roads – Road Architecture | p14Noise Barriers and Embankments | p16The winner 2008 | p18The Preservation of 40 Bridges | p19Tourist Routes Important for the Economy | p20The Way to a Quieter Surfacing | p21Good Governance Regarding Noise Management | p22Noise Reducing Pavements in Europe | p24METRONOME | p26Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark | p28New EU Countries Need Better Roads | p30Re-road Improves Asphalt Recycling | p32Progress Report from Bjørvika | p34Publications | p32
2 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3www.nordicroads.com
News from Contents
Swedish National Road andTransport Research Institute (VTI)
VTI is an independent, internationally establishedresearch institute which is engaged in the transportsector. Our work covers all modes, and our core com-petence is in the fields of safety, economy, environ-ment, traffic and transport analysis, public transport,behaviour and the man-vehicle-transport system inte-raction, and in road design, operation and maintenan-ce. VTI is a world leader in several areas, for instancein simulator technology.
Danish Road Directorate (DRD)Danish Road Institute (DRI)
The Road Directorate, which is a part of TheMinistry of Transport, Denmark, is responsible fordevelopment and management of the nationalhighways and for servicing and facilitating traffic onthe network. As part of this responsibility, theDirectorate conducts R&D, the aim of which is tocontribute to efficient road management and to thesafe use of the network. The materials researchcomponent is carried out by the Danish RoadInstitute.
Technical Research Centreof Finland (VTT)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a con-tract research organisation with a staff of 2,800. Inthis joint publication, the VTT expertise areas coverresearch and development of transportation, logis-tics and road structures. The work is carried out infive research groups employing a staff of 60.
Icelandic RoadAdministration (ICERA)The ICERA's mission is to provide the
Icelandic society with a road system in accordancewith its needs and to provide a service with the aimof smooth and safe traffic. The number of employe-es is about 340. Applied research and developmentand to some extent also basic research concerningroad construction, maintenance, traffic and safety isperformed or directed by the ICERA. Developmentdivision is responsible for road research in Iceland.
Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is oneof the administrative agencies under the Ministry ofTransport and Communications in Norway. TheNPRA is responsible for the development and mana-gement of public roads and road traffic, as well as theVehicle Department. This responsibility includesresearch and development of all areas related to roadtransport and the implementation of R&D results.
Institute of TransportEconomics (TØI), Norway
The Institute of Transport Economics is the natio-nal institution for transport research and develop-ment in Norway. The main objectives of theInstitute are to carry out applied research and pro-mote the application and use of results throughconsultative assistance to public authorities, thetransport industry and others. The Institute is anindependent research foundation employing aboutone hundred persons.
Editorial notesNordic Road & Transport Research is a joint publi-cation of six public road and transport researchorganisations in the Nordic countries, Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The mainobjective of the publication is to disseminate re-search results and news from the institutions, espe-cially to researchers and decision makers. Each insti-tution is responsible for the selection and presenta-tion of the material from its own scope of activities.
Nordic Road & Transport Research is publishedthree times a year. It is regularly sent out, free ofcharge, to recipients selected by the six jointpublishers. Free sample copies are also sent out onspecial request.
Reproduction and quotation of the texts are allow-ed if reference is made to the author and source.However, legislation regulates and restricts the rightto reproduce the illustrations. Please contact therespective publishing institution for information.
Advertising is not accepted.Correspondence about the contents of the publi-
cation:
Please write to the author or to the respectivepublishing organisation.
Requests for back issues, and notification of add-ress changes:
Readers outside the Nordic countries: please writeto the Editor-in-chief at the VTI in Sweden.
Readers in the Nordic countries: please contactthe publishing institution of your country.
Addresses: see back cover.
The Editorial Board consists of the following representatives of the publishing institutions
Editor-in-Chief, SwedenMagdalena Green, [email protected]
DenmarkHelen Hasz-Singh, [email protected]
FinlandKari Mäkelä, [email protected]
IcelandG. Pétur Matthiasson, [email protected]
NorwayThorbjørn Chr. Risan, [email protected] Aas, TØI [email protected]
Graphic DesignJohnny Dahlgren Grafisk produktion AB,
Linköping, Sweden
Issue 3,900
ISSN 1101-5179
CoverVTI/Hejdlösa bilder
In Brief | p4The Motorway in Denmark | p6The Landscape has an Effect on Driving | p8Planting in Connection with Road Constructions | p9National Tourist Routes – the World’s most Beautiful Drives | p10Beautiful Roads Award | p12Aesthetic Roads – Road Architecture | p14Noise Barriers and Embankments | p16The winner 2008 | p18The Preservation of 40 Bridges | p19Tourist Routes Important for the Economy | p20The Way to a Quieter Surfacing | p21Good Governance Regarding Noise Management | p22Noise Reducing Pavements in Europe | p24METRONOME | p26Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark | p28New EU Countries Need Better Roads | p30Re-road Improves Asphalt Recycling | p32Progress Report from Bjørvika | p34Publications | p32
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 54 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
IN BRIEF
Contact:Juha Luoma, [email protected] more: http://www.vtt.fi/proj/tl2025/
More information: vegvesen.no/fag/teknologi/tunnelteknikk/tunnelutvikling (some in English)
Contact: [email protected]
PHO
TO:
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.CO
M
Kabus Oy, a Finnish bus manufacturer, ispart of the Koiviston Auto Corporation,which is the largest bus operator inFinland. Kabus’ goal is to produce highquality, energy efficient buses and coachesexclusively for its parent corporation.
Lightweight, engine downsizing andimproved aerodynamics have already cutthe fuel consumption of Kabus buses andcoaches by 20%. The next step towardseven more energy efficient Kabus buses wasto exploit regenerative braking and the
Lightweight hybrid bus, a success-ful solution for energy efficiency
hybrid propulsion system. In 2005, together with VTT Kabus star-
ted to develop a concept of a diesel electriccity bus. Simulations early in the projectwere promising, showing that up to 30%savings in fuel consumption are achievable.Building the first prototype required seve-ral partners specialised in electronics, mostof which were Finnish. The leading ideawas to use ultra capacitors as energy stora-ge, since in city traffic regenerative brakingenergy can be stored in short-term energystorage, and for that purpose the moderncapacitors seem to be more suitable thanbatteries. The first parallel hybrid KabusTC-4A4 city bus was ready for test-driving inNovember 2007. Testing has proved thatthe idea of a parallel hybrid bus with ultracapacitors works, and fuel savings are near-ly 30% already for the first prototype.
Kabus plans to continue with hybrid busdevelopment in order to have it in serialproduction around 2010-2011.
TRAFFIC SAFETY 2025 – Research ProgramAt the beginning of 2008, VTT TechnicalResearch Centre of Finland launched aresearch program in traffic safety. In theprogram, applied and customer-orientedresearch is conducted that will contributeto the advancement of overall traffic safetygoals and the participating organizations.The research program involves multidisci-plinary traffic safety research in the areasof road traffic and rail traffic, with a mainfocus on technical countermeasures andapplications. However, other types of coun-termeasures are not excluded. The aim isto collect an extensive consortium of custo-mers including private companies andpublic authorities. These members annual-ly provide current and challenging trafficsafety issues that need scientific research tobe solved. The following organizations andcompanies have committed to the first 3-
year period of the program: the FinnishRail Administration, the Finnish RailAgency, the Finnish Road Administration,Michelin Nordic AB, the Ministry ofTransport and Communications Finland,Neste Oil Corporation, and VR-Group.New members are also welcome once theprogram has started. In 2008, the programfocused on seven topics: paradigms andapproaches of national road safety work,advanced illustration of accident data, roadsafety in various plans, tire issues in cras-hes, assessment of driver’s own road safety,security in rail transport, and driver beha-vior at grade crossings.
In early November, 30 employees from TheNorwegian Public Roads Administration(NPRA) were gathered outside Oslo totake part in the new internal training pro-gram called The Tunnel School. The parti-cipant weren’t just new beginners. Alltogether they have more than 300 years ofexperience with tunnel design, construc-
300 Years of Tunnel Experience Gatheredtion and management.
The participants come from differentplaces of work all over Norway and haveeducational background in several of thespecial fields within the tunneling profes-sion.
– The main intention with the TunnelSchool is to gather all of those who plan,
construct and maintain tunnels in such away that they can learn more from eachother’s subject areas. In particular it isimportant to give professionals who planand construct tunnels better knowledgeabout problems with operation and main-tenance to avoid building of solutionswhich are difficult to operate and maintainin a good manner, says Ruth GunnlaugHaug, “Headmaster” of the Tunnel School.
The gathering was the first one of fourplanned gatherings; the last one will takeplace in April 2009. Main subject was ope-ration and maintenance of tunnels. Thenplanning and construction of tunnels willfollow on the next gatherings. The finalgathering will be a session for summing upand exchange of experience.
Beside operation and maintenance, alsothe theme management and communica-tion is given great attention. In addition,the participants get input about expecta-tions from the tunnels users; TheNorwegian Haulier’s Association (NLF)and Norwegian Automobile Federation(NAF), among others. The NorwegianNational Rail Administration (Jernbane-verket) will also share their experience
with tunnels with the students of theTunnel School.
The Tunnel School constitutes a part ofNPRA’s research and development projectcalled Modern Road Tunnels.
Norway has the second largest total tun-nel length in the world. There are nearly950 road tunnels with a total length of ca.840 km on the national and county roadsin Norway. Annual tunnel construction is20 – 30 km. So far 24 sub sea tunnels areconstructed and several more are planned.The world’s longest road tunnel,Lærdalstunnelen – 24.5 km, and theworld’s deepest tunnel, Eiksundtunnelen –287 metres below sea level are both locatedin Norway.
The majority of tunnels in Norway arebuilt in solid rock type and the most com-mon tunnel construction method has beendrilling and blasting. Tunnel boring machi-ne has to a lesser extent been used inNorway.
Today more stringent requirements fordesigning tunnels, both when it comes tosafety and aesthetics are new challengesthat NPRA has to face. Water- and frost pro-tection, electro-technical equipment,maintainability and safety on all levels areobjectives of these new requirements.
The Tunnel School contributes to mee-ting those new challenges.
General manager of NPRA, Terje Moe Gustavsen, at the opening ceremony of The Tunnel School.
PHO
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Project Manager and "Headmaster" of The TunnelSchool, Ruth Gunlaug Haug, was giving the partici-pants a smiling welcome.
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. R
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NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 54 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
IN BRIEF
Contact:Juha Luoma, [email protected] more: http://www.vtt.fi/proj/tl2025/
More information: vegvesen.no/fag/teknologi/tunnelteknikk/tunnelutvikling (some in English)
Contact: [email protected]
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
Kabus Oy, a Finnish bus manufacturer, ispart of the Koiviston Auto Corporation,which is the largest bus operator inFinland. Kabus’ goal is to produce highquality, energy efficient buses and coachesexclusively for its parent corporation.
Lightweight, engine downsizing andimproved aerodynamics have already cutthe fuel consumption of Kabus buses andcoaches by 20%. The next step towardseven more energy efficient Kabus buses wasto exploit regenerative braking and the
Lightweight hybrid bus, a success-ful solution for energy efficiency
hybrid propulsion system. In 2005, together with VTT Kabus star-
ted to develop a concept of a diesel electriccity bus. Simulations early in the projectwere promising, showing that up to 30%savings in fuel consumption are achievable.Building the first prototype required seve-ral partners specialised in electronics, mostof which were Finnish. The leading ideawas to use ultra capacitors as energy stora-ge, since in city traffic regenerative brakingenergy can be stored in short-term energystorage, and for that purpose the moderncapacitors seem to be more suitable thanbatteries. The first parallel hybrid KabusTC-4A4 city bus was ready for test-driving inNovember 2007. Testing has proved thatthe idea of a parallel hybrid bus with ultracapacitors works, and fuel savings are near-ly 30% already for the first prototype.
Kabus plans to continue with hybrid busdevelopment in order to have it in serialproduction around 2010-2011.
TRAFFIC SAFETY 2025 – Research ProgramAt the beginning of 2008, VTT TechnicalResearch Centre of Finland launched aresearch program in traffic safety. In theprogram, applied and customer-orientedresearch is conducted that will contributeto the advancement of overall traffic safetygoals and the participating organizations.The research program involves multidisci-plinary traffic safety research in the areasof road traffic and rail traffic, with a mainfocus on technical countermeasures andapplications. However, other types of coun-termeasures are not excluded. The aim isto collect an extensive consortium of custo-mers including private companies andpublic authorities. These members annual-ly provide current and challenging trafficsafety issues that need scientific research tobe solved. The following organizations andcompanies have committed to the first 3-
year period of the program: the FinnishRail Administration, the Finnish RailAgency, the Finnish Road Administration,Michelin Nordic AB, the Ministry ofTransport and Communications Finland,Neste Oil Corporation, and VR-Group.New members are also welcome once theprogram has started. In 2008, the programfocused on seven topics: paradigms andapproaches of national road safety work,advanced illustration of accident data, roadsafety in various plans, tire issues in cras-hes, assessment of driver’s own road safety,security in rail transport, and driver beha-vior at grade crossings.
In early November, 30 employees from TheNorwegian Public Roads Administration(NPRA) were gathered outside Oslo totake part in the new internal training pro-gram called The Tunnel School. The parti-cipant weren’t just new beginners. Alltogether they have more than 300 years ofexperience with tunnel design, construc-
300 Years of Tunnel Experience Gatheredtion and management.
The participants come from differentplaces of work all over Norway and haveeducational background in several of thespecial fields within the tunneling profes-sion.
– The main intention with the TunnelSchool is to gather all of those who plan,
construct and maintain tunnels in such away that they can learn more from eachother’s subject areas. In particular it isimportant to give professionals who planand construct tunnels better knowledgeabout problems with operation and main-tenance to avoid building of solutionswhich are difficult to operate and maintainin a good manner, says Ruth GunnlaugHaug, “Headmaster” of the Tunnel School.
The gathering was the first one of fourplanned gatherings; the last one will takeplace in April 2009. Main subject was ope-ration and maintenance of tunnels. Thenplanning and construction of tunnels willfollow on the next gatherings. The finalgathering will be a session for summing upand exchange of experience.
Beside operation and maintenance, alsothe theme management and communica-tion is given great attention. In addition,the participants get input about expecta-tions from the tunnels users; TheNorwegian Haulier’s Association (NLF)and Norwegian Automobile Federation(NAF), among others. The NorwegianNational Rail Administration (Jernbane-verket) will also share their experience
with tunnels with the students of theTunnel School.
The Tunnel School constitutes a part ofNPRA’s research and development projectcalled Modern Road Tunnels.
Norway has the second largest total tun-nel length in the world. There are nearly950 road tunnels with a total length of ca.840 km on the national and county roadsin Norway. Annual tunnel construction is20 – 30 km. So far 24 sub sea tunnels areconstructed and several more are planned.The world’s longest road tunnel,Lærdalstunnelen – 24.5 km, and theworld’s deepest tunnel, Eiksundtunnelen –287 metres below sea level are both locatedin Norway.
The majority of tunnels in Norway arebuilt in solid rock type and the most com-mon tunnel construction method has beendrilling and blasting. Tunnel boring machi-ne has to a lesser extent been used inNorway.
Today more stringent requirements fordesigning tunnels, both when it comes tosafety and aesthetics are new challengesthat NPRA has to face. Water- and frost pro-tection, electro-technical equipment,maintainability and safety on all levels areobjectives of these new requirements.
The Tunnel School contributes to mee-ting those new challenges.
General manager of NPRA, Terje Moe Gustavsen, at the opening ceremony of The Tunnel School.
PHO
TO:
TOE
SO
LBER
G,
NPR
A
Project Manager and "Headmaster" of The TunnelSchool, Ruth Gunlaug Haug, was giving the partici-pants a smiling welcome.
PHO
TO:
THO
RB
JØR
N C
HR
. R
ISAN
, N
PRA
6 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 7
ROAD AESTHETICS
The classic motorway is very vulnerableto the changes which occur in a dyna-
mic society. The surroundings near biggerurban communities change very fast, in analmost explosive manner. Industrial areasgrow quickly and almost in a random way,suburbs creep along the motorways withflags and signposts, the towns are growingclose by with demands for noise barriers atthe same time as the limits of the motorwayand areas near it, become overgrown. Thisputs big demands on the main architectu-ral principle and challenges the total archi-tectural treatment in a wider space. Thisapplies both for the experience which thetraveller has of the road – but also the sur-rounding landscape of the motorway andits contact with industrial areas and especi-ally the meeting with the town.
When driving through the country, theexperience of the countryside depends onmany different factors. For example, dri-ving speed plays a big role. High speed
The classic motorway is thought of as a means of transportationin open country – planned with a rhythmic sequence, where thepurpose is a balance between monotony and experience. Theideal is a sequence, which is sufficiently varied to catch the dri-ver’s attention while driving, but which at the same time presentsthe landscape around the motorway in a beautiful – almost film-like way.
The Motorway in Denmark
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
requires greater concentration, both onthe way one drives and the road itself. Thusthere is less concentration on the landsca-pe alongside the road.
Today we experience nature and theopen countryside as well as the changes inthe countryside in the different parts of thecountry through car windows, when dri-ving on the motorways. The motorway net-work is one of the biggest construction pro-jects in newer times. It represents the pre-sent architectural and engineering experti-se and reflects at the same time the timeperiod when it was constructed. To formthe course of a motorway through thelandscape is a discipline which putsdemands on safety, technical road con-struction, architectural safety and a senseof feeling. The Danish Road Directoratehas a tradition of taking the harmony inthe forming into consideration and this isdone for the safety of the road user, butalso to take the landscape into accountthrough which the road passes.
Thus the alignment of a motorway mustbe seen from two sides. The landscape isseen from the road, but the placing of the
road in the landscape is of great importan-ce seen from the point of view of theneighbours of a road. There are a numberof Road Standards which deal with the con-struction of motorways in open countrysi-de. The cross profile of the motorway isalso of importance in how the landscape isperceived. A wide cross profile through alandscape in big scale will underline theopen character of the landscape and provi-des good possibilities of orientation for theroad users, whereas a narrow and more clo-sed cross profile gives the impression of acorridor with a limited field of vision. Thecharacter of the landscape will decidewhether the motorway will be placed in acutting, filling or terrain and this is of greatimportance for the experience of thelandscape through which the road passes.Furthermore this has great influence onthe conditions of the flora and fauna.
It is unavoidable that the landscapelooks different when a motorway is con-structed; in some places soil disappearsand in other places soil is added and thuslakes, valleys and hills appear. Surplus soilcan also be used to create landscape sculp-
turing, as f.x. the large sculptures made byProfessor Steen A.B. Høyer near Esbjerg,which are made of surplus soil when themotorway Esbjerg-Kolding was constructed.
Visions and challengesThe big challenge in the future will be howthe needs of modern society for passabilitycan be provided in a positive interactionbetween the road and the town, so that acohesive and systemic planning is achieved.This applies particularly to extensions ofthe existing motorway network projects. Infuture we must ensure that the interplaybetween town, road and landscape do notbecome a conflict ridden area but an exci-ting part, which reflects it.
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
The motorway is situated in the landscape with thewide central reserve as a part of the construction.
Motorway in cutting in the open landscape:
Motorway in open landscape
Motorway in a town
Motorway entering a large city
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6 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 7
ROAD AESTHETICS
The classic motorway is very vulnerableto the changes which occur in a dyna-
mic society. The surroundings near biggerurban communities change very fast, in analmost explosive manner. Industrial areasgrow quickly and almost in a random way,suburbs creep along the motorways withflags and signposts, the towns are growingclose by with demands for noise barriers atthe same time as the limits of the motorwayand areas near it, become overgrown. Thisputs big demands on the main architectu-ral principle and challenges the total archi-tectural treatment in a wider space. Thisapplies both for the experience which thetraveller has of the road – but also the sur-rounding landscape of the motorway andits contact with industrial areas and especi-ally the meeting with the town.
When driving through the country, theexperience of the countryside depends onmany different factors. For example, dri-ving speed plays a big role. High speed
The classic motorway is thought of as a means of transportationin open country – planned with a rhythmic sequence, where thepurpose is a balance between monotony and experience. Theideal is a sequence, which is sufficiently varied to catch the dri-ver’s attention while driving, but which at the same time presentsthe landscape around the motorway in a beautiful – almost film-like way.
The Motorway in Denmark
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
requires greater concentration, both onthe way one drives and the road itself. Thusthere is less concentration on the landsca-pe alongside the road.
Today we experience nature and theopen countryside as well as the changes inthe countryside in the different parts of thecountry through car windows, when dri-ving on the motorways. The motorway net-work is one of the biggest construction pro-jects in newer times. It represents the pre-sent architectural and engineering experti-se and reflects at the same time the timeperiod when it was constructed. To formthe course of a motorway through thelandscape is a discipline which putsdemands on safety, technical road con-struction, architectural safety and a senseof feeling. The Danish Road Directoratehas a tradition of taking the harmony inthe forming into consideration and this isdone for the safety of the road user, butalso to take the landscape into accountthrough which the road passes.
Thus the alignment of a motorway mustbe seen from two sides. The landscape isseen from the road, but the placing of the
road in the landscape is of great importan-ce seen from the point of view of theneighbours of a road. There are a numberof Road Standards which deal with the con-struction of motorways in open countrysi-de. The cross profile of the motorway isalso of importance in how the landscape isperceived. A wide cross profile through alandscape in big scale will underline theopen character of the landscape and provi-des good possibilities of orientation for theroad users, whereas a narrow and more clo-sed cross profile gives the impression of acorridor with a limited field of vision. Thecharacter of the landscape will decidewhether the motorway will be placed in acutting, filling or terrain and this is of greatimportance for the experience of thelandscape through which the road passes.Furthermore this has great influence onthe conditions of the flora and fauna.
It is unavoidable that the landscapelooks different when a motorway is con-structed; in some places soil disappearsand in other places soil is added and thuslakes, valleys and hills appear. Surplus soilcan also be used to create landscape sculp-
turing, as f.x. the large sculptures made byProfessor Steen A.B. Høyer near Esbjerg,which are made of surplus soil when themotorway Esbjerg-Kolding was constructed.
Visions and challengesThe big challenge in the future will be howthe needs of modern society for passabilitycan be provided in a positive interactionbetween the road and the town, so that acohesive and systemic planning is achieved.This applies particularly to extensions ofthe existing motorway network projects. Infuture we must ensure that the interplaybetween town, road and landscape do notbecome a conflict ridden area but an exci-ting part, which reflects it.
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
The motorway is situated in the landscape with thewide central reserve as a part of the construction.
Motorway in cutting in the open landscape:
Motorway in open landscape
Motorway in a town
Motorway entering a large city
PHO
TOG
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HER
: FI
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NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 98 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
S imulator runs showed that the sur-roundings affected both the driving
style and safety margins of the drivers.Distance to oncoming traffic was greatestin an open landscape. On the other sidethe drivers kept slightly higher speed here.
The results of the VTI research on howthe landscape affects us as drivers are setout in a data sheet which is published bythe research program INCLUDE,Integration of ecological and culturaldimensions in the transport infrastructure.The sheet is the first in a series of data she-ets on how roads and railways affect naturaland cultural values.
A group of researchers at VTI have investigated whether driversare affected by the landscape they are driving past. In our drivingsimulator, test subjects drove through forest, mixed and openlandscapes. An assessment was then made to see whether, andif so how, a certain landscape affected the drivers – both howthey were driving and how they themselves regarded the journey.
The Landscape Has an Effect on Driving
ROAD AESTHETICS
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Read more: www.includemistra.orgContact: Mats Wiklund, [email protected]
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
Include is part of TransportMistra, theprincipal aim of which is to develop strate-gies, models and tools in support of deci-sions concerning sustainable mobility.
It is important to plan which plants to putwhen constructing new roads and this
should be an integral part of the generalplanning of a road construction. They canbe used to mark various changes in a roadconstruction. Such changes are for examp-le marked by special plants near a junctionon a motorway, or to mark special pointswhere plants are used as a surprising ele-ment. They are a part of the living elementof a road. Thus it is important to creategood growing conditions, so plants canthrive. Plants can be used to underline theexisting flora. By planning the plants care-fully, an entirely new landscape can becreated in connection with a road con-struction. Think of the classical boulevardsor an open field with a single tree.
Plants play an important part in a road’s architectural expres-sion, near noise barriers, in roundabouts and on motorways
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
New plant types in the road When a tree is planted in an open landscape,it must be planted at greater distance fromthe road than is necessary for a row of treesin a town. It is, however, necessary in a townto make sure that the trees are planted insuch a way that there is space for the develop-ment of the roots of the trees. Rows of treesare also used to enforce some of the condi-tions of the landscape at a particular place. Itis important to prepare a planting plan fromthe start of a road construction project,where one tries to enforce the existing plantsat the place or on the other hand completelyfrees a stretch from any plants.
Alternatively, a new type of plants can beplanted to create a special look. This hasbeen done on the motorway to Holbæknear Taastrup and on the Ring Road 3. Onthe motorway to Holbæk, big rows of highpoplars have been planted and along theRing Road 3 various plants have been plan-
ned at junctions. When special plants arerequired, these can be high or low; alsospecial grasses are used, particularly inroundabouts.
Plants along roads are exposed to theeffects of road salt, so it is important thatthe plants chosen can withstand the harshtraffic environment. It is of great importan-ce to choose plants which are easy to takecare of. The plants should be clearly visiblewith big, simple elements and they shouldnot have fine details which decay and startlooking ugly. Grasses which do not needmowing and robust types of trees such aspoplar, mountain ash from the island ofBornholm and oaks are particularly wellsuited in road environments. In towns,plane trees as we know from southernEurope are frequently seen.
Planting in Connection with Road Constructions
An avenue is a typical type of road - it created shadefor the "walking" traveller.
An area planted alonga motorway
The change inseasons can beseen in theplants along theroadsFO
TOG
RAF
: FI
NN
LAR
SEN
Planting in Connection with Road Constructions
The surroundings affected both the driving style and safety margins of the drivers.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 98 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
S imulator runs showed that the sur-roundings affected both the driving
style and safety margins of the drivers.Distance to oncoming traffic was greatestin an open landscape. On the other sidethe drivers kept slightly higher speed here.
The results of the VTI research on howthe landscape affects us as drivers are setout in a data sheet which is published bythe research program INCLUDE,Integration of ecological and culturaldimensions in the transport infrastructure.The sheet is the first in a series of data she-ets on how roads and railways affect naturaland cultural values.
A group of researchers at VTI have investigated whether driversare affected by the landscape they are driving past. In our drivingsimulator, test subjects drove through forest, mixed and openlandscapes. An assessment was then made to see whether, andif so how, a certain landscape affected the drivers – both howthey were driving and how they themselves regarded the journey.
The Landscape Has an Effect on Driving
ROAD AESTHETICS
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Read more: www.includemistra.orgContact: Mats Wiklund, [email protected]
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
Include is part of TransportMistra, theprincipal aim of which is to develop strate-gies, models and tools in support of deci-sions concerning sustainable mobility.
It is important to plan which plants to putwhen constructing new roads and this
should be an integral part of the generalplanning of a road construction. They canbe used to mark various changes in a roadconstruction. Such changes are for examp-le marked by special plants near a junctionon a motorway, or to mark special pointswhere plants are used as a surprising ele-ment. They are a part of the living elementof a road. Thus it is important to creategood growing conditions, so plants canthrive. Plants can be used to underline theexisting flora. By planning the plants care-fully, an entirely new landscape can becreated in connection with a road con-struction. Think of the classical boulevardsor an open field with a single tree.
Plants play an important part in a road’s architectural expres-sion, near noise barriers, in roundabouts and on motorways
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
New plant types in the road When a tree is planted in an open landscape,it must be planted at greater distance fromthe road than is necessary for a row of treesin a town. It is, however, necessary in a townto make sure that the trees are planted insuch a way that there is space for the develop-ment of the roots of the trees. Rows of treesare also used to enforce some of the condi-tions of the landscape at a particular place. Itis important to prepare a planting plan fromthe start of a road construction project,where one tries to enforce the existing plantsat the place or on the other hand completelyfrees a stretch from any plants.
Alternatively, a new type of plants can beplanted to create a special look. This hasbeen done on the motorway to Holbæknear Taastrup and on the Ring Road 3. Onthe motorway to Holbæk, big rows of highpoplars have been planted and along theRing Road 3 various plants have been plan-
ned at junctions. When special plants arerequired, these can be high or low; alsospecial grasses are used, particularly inroundabouts.
Plants along roads are exposed to theeffects of road salt, so it is important thatthe plants chosen can withstand the harshtraffic environment. It is of great importan-ce to choose plants which are easy to takecare of. The plants should be clearly visiblewith big, simple elements and they shouldnot have fine details which decay and startlooking ugly. Grasses which do not needmowing and robust types of trees such aspoplar, mountain ash from the island ofBornholm and oaks are particularly wellsuited in road environments. In towns,plane trees as we know from southernEurope are frequently seen.
Planting in Connection with Road Constructions
An avenue is a typical type of road - it created shadefor the "walking" traveller.
An area planted alonga motorway
The change inseasons can beseen in theplants along theroadsFO
TOG
RAF
: FI
NN
LAR
SEN
Planting in Connection with Road Constructions
The surroundings affected both the driving style and safety margins of the drivers.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1110 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
E-mail: [email protected] information: www.turistveg.no
ROAD AESTHETICS
National Tourist Routes – theWorld’s Most Beautiful Drives
Not unexpectedly it was in the home ofthe car, the USA, that Scenic Byways
were first launched. These are drivesthrough scenic landscape as an alternativeto the press and rush of the freeway. InGermany tourists can enjoy the culturaldelights of Romantische Strasse andBurgenstrasse. Scotland has its MaltWhiskey Trail. France offers the Cheminde Baroque and Route de Vin. In Denmarkyou can take a detour along theMargarittroads.
After almost 20 years of planning, deve-lopment and building, Norway’s NationalTourist Routes will be marketed as a combi-ned attraction from 2012. At their heart is aunique driving experience in unique natu-ral surroundings. Tourists will realise theirexpectations of finding the true experienceof mountain, fjord, moorland and coastalong the way. As well as a taste of our owntime, in the form of modern architectureand increasingly also contemporary art.
Tourism is one of the world’s fastest gro-wing industries. In Norway, tourism is thethird largest industry after fish and oil. ButNorway is losing ground in the internatio-nal competition for tourists. One elementof the Norwegian Government’s tourismpolicy is the development of the NationalTourist Routes. The aim is to attract more
tourists to stay longer and thus helpstrengthen industry and habitation in ruraldistricts.
QualityThe vital prerequisite for the NationalTourist Route project is quality, not just inthe form of pure, undisturbed natural sur-roundings, but in buildings and facilities aswell. Driving the tourist routes should pro-vide an alternative to the main roads, withactivities and attractions to increase theexperience. It should also provide a goodservice.
The quality of buildings and facilities isassured by employing skilled professionalsat every stage from first sketch to laying thefinal stone. Architects both young andexperienced have been involved in wor-king out the best solutions as part of a pro-fessional team. An architectural councilwas set up to refine and develop the ideasinto a final result with the emphasis onquality.
The Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration put together an architectural coun-cil of experienced consultants in the fieldsof architecture, landscape architecture andart. This kind of dedicated architecturalcouncil has previously been used for othermajor national projects such as the mainOslo Airport at Gardermoen and the win-ter Olympics in Lillehammer. In encoura-ging young architects and developing thearchitectural council, the Norwegian
Public Roads Administration, the NationalTourist Routes are making an importantcontribution to the renewal and develop-ment of Norwegian architecture.
From trial project to determined effortThe Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration started work on the NationalTourist Routes in the early 1990s. To beginwith, this was a trial project with four stret-ches of road. In 1998 the Storting and theMinistry of Transport decided to recom-mend increased commitment, which hasbeen followed up since in the annual bud-gets, national transport plans and theGovernment’s tourism strategy.
The Public Roads Administration invi-ted input from all quarters on potentialNorwegian tourist routes. 52 proposalscame in, covering 8,500 kilometres of road.After several rounds of discussion, thesewere honed down to 18 stretches of roadtotalling 1,660 kilometres that displayedsuitable uniqueness and identity. Up until2011 the National Tourist Route projectwill be developing unique stopping pointson these roads, as well as tourist informa-tion all along the eighteen routes. The aimis to be able to market the tourist routes asa distinct national tourist attraction from2012, with its own exclusive logo. The tou-rist routes will continue to be developeduntil 2015, so that they represent a clearand attractive tourist product of worldclass.
Per Kolstad, NPRANorway
According to a German proverb, he who travels has something totell. In Norway, a journey on the National Tourist Routes givestourists some excellent stories to tell about the most beautifuldrives in the world.
Signs of our timesThe Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration is using the National Tourist Routesas a mean of leaving a mark of our owntimes. The project has entered a producti-ve phase with many spectacular and awardwinning pieces of construction. The touristroutes have given a real boost to Norwegianarchitecture.
The combination of the best of Nor-wegian architecture and the most beautifulof Norwegian nature has attracted a greatdeal of attention in Norway, and indeedinternationally. In partnership with thedesign organisation Norsk Form and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, the NorwegianPublic Roads Administration has sent a tra-velling exhibition called Detour aroundEurope and further afield. Since it beganin Berlin in autumn 2007, the exhibitionhas visited Nice, Caen/ Normandy, Paris,Brussels, Stockholm, London, Bolognaand Bratislava. In the new year the exhibi-tion will visit the National BuildingMuseum in Washington DC.
FinanceThe National Tourist Routes are largelybeing financed by the Government,through the transport budget. TheNorwegian Public Roads Administrationplans to use NOK 1,260 milliard up to2015. The strong national input will relea-se synergies and value creation out in therural districts worth NOK 630 million.Support from other official bodies is esti-mated at NOK 410 million. In total, theNational Tourist Route project involvesinvestment of NOK 2.3 milliard. ThePublic Roads Administration has highambitions for the National Tourist Routes.Without financial support from otherpublic and private sources it would not bepossible to achieve these ambitions.
In general terms, the division of respon-sibilities and activities means that theNorwegian Public Roads Administration isplanning and building the various stoppingpoints where travellers can stop and enjoytheir natural surroundings. The NationalTourist Routes project is also responsible
for information and visual improvementalong the roads, as well as profiling andinformation about the project on theInternet. Other parties will offer touristsnatural and cultural attractions, establishaccommodation and food and beverageoutlets and assist with marketing and infor-mation. It is also important that thereshould be ongoing work at local level tomake visual improvements both indoorsand out and to raise service levels for tou-rists at every stage. A specific agreementwith Innovation Norway and theNorwegian Hospitality Association will con-tribute to the quality of the overall product,as well as making the National TouristRoutes better known as a tourist attractionamong potential Norwegian and foreignvisitors.
PHOTO: JARLE WÆHLER, NPRA
PHOTO: JØRN HAGEN, NPRA
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1110 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
E-mail: [email protected] information: www.turistveg.no
ROAD AESTHETICS
National Tourist Routes – theWorld’s Most Beautiful Drives
Not unexpectedly it was in the home ofthe car, the USA, that Scenic Byways
were first launched. These are drivesthrough scenic landscape as an alternativeto the press and rush of the freeway. InGermany tourists can enjoy the culturaldelights of Romantische Strasse andBurgenstrasse. Scotland has its MaltWhiskey Trail. France offers the Cheminde Baroque and Route de Vin. In Denmarkyou can take a detour along theMargarittroads.
After almost 20 years of planning, deve-lopment and building, Norway’s NationalTourist Routes will be marketed as a combi-ned attraction from 2012. At their heart is aunique driving experience in unique natu-ral surroundings. Tourists will realise theirexpectations of finding the true experienceof mountain, fjord, moorland and coastalong the way. As well as a taste of our owntime, in the form of modern architectureand increasingly also contemporary art.
Tourism is one of the world’s fastest gro-wing industries. In Norway, tourism is thethird largest industry after fish and oil. ButNorway is losing ground in the internatio-nal competition for tourists. One elementof the Norwegian Government’s tourismpolicy is the development of the NationalTourist Routes. The aim is to attract more
tourists to stay longer and thus helpstrengthen industry and habitation in ruraldistricts.
QualityThe vital prerequisite for the NationalTourist Route project is quality, not just inthe form of pure, undisturbed natural sur-roundings, but in buildings and facilities aswell. Driving the tourist routes should pro-vide an alternative to the main roads, withactivities and attractions to increase theexperience. It should also provide a goodservice.
The quality of buildings and facilities isassured by employing skilled professionalsat every stage from first sketch to laying thefinal stone. Architects both young andexperienced have been involved in wor-king out the best solutions as part of a pro-fessional team. An architectural councilwas set up to refine and develop the ideasinto a final result with the emphasis onquality.
The Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration put together an architectural coun-cil of experienced consultants in the fieldsof architecture, landscape architecture andart. This kind of dedicated architecturalcouncil has previously been used for othermajor national projects such as the mainOslo Airport at Gardermoen and the win-ter Olympics in Lillehammer. In encoura-ging young architects and developing thearchitectural council, the Norwegian
Public Roads Administration, the NationalTourist Routes are making an importantcontribution to the renewal and develop-ment of Norwegian architecture.
From trial project to determined effortThe Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration started work on the NationalTourist Routes in the early 1990s. To beginwith, this was a trial project with four stret-ches of road. In 1998 the Storting and theMinistry of Transport decided to recom-mend increased commitment, which hasbeen followed up since in the annual bud-gets, national transport plans and theGovernment’s tourism strategy.
The Public Roads Administration invi-ted input from all quarters on potentialNorwegian tourist routes. 52 proposalscame in, covering 8,500 kilometres of road.After several rounds of discussion, thesewere honed down to 18 stretches of roadtotalling 1,660 kilometres that displayedsuitable uniqueness and identity. Up until2011 the National Tourist Route projectwill be developing unique stopping pointson these roads, as well as tourist informa-tion all along the eighteen routes. The aimis to be able to market the tourist routes asa distinct national tourist attraction from2012, with its own exclusive logo. The tou-rist routes will continue to be developeduntil 2015, so that they represent a clearand attractive tourist product of worldclass.
Per Kolstad, NPRANorway
According to a German proverb, he who travels has something totell. In Norway, a journey on the National Tourist Routes givestourists some excellent stories to tell about the most beautifuldrives in the world.
Signs of our timesThe Norwegian Public Roads Adminis-tration is using the National Tourist Routesas a mean of leaving a mark of our owntimes. The project has entered a producti-ve phase with many spectacular and awardwinning pieces of construction. The touristroutes have given a real boost to Norwegianarchitecture.
The combination of the best of Nor-wegian architecture and the most beautifulof Norwegian nature has attracted a greatdeal of attention in Norway, and indeedinternationally. In partnership with thedesign organisation Norsk Form and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, the NorwegianPublic Roads Administration has sent a tra-velling exhibition called Detour aroundEurope and further afield. Since it beganin Berlin in autumn 2007, the exhibitionhas visited Nice, Caen/ Normandy, Paris,Brussels, Stockholm, London, Bolognaand Bratislava. In the new year the exhibi-tion will visit the National BuildingMuseum in Washington DC.
FinanceThe National Tourist Routes are largelybeing financed by the Government,through the transport budget. TheNorwegian Public Roads Administrationplans to use NOK 1,260 milliard up to2015. The strong national input will relea-se synergies and value creation out in therural districts worth NOK 630 million.Support from other official bodies is esti-mated at NOK 410 million. In total, theNational Tourist Route project involvesinvestment of NOK 2.3 milliard. ThePublic Roads Administration has highambitions for the National Tourist Routes.Without financial support from otherpublic and private sources it would not bepossible to achieve these ambitions.
In general terms, the division of respon-sibilities and activities means that theNorwegian Public Roads Administration isplanning and building the various stoppingpoints where travellers can stop and enjoytheir natural surroundings. The NationalTourist Routes project is also responsible
for information and visual improvementalong the roads, as well as profiling andinformation about the project on theInternet. Other parties will offer touristsnatural and cultural attractions, establishaccommodation and food and beverageoutlets and assist with marketing and infor-mation. It is also important that thereshould be ongoing work at local level tomake visual improvements both indoorsand out and to raise service levels for tou-rists at every stage. A specific agreementwith Innovation Norway and theNorwegian Hospitality Association will con-tribute to the quality of the overall product,as well as making the National TouristRoutes better known as a tourist attractionamong potential Norwegian and foreignvisitors.
PHOTO: JARLE WÆHLER, NPRA
PHOTO: JØRN HAGEN, NPRA
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1312 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Beautiful Roads Award
The Road Director’s “Beautiful Roads Award” was established in1988 in order to encourage high quality road architecture. Theprize is now awarded every 2nd year.
The winner is selected by a jury which, inaddition to The Road Director, consists
of five external members appointed byTekna – (The Norwegian Society ofGraduate Technical and ScientificProfessionals), The Norwegian Associationof Landscape Architects (NLA), TheNational Association of NorwegianArchitects (NAL), Central Office ofHistoric Monuments and NorwegianPublic Building Ornamentation Fund. Theright to nominate is open.
The award is a prize of honour to roadprojects with good aesthetic qualities adap-ted to the surroundings. A road project canconsist of roads, streets, bridges, tunnels or
sites and equipment belonging to theseareas. The project must be a part of thepublic road network and the prize can beawarded both to a complete project and apart of or an element of it. The award con-sists of a plaque with inscription, which isintended for a central placing at the site,and a diploma to the award winner.Additionally a scholarship, which shouldbe used for a study tour, can be linked tothe award.
Norway has signed The EuropeanLandscape Convention, which involves aspecial responsibility to take landscapevalues into consideration when it comes tostrategic planning, feasibility studies, detai-led planning and management of theroads. The ambition is to design all newroads without adversely affecting impor-tant landscape features and, if possible,
add beauty to the surroundings.Aesthetic values, residential environ-
ments, biological diversity and culturalmonuments are all aspects that need to beincorporated into road planning. Roadsare aligned and designed in accordancewith two main principles; either as a positi-ve contrast to the environment or adaptedto and anchored in it. For most roads theprinciple of adaptation will be the naturalchoice. The Norwegian landscape constitu-tes a significant challenge to road plannersand engineers and demands a multi-disci-plinary approach in planning, construc-tion and maintenance of roads.
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan,NPRA, Norway
Contact: Sunniva Schjetne, e-mail: [email protected] E. Støle, e-mail: [email protected]
Here are some examples of previous winners of the BeautifulRoads Award:
StrynefjellsvegenThe first Beautiful Roads Award was established in 1988 and thefirst prize winner was section Langevatn-Breidablikk on theStrynefjellsvegen (the road crossing the Stryn Mountain). The jury stated: The possibilities in a beautiful landscape are in afine way utilized to form a beautiful road. The slope design andadjustment of the terrain provide good adaptation to the landscape.The road is placed lightly in the terrain.
VettrlidsalmenningenIn 1993 the prize was awarded to the street Vetrlidsalmenningen inthe city of Bergen. From the jury statement: The Vetrlidsalmenningen is an extraordinarygood example of street upgrading in harmony with the city’s distincti-ve stamp and history. Kerbstone and fences with artistic design bearwitness to creativity and care. The furnishing appears as a visual unitand gives the street identity.
The Sphere i BragernestunnelenThe winner 2004: In the city of Drammen – Nedre Strandgate –Elveparken – The Bragernes Tunnel. The photo shows the sculpture“The Sphere” central in a roundabout inside the tunnel. The jury made this statement: A worn-down road site is transformedinto a functional and attractive area which creates identity to theplace. It is deeply professional rooted in aesthetic sense, fantasyand creative zest.
Mannheller ferjekaiThe photo showing one of two winners in 1997, The Ferry Quay ofMannheller, on national road Rv 5 in the county of Sogn og Fjordane,Western Norway. The Ferry Quay of Mannheller is part of the roadsection Kaupang – Lærdal. At the end of a 3 km long tunnel the roaddivides into 5 lanes and 200 meters of the tunnel is also a car parkconnected to the ferry service. In this project the jury wanted to stress the main arrangement, tech-nical implementation of a complex project and the paramount use ofmaterials where a vigorous building project is located together withthe preservation of the inshore zone in one of Norway’s most beauti-ful fjords.
PHO
TO:
BØ
RN
IU
ELL,
NPR
APH
OTO
: S
YNN
ØVE
LIE
N,
NPR
APH
OTO
: G
EIR
BR
EKK
E, N
PRA
PHO
TO:
NPR
A
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1312 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Beautiful Roads Award
The Road Director’s “Beautiful Roads Award” was established in1988 in order to encourage high quality road architecture. Theprize is now awarded every 2nd year.
The winner is selected by a jury which, inaddition to The Road Director, consists
of five external members appointed byTekna – (The Norwegian Society ofGraduate Technical and ScientificProfessionals), The Norwegian Associationof Landscape Architects (NLA), TheNational Association of NorwegianArchitects (NAL), Central Office ofHistoric Monuments and NorwegianPublic Building Ornamentation Fund. Theright to nominate is open.
The award is a prize of honour to roadprojects with good aesthetic qualities adap-ted to the surroundings. A road project canconsist of roads, streets, bridges, tunnels or
sites and equipment belonging to theseareas. The project must be a part of thepublic road network and the prize can beawarded both to a complete project and apart of or an element of it. The award con-sists of a plaque with inscription, which isintended for a central placing at the site,and a diploma to the award winner.Additionally a scholarship, which shouldbe used for a study tour, can be linked tothe award.
Norway has signed The EuropeanLandscape Convention, which involves aspecial responsibility to take landscapevalues into consideration when it comes tostrategic planning, feasibility studies, detai-led planning and management of theroads. The ambition is to design all newroads without adversely affecting impor-tant landscape features and, if possible,
add beauty to the surroundings.Aesthetic values, residential environ-
ments, biological diversity and culturalmonuments are all aspects that need to beincorporated into road planning. Roadsare aligned and designed in accordancewith two main principles; either as a positi-ve contrast to the environment or adaptedto and anchored in it. For most roads theprinciple of adaptation will be the naturalchoice. The Norwegian landscape constitu-tes a significant challenge to road plannersand engineers and demands a multi-disci-plinary approach in planning, construc-tion and maintenance of roads.
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan,NPRA, Norway
Contact: Sunniva Schjetne, e-mail: [email protected] E. Støle, e-mail: [email protected]
Here are some examples of previous winners of the BeautifulRoads Award:
StrynefjellsvegenThe first Beautiful Roads Award was established in 1988 and thefirst prize winner was section Langevatn-Breidablikk on theStrynefjellsvegen (the road crossing the Stryn Mountain). The jury stated: The possibilities in a beautiful landscape are in afine way utilized to form a beautiful road. The slope design andadjustment of the terrain provide good adaptation to the landscape.The road is placed lightly in the terrain.
VettrlidsalmenningenIn 1993 the prize was awarded to the street Vetrlidsalmenningen inthe city of Bergen. From the jury statement: The Vetrlidsalmenningen is an extraordinarygood example of street upgrading in harmony with the city’s distincti-ve stamp and history. Kerbstone and fences with artistic design bearwitness to creativity and care. The furnishing appears as a visual unitand gives the street identity.
The Sphere i BragernestunnelenThe winner 2004: In the city of Drammen – Nedre Strandgate –Elveparken – The Bragernes Tunnel. The photo shows the sculpture“The Sphere” central in a roundabout inside the tunnel. The jury made this statement: A worn-down road site is transformedinto a functional and attractive area which creates identity to theplace. It is deeply professional rooted in aesthetic sense, fantasyand creative zest.
Mannheller ferjekaiThe photo showing one of two winners in 1997, The Ferry Quay ofMannheller, on national road Rv 5 in the county of Sogn og Fjordane,Western Norway. The Ferry Quay of Mannheller is part of the roadsection Kaupang – Lærdal. At the end of a 3 km long tunnel the roaddivides into 5 lanes and 200 meters of the tunnel is also a car parkconnected to the ferry service. In this project the jury wanted to stress the main arrangement, tech-nical implementation of a complex project and the paramount use ofmaterials where a vigorous building project is located together withthe preservation of the inshore zone in one of Norway’s most beauti-ful fjords.
PHO
TO:
BØ
RN
IU
ELL,
NPR
APH
OTO
: S
YNN
ØVE
LIE
N,
NPR
APH
OTO
: G
EIR
BR
EKK
E, N
PRA
PHO
TO:
NPR
A
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1514 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
The strategy describes a number of quali-ty intentions for old and new roads as
regards planning, quality assurance andmaintenance so as to obtain well balancedroad designs. All road constructions aretoday exposed to critical attention on manyaspects and it is therefore relevant torespect and work with architectural consi-derations in the same way as with otheraspects of road construction.
The Road PrizeWhen the Danish Road Directorate set upthe Road Prize in 1994 its purpose was toreward initiatives which contributed toraise the aesthetic and architectural stan-dards in road projects throughout thecountry. The prize contributes to drawattention to quality in the public space andshows that it is useful to integrate architec-ture in road construction.
What is road architecture?Architecture is not only experienced inconnection with buildings, but also withlandscapes. The placing of roads in thelandscape and in connection with towns isalso experienced as architecture.
Aesthetic Roads – Road Architecture
In 1995, the Danish Road Directorate prepared a ”Strategy foraesthetic roads” which includes architectural and visual sides inconnection with planting along roads.
Bridges – and good cooperation betweenarchitects and engineersIn Denmark, we have a tradition of con-structing bridges. Our big bridges aredesigned by engineers in cooperation witharchitects; they are regarded as architectu-ral structures and are visible proof of thegood results which can be created by thetwo groups put together. In order to beable to create good road architecture bothin the open country and in towns, a goodcooperation between architects and engi-neers must be established. Focus must be
placed on the entity and the precise detail.Experience from the projects completed inrecent years has shown that when this coo-peration works well, it results in durable,beautiful and economically good solutions.
The five factors for good road architectureThe factors, which are of importance tocreate a good result, are:• Good cooperation between the two pro-
fessional groups• Attention to quality and functionality• A feeling for the interactions between
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
architecture and traffic safety• A realisation that architectural conside-
ration does not have to disrupt econo-mic considerations
• Good dialogue between many interes-ted partiesArchitecture in connection with road
construction must be planned and incor-porated right from the start and thereshould therefore be an overriding architec-tural idea right from the outset of the pro-ject. It is of course presupposed that alltechnical conditions and demands are in-cluded in each project. The cooperationbetween the architects and engineers isvery important for the final results, sincethe architectural quality in road projects iscreated by an interaction between functio-nality, technology and creativity.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1514 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
The strategy describes a number of quali-ty intentions for old and new roads as
regards planning, quality assurance andmaintenance so as to obtain well balancedroad designs. All road constructions aretoday exposed to critical attention on manyaspects and it is therefore relevant torespect and work with architectural consi-derations in the same way as with otheraspects of road construction.
The Road PrizeWhen the Danish Road Directorate set upthe Road Prize in 1994 its purpose was toreward initiatives which contributed toraise the aesthetic and architectural stan-dards in road projects throughout thecountry. The prize contributes to drawattention to quality in the public space andshows that it is useful to integrate architec-ture in road construction.
What is road architecture?Architecture is not only experienced inconnection with buildings, but also withlandscapes. The placing of roads in thelandscape and in connection with towns isalso experienced as architecture.
Aesthetic Roads – Road Architecture
In 1995, the Danish Road Directorate prepared a ”Strategy foraesthetic roads” which includes architectural and visual sides inconnection with planting along roads.
Bridges – and good cooperation betweenarchitects and engineersIn Denmark, we have a tradition of con-structing bridges. Our big bridges aredesigned by engineers in cooperation witharchitects; they are regarded as architectu-ral structures and are visible proof of thegood results which can be created by thetwo groups put together. In order to beable to create good road architecture bothin the open country and in towns, a goodcooperation between architects and engi-neers must be established. Focus must be
placed on the entity and the precise detail.Experience from the projects completed inrecent years has shown that when this coo-peration works well, it results in durable,beautiful and economically good solutions.
The five factors for good road architectureThe factors, which are of importance tocreate a good result, are:• Good cooperation between the two pro-
fessional groups• Attention to quality and functionality• A feeling for the interactions between
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
architecture and traffic safety• A realisation that architectural conside-
ration does not have to disrupt econo-mic considerations
• Good dialogue between many interes-ted partiesArchitecture in connection with road
construction must be planned and incor-porated right from the start and thereshould therefore be an overriding architec-tural idea right from the outset of the pro-ject. It is of course presupposed that alltechnical conditions and demands are in-cluded in each project. The cooperationbetween the architects and engineers isvery important for the final results, sincethe architectural quality in road projects iscreated by an interaction between functio-nality, technology and creativity.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1716 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Various solutions and designs appear atgreat speed in the country. It is there-
fore important that the correct choices aremade as regards appearance of the noisebarriers. It is obvious that noise barriersshould lower the noise level, but it is neces-sary also to think of the design, placing andchoice of materials, so that both technicaland architecturally correct solutions arechosen.
Noise embankmentsIn the open country, noise barriers can bemade as earth embankments and here it isimportant to adjust the embankment tothe shape of the landscape and the naturaltypes of growth.
Noise barriersNoise barriers are very visible and this putsa great demand on their design. It shouldbe a positive experience both for theneighbour and the road user. A noise bar-rier has two sides - one towards the roadand the other towards the neighbour. Itoften has two expressions, the side towardsthe road is experienced at great speed,whereas the other side can be a part of theneighbour’s garden or the open space nearhousing areas. Details, incorporation andplacing are therefore of great importancein relation to the various conditions of theneighbours. The placing of the noise barri-
The increasing road and train traffic means that there nowadaysonly are very few areas which are free from traffic noise. Thus, alarge need for noise barriers has arisen.
Noise Barriers and Embankments
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
er is crucial for its relation to the surroun-dings. The noise barrier can emphasize thealignment of the road and underline thespacious course of the road. The placing inthe spacial road can contribute to the opti-cal appearance of the road, but also fre-quently gives the best noise-reducingeffect.
Towns include a large number of diffe-rent elements: bridges, tunnels, crash bar-riers, roadside equipment etc. This makesspecial demands on the design of the noisebarrier. Cramped space conditions intowns can be the reason why noise barrierelements are preferred. The placing anddesign of the elements should be coordina-ted with the surroundings, so that a techni-cal and architectural unity is achieved. Theheight of the barrier is decisive for theexperience. A high barrier will reduce thenoise best, but for aesthetic reasons aheight of three meters is usually preferred.
The barriers can be designed as biggeridentical areas and divided areas with ahorizontal or vertical division. The ends ofthe barriers are important and shouldoften be made as special elements, whichcan be cut off at an angle.
Materials and architectural expressionA good design is an expression of qualityand there should not be a number of diffe-rent noise barriers near each other as ifthey were an exhibition, but rather a har-monious expression should be achieved.Choice of transparent barriers is oftenmade so that a view can be obtained from
the road or the neighbour or to get light insoutherly gardens. Transparent barriersare also used on bridges due to the roadunderneath. The material should be cho-sen with thought about how it ages and alsoabout the durability and look. All noise bar-riers must be maintained. This is continu-ing process and must be a part of the plan-ning of every noise barrier project, if onewishes to ensure a long lifetime of the bar-rier. Transparent barriers are easy to main-tain, since they only need to be hoseddown or washed. The problem of broken
glass arises however. For that reason trans-parent sheets of man-made material areused which are more robust, if vandalismoccurs.
Barriers with plants require maintenan-ce and care. Frequent supervision becomesnecessary as well as replacement of plants.Graffiti is also a big problem, but effectivemeans for prevention and removal havebeen developed. Wooden barriers aregenerally not used, since they age quickly;pressure-creosoted wood cannot decay andit is more difficult to clean of graffiti.
Barriers of hard wood are generally expen-sive to use; there are however some goodexamples of barriers made of hard wood,which have long durability and age beauti-fully. A noise barrier is a foreign elementand the art is to integrate it naturally intothe landscape. When reconstructingmotorways, bigger demands are made tothe use of noise barriers which fit well intothe open countryside. They can be made ofwood, stones, planted elements or othermaterials, which are a part of nature.Natural materials patinate often nicer thanmetal and plastic. Noise barriers shouldbecome part of the landscape in the samemanner as for example snow fences.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1716 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Various solutions and designs appear atgreat speed in the country. It is there-
fore important that the correct choices aremade as regards appearance of the noisebarriers. It is obvious that noise barriersshould lower the noise level, but it is neces-sary also to think of the design, placing andchoice of materials, so that both technicaland architecturally correct solutions arechosen.
Noise embankmentsIn the open country, noise barriers can bemade as earth embankments and here it isimportant to adjust the embankment tothe shape of the landscape and the naturaltypes of growth.
Noise barriersNoise barriers are very visible and this putsa great demand on their design. It shouldbe a positive experience both for theneighbour and the road user. A noise bar-rier has two sides - one towards the roadand the other towards the neighbour. Itoften has two expressions, the side towardsthe road is experienced at great speed,whereas the other side can be a part of theneighbour’s garden or the open space nearhousing areas. Details, incorporation andplacing are therefore of great importancein relation to the various conditions of theneighbours. The placing of the noise barri-
The increasing road and train traffic means that there nowadaysonly are very few areas which are free from traffic noise. Thus, alarge need for noise barriers has arisen.
Noise Barriers and Embankments
Ulla Egebjerg, VD,Denmark
Contact: Ulla Egebjerg, [email protected]
er is crucial for its relation to the surroun-dings. The noise barrier can emphasize thealignment of the road and underline thespacious course of the road. The placing inthe spacial road can contribute to the opti-cal appearance of the road, but also fre-quently gives the best noise-reducingeffect.
Towns include a large number of diffe-rent elements: bridges, tunnels, crash bar-riers, roadside equipment etc. This makesspecial demands on the design of the noisebarrier. Cramped space conditions intowns can be the reason why noise barrierelements are preferred. The placing anddesign of the elements should be coordina-ted with the surroundings, so that a techni-cal and architectural unity is achieved. Theheight of the barrier is decisive for theexperience. A high barrier will reduce thenoise best, but for aesthetic reasons aheight of three meters is usually preferred.
The barriers can be designed as biggeridentical areas and divided areas with ahorizontal or vertical division. The ends ofthe barriers are important and shouldoften be made as special elements, whichcan be cut off at an angle.
Materials and architectural expressionA good design is an expression of qualityand there should not be a number of diffe-rent noise barriers near each other as ifthey were an exhibition, but rather a har-monious expression should be achieved.Choice of transparent barriers is oftenmade so that a view can be obtained from
the road or the neighbour or to get light insoutherly gardens. Transparent barriersare also used on bridges due to the roadunderneath. The material should be cho-sen with thought about how it ages and alsoabout the durability and look. All noise bar-riers must be maintained. This is continu-ing process and must be a part of the plan-ning of every noise barrier project, if onewishes to ensure a long lifetime of the bar-rier. Transparent barriers are easy to main-tain, since they only need to be hoseddown or washed. The problem of broken
glass arises however. For that reason trans-parent sheets of man-made material areused which are more robust, if vandalismoccurs.
Barriers with plants require maintenan-ce and care. Frequent supervision becomesnecessary as well as replacement of plants.Graffiti is also a big problem, but effectivemeans for prevention and removal havebeen developed. Wooden barriers aregenerally not used, since they age quickly;pressure-creosoted wood cannot decay andit is more difficult to clean of graffiti.
Barriers of hard wood are generally expen-sive to use; there are however some goodexamples of barriers made of hard wood,which have long durability and age beauti-fully. A noise barrier is a foreign elementand the art is to integrate it naturally intothe landscape. When reconstructingmotorways, bigger demands are made tothe use of noise barriers which fit well intothe open countryside. They can be made ofwood, stones, planted elements or othermaterials, which are a part of nature.Natural materials patinate often nicer thanmetal and plastic. Noise barriers shouldbecome part of the landscape in the samemanner as for example snow fences.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1918 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Slemmestadvegen i Asker.
ROAD AESTETICS
The Preservation of 40 Bridges
The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage has preserved40 of the NPRA’s bridges this year. These bridges have nationalvalue as technical cultural monuments and should be preservedfor the future to reflect the Norwegian road history.
16700 bridges on the main and countyroads bind the country together to one
kingdom. Bridges made of concrete andwood, stone and steel, bridges that hangand bridges that tilt, bridges with strutsover and bridges with trolls under. 40 ofthese bridges are now being preserved.The traffic will continue as usual, but thereare restrictions when it comes to makingchanges on one of the bridge.
The purpose of preserving bridges is toshow the development in road history fromaround 1537 until today. Not only long andspectacular bridges are being preserved. Itis also taken into consideration variation indesign, material and construction. Somebridge environments are also cho-sen because they show the socialchanges over a long period oftime.
The bridges are preservedaccording to The NorwegianCultural Heritage Act, and from2008 the Norwegian Directoratefor Cultural Heritage is thereforeresponsible for managing thedevelopment of these bridges.
May Do Preventive Measures The value of the bridge shall bekept like it is on the time of pre-servation. But to preserve a brid-ge doesn’t necessarily mean to“freeze” it. A bridge can for instan-
ce be preserved due to it’s placing in thelandscape. In that case one can still widenthe road or put up safety barriers, but thealignment can not be changed. On anotherbridge the main construction may be con-served, but besides that changes can bemade.
Old and NewBoth old and new bridges are preserved.The new Minnesund Bridge (80 km northof Oslo) is among the most famous preser-ved bridges. It is part of an environmentwith several bridges and in the area it hasbeen boat, train and road traffic for a longtime. As a contrast to this modern bridgewe have the corduroy road at Terland(Egersund, Western Norway) from the18th century, a traditional preserved brid-ge. An example of a preserved bridge in
the period between is the Canal Bridge inTønsberg which is a rear bascule bridgeconstructed in a functionalist style in 1957.
Management Plan For every preserved bridge the NPRA hasmade a management plan locally anchoredwhich has to be recommended by theNorwegian Directorate for CulturalHeritage. In the plan there are close speci-fications of what is allowed and not. Theseplans are not stricter than necessary, butshall contribute to planned developmentof the bridge which unites use and preser-vation. The 40 bridges are a random sam-ple from a series of local suggestions. Alsothe county and the local municipality haveparticipated in the process.
Instructed to PreserveThe Government has imposed all sectors toprepare management plans as a part of thesector responsibility for the environment.Also a representative selection of Norway’stechnical cultural monuments should bepreserved for the future. In 2002 the NPRAproposed a management plan for a selec-tion of its roads, bridges and road relatedcultural monuments reflecting road historyfrom the Reformation and up till our time.19 of the NPRA’s buildings were preservedin 2007. This year 40 bridges are preservedand in 2009 approximately 70 road sitesand road sections will be preserved.
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan, NPRA, Norway
Contact: Liv Marit Rui, [email protected]
Norway: Beautiful Roads Award
The Winners 2008The Slemmestad Road through the community of Asker south-west of Oslo and the Risøy Bridge in the city of Haugesund isrewarded The Beautiful Roads Award of 2008.
The photo shows one of the two winnersin 2008, Slemmestadveien, National RoadRv 165, at Vollen in the community ofAsker.
The jury states the following reasons:From being a small community with aheavy traffic flow, one has with professionalbackground, aesthetic appreciation andrespect for the environment and history,managed to recreate an idyllic place at theshore of the Oslo fjord. Simplicity and puri-ty characterizes the road, both in designand use of materials. The road is now follo-wing the original alignment from the 18thcentury and still appears as a road and nota street, which seems quite correct for aplace like Vollen. The elegancy of the align-ment is being illustrated by the beautifulashlar walls. The use of vegetation is con-trolled and is based on a long tradition ofgardening. Care for different needs for allkinds of users makes this a valuable site.The winning project is an ideal example ofhow a road with heavy traffic can be plan-ned and built on the areas premises, andhow one has been able to take into conside-ration the environment, traffic safety andmobility for all road users.
The other winner in 2008 is the RisøyBridge in Haugesund. The jury states thefollowing: The rehabilitation of the RisøyBridge in Haugesund preserves this bridgefor the future. It is a construction which isan outstanding engineering feat and anelement for creating identity. The bridgeswings with an elegant form and rises high
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan,NPRA, Norway
Contact: Sunniva Schjetne, [email protected] orAlf E. Støle, [email protected]
above the strait Smedasundet before it rea-ches the island Risøya. It is an impressiveconstruction, which also is in contrast tothe city situated under it - still they empha-size each other in a way that enhances theexperience of both bridge and town. Therehabilitation has in a respectful andhumble way taken the original design intoconsideration down to the smallest detail.
Risøy Bridge in Haugesund.
In addition The National Tourist Roadsproject was awarded a price for its
ground-breaking activities. (See articleabout The National Tourist Roads on page10.) Further two road sites are honourablymentioned: The Canal of Spangereid atLindesnes at the southernmost part ofNorway and The Open Landscape in thecounty of Sogn and Fjordane, WesternNorway.
The Road Director’s Beautiful RoadsAward, which is the official name of theprize, is a prestigious prize of honour awar-ded to road sites with outstanding aestheticqualities adapted to its surroundings.Presented for the first time this year is anaward to a site that distinguishes itself withregards to operation and maintenance.The prize is handed out by The DirectorGeneral of the NPRA.
The Skarnsund Bridge (Mid Norway) is a modern bridge that hasbeen preserved for the future.
PHO
TO:
NPR
A
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 1918 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Slemmestadvegen i Asker.
ROAD AESTETICS
The Preservation of 40 Bridges
The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage has preserved40 of the NPRA’s bridges this year. These bridges have nationalvalue as technical cultural monuments and should be preservedfor the future to reflect the Norwegian road history.
16700 bridges on the main and countyroads bind the country together to one
kingdom. Bridges made of concrete andwood, stone and steel, bridges that hangand bridges that tilt, bridges with strutsover and bridges with trolls under. 40 ofthese bridges are now being preserved.The traffic will continue as usual, but thereare restrictions when it comes to makingchanges on one of the bridge.
The purpose of preserving bridges is toshow the development in road history fromaround 1537 until today. Not only long andspectacular bridges are being preserved. Itis also taken into consideration variation indesign, material and construction. Somebridge environments are also cho-sen because they show the socialchanges over a long period oftime.
The bridges are preservedaccording to The NorwegianCultural Heritage Act, and from2008 the Norwegian Directoratefor Cultural Heritage is thereforeresponsible for managing thedevelopment of these bridges.
May Do Preventive Measures The value of the bridge shall bekept like it is on the time of pre-servation. But to preserve a brid-ge doesn’t necessarily mean to“freeze” it. A bridge can for instan-
ce be preserved due to it’s placing in thelandscape. In that case one can still widenthe road or put up safety barriers, but thealignment can not be changed. On anotherbridge the main construction may be con-served, but besides that changes can bemade.
Old and NewBoth old and new bridges are preserved.The new Minnesund Bridge (80 km northof Oslo) is among the most famous preser-ved bridges. It is part of an environmentwith several bridges and in the area it hasbeen boat, train and road traffic for a longtime. As a contrast to this modern bridgewe have the corduroy road at Terland(Egersund, Western Norway) from the18th century, a traditional preserved brid-ge. An example of a preserved bridge in
the period between is the Canal Bridge inTønsberg which is a rear bascule bridgeconstructed in a functionalist style in 1957.
Management Plan For every preserved bridge the NPRA hasmade a management plan locally anchoredwhich has to be recommended by theNorwegian Directorate for CulturalHeritage. In the plan there are close speci-fications of what is allowed and not. Theseplans are not stricter than necessary, butshall contribute to planned developmentof the bridge which unites use and preser-vation. The 40 bridges are a random sam-ple from a series of local suggestions. Alsothe county and the local municipality haveparticipated in the process.
Instructed to PreserveThe Government has imposed all sectors toprepare management plans as a part of thesector responsibility for the environment.Also a representative selection of Norway’stechnical cultural monuments should bepreserved for the future. In 2002 the NPRAproposed a management plan for a selec-tion of its roads, bridges and road relatedcultural monuments reflecting road historyfrom the Reformation and up till our time.19 of the NPRA’s buildings were preservedin 2007. This year 40 bridges are preservedand in 2009 approximately 70 road sitesand road sections will be preserved.
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan, NPRA, Norway
Contact: Liv Marit Rui, [email protected]
Norway: Beautiful Roads Award
The Winners 2008The Slemmestad Road through the community of Asker south-west of Oslo and the Risøy Bridge in the city of Haugesund isrewarded The Beautiful Roads Award of 2008.
The photo shows one of the two winnersin 2008, Slemmestadveien, National RoadRv 165, at Vollen in the community ofAsker.
The jury states the following reasons:From being a small community with aheavy traffic flow, one has with professionalbackground, aesthetic appreciation andrespect for the environment and history,managed to recreate an idyllic place at theshore of the Oslo fjord. Simplicity and puri-ty characterizes the road, both in designand use of materials. The road is now follo-wing the original alignment from the 18thcentury and still appears as a road and nota street, which seems quite correct for aplace like Vollen. The elegancy of the align-ment is being illustrated by the beautifulashlar walls. The use of vegetation is con-trolled and is based on a long tradition ofgardening. Care for different needs for allkinds of users makes this a valuable site.The winning project is an ideal example ofhow a road with heavy traffic can be plan-ned and built on the areas premises, andhow one has been able to take into conside-ration the environment, traffic safety andmobility for all road users.
The other winner in 2008 is the RisøyBridge in Haugesund. The jury states thefollowing: The rehabilitation of the RisøyBridge in Haugesund preserves this bridgefor the future. It is a construction which isan outstanding engineering feat and anelement for creating identity. The bridgeswings with an elegant form and rises high
Thorbjørn Chr. Risan,NPRA, Norway
Contact: Sunniva Schjetne, [email protected] orAlf E. Støle, [email protected]
above the strait Smedasundet before it rea-ches the island Risøya. It is an impressiveconstruction, which also is in contrast tothe city situated under it - still they empha-size each other in a way that enhances theexperience of both bridge and town. Therehabilitation has in a respectful andhumble way taken the original design intoconsideration down to the smallest detail.
Risøy Bridge in Haugesund.
In addition The National Tourist Roadsproject was awarded a price for its
ground-breaking activities. (See articleabout The National Tourist Roads on page10.) Further two road sites are honourablymentioned: The Canal of Spangereid atLindesnes at the southernmost part ofNorway and The Open Landscape in thecounty of Sogn and Fjordane, WesternNorway.
The Road Director’s Beautiful RoadsAward, which is the official name of theprize, is a prestigious prize of honour awar-ded to road sites with outstanding aestheticqualities adapted to its surroundings.Presented for the first time this year is anaward to a site that distinguishes itself withregards to operation and maintenance.The prize is handed out by The DirectorGeneral of the NPRA.
The Skarnsund Bridge (Mid Norway) is a modern bridge that hasbeen preserved for the future.
PHO
TO:
NPR
A
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2120 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Tourist Routes Important forthe Economy
Tourist routes benefit the local economy. At least this is the viewof a number of businessmen near one of the tourist routes inSweden, who were interviewed by VTI and TØI.
When the importance of the road net-work for economic development is
discussed, the focus is often on the trans-port of goods and services. But tourist traf-fic can also be seen as part of the manykinds of transport in the economy, i.e. thetransport of customers to the sites of pro-duction or consumption. However, we haveno comprehensive knowledge of the rela-tionship between Swedish tourist routesand the interests of the travellers and theeconomy. The point of reference for thisproject has therefore been to give theSwedish Road Administration furtherinformation on the interests and views ofcar tourists and the tourist industry, so thatthe road transport system may be develo-ped for tourism regarded as an industry.The project has given rise to two reports.
It has not been possible to show clearlythat signposting a tourist route with brownsigns has resulted in an increase in traffic.It is therefore remarkable that the busi-nessmen themselves consider that theiractivities have benefited from the local tou-rist route. This indicates that it is a moredistinct and purposeful group of travellerswho make use of the route. Aspects to dowith the economy should therefore alwaysbe included in the deliberations concer-ning the provision of brown signs.
The Gränna-Ödeshög-Rök tourist route,together with the Kullaberg tourist route inSkåne County, have also been comparedwith a Norwegian tourist route, TuristvägSognefjell. The travelling tourists inSweden, in their responses to a question-naire, accord cultural attractions a highvalue, while a beautiful view is given a lowerranking in comparison with the study ofthe Norwegian tourist route. The differen-
ces are presu-mably associatedwith the natureof the landscapeand the regions,but it is also pos-sible that touristsof differentn a t i o n a l i t i e shave differentviews regardingthe landscape.Improvementswhich travellerswant to see most-ly relate to ser-vice facilitieswhich were con-sidered too fewin number. Theshortage of toiletfacilities figuredp a r t i c u l a r l yhigh, but therewas also a wish to
have more stopping areas at interestingviews, more parking places, more over-nighting facilities and better and morecomprehensive information signs.
Tourist routes in Sweden are markedwith brown signs.
Sandra Johansson,VTI, Sweden
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
Contact: Hans Antonson,[email protected]
The Way to a Quieter Surfacing
Noise is one of the many environmental problems that our trafficgives rise to. The problem can be tackled in many ways, one ofwhich is to use noise barriers. But a very effective way is to dealwith the problem right at the source, by using a road surfacingon which less traffic noise is generated.
Noise reducing road surfaces as a costeffective measure against traffic noise
is a field VTI has been working on for manyyears. Now there is a good chance that aproject can be started which will develop aroad surface that not only protects theenvironment from noise but also re-usesold tyres. VTI has carried out research inthe subject since 1999, and the knowledgeacquired on the subject matter will be oneof the cornerstones of the desired new pro-ject.
Within road technology, it has beenknown for a long time that a porous surfa-ce of the right texture gives lower trafficnoise levels than traditional asphalt due tothe air voids in the asphalt layer. Anotherimportant parameter in relation to noisereducing road surfaces is elasticity. A softelastic surface damps the vibrations oftyres, which results in less noise.Investigations show that, for a substantialeffect, elasticity should be almost as high asthat of the tyre, which explains why asphaltmixes with a relatively small proportion ofrubber have not produced as high an effectas had been hoped for.
The optimum solution combining theeffect of air voids and elasticity is, therefo-re, a fully rubber-based porous surface.This technology, called PERS, PoroelasticRoad Surface, has been found in tests inJapan and Sweden to reduce tyre/roadnoise levels by around 10 dB.
However, we will not see PERS used onour roads the next few years. The conceptand the material must be further develo-ped. One property that must be improvedis its adhesion to the underlying material.The result should be a durable surfacewhich is cost-effective compared to noisebarriers, that substantially reduces noiselevels; preferably on low- and medium-speed roads where porous asphalt surfacesare less effective. One great environmentalbonus in the work is the recycling of oldtyres which gives the raw material for thePERS. In Europe, the major part of thematerial in post-consumer tyres is reused.The principal means of reuse of the rubberis as an energy source in cement kilns andpower plants. A more sustainable strategy isto use the technical qualities of the recove-red rubber in engineering applications,before it is finally used as a fuel.
An application for a research projectconcerning PERS has received a favourableresponse from the EU Commission, and itis expected that the project can start nextyear. The project is coordinated by BRRC,VTI's counterpart in Belgium. If the pro-ject is approved, VTI will work on the com-position of the material, construction oftest surfaces, measurements on the roadsand dissemination of information.
VTI is hoping to produce a durable sur-face which is cost-effective and visuallymuch more favourable compared to noisebarriers, and which substantially reducesnoise levels on roads where noise exposureis a serious concern and porous asphalt isinsufficient.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Contact: Björn Kalman, [email protected] Sandberg, [email protected]
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
NOISE REDUCING
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2120 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
ROAD AESTHETICS
Tourist Routes Important forthe Economy
Tourist routes benefit the local economy. At least this is the viewof a number of businessmen near one of the tourist routes inSweden, who were interviewed by VTI and TØI.
When the importance of the road net-work for economic development is
discussed, the focus is often on the trans-port of goods and services. But tourist traf-fic can also be seen as part of the manykinds of transport in the economy, i.e. thetransport of customers to the sites of pro-duction or consumption. However, we haveno comprehensive knowledge of the rela-tionship between Swedish tourist routesand the interests of the travellers and theeconomy. The point of reference for thisproject has therefore been to give theSwedish Road Administration furtherinformation on the interests and views ofcar tourists and the tourist industry, so thatthe road transport system may be develo-ped for tourism regarded as an industry.The project has given rise to two reports.
It has not been possible to show clearlythat signposting a tourist route with brownsigns has resulted in an increase in traffic.It is therefore remarkable that the busi-nessmen themselves consider that theiractivities have benefited from the local tou-rist route. This indicates that it is a moredistinct and purposeful group of travellerswho make use of the route. Aspects to dowith the economy should therefore alwaysbe included in the deliberations concer-ning the provision of brown signs.
The Gränna-Ödeshög-Rök tourist route,together with the Kullaberg tourist route inSkåne County, have also been comparedwith a Norwegian tourist route, TuristvägSognefjell. The travelling tourists inSweden, in their responses to a question-naire, accord cultural attractions a highvalue, while a beautiful view is given a lowerranking in comparison with the study ofthe Norwegian tourist route. The differen-
ces are presu-mably associatedwith the natureof the landscapeand the regions,but it is also pos-sible that touristsof differentn a t i o n a l i t i e shave differentviews regardingthe landscape.Improvementswhich travellerswant to see most-ly relate to ser-vice facilitieswhich were con-sidered too fewin number. Theshortage of toiletfacilities figuredp a r t i c u l a r l yhigh, but therewas also a wish to
have more stopping areas at interestingviews, more parking places, more over-nighting facilities and better and morecomprehensive information signs.
Tourist routes in Sweden are markedwith brown signs.
Sandra Johansson,VTI, Sweden
PHO
TO:
PHO
TOS
.CO
M
Contact: Hans Antonson,[email protected]
The Way to a Quieter Surfacing
Noise is one of the many environmental problems that our trafficgives rise to. The problem can be tackled in many ways, one ofwhich is to use noise barriers. But a very effective way is to dealwith the problem right at the source, by using a road surfacingon which less traffic noise is generated.
Noise reducing road surfaces as a costeffective measure against traffic noise
is a field VTI has been working on for manyyears. Now there is a good chance that aproject can be started which will develop aroad surface that not only protects theenvironment from noise but also re-usesold tyres. VTI has carried out research inthe subject since 1999, and the knowledgeacquired on the subject matter will be oneof the cornerstones of the desired new pro-ject.
Within road technology, it has beenknown for a long time that a porous surfa-ce of the right texture gives lower trafficnoise levels than traditional asphalt due tothe air voids in the asphalt layer. Anotherimportant parameter in relation to noisereducing road surfaces is elasticity. A softelastic surface damps the vibrations oftyres, which results in less noise.Investigations show that, for a substantialeffect, elasticity should be almost as high asthat of the tyre, which explains why asphaltmixes with a relatively small proportion ofrubber have not produced as high an effectas had been hoped for.
The optimum solution combining theeffect of air voids and elasticity is, therefo-re, a fully rubber-based porous surface.This technology, called PERS, PoroelasticRoad Surface, has been found in tests inJapan and Sweden to reduce tyre/roadnoise levels by around 10 dB.
However, we will not see PERS used onour roads the next few years. The conceptand the material must be further develo-ped. One property that must be improvedis its adhesion to the underlying material.The result should be a durable surfacewhich is cost-effective compared to noisebarriers, that substantially reduces noiselevels; preferably on low- and medium-speed roads where porous asphalt surfacesare less effective. One great environmentalbonus in the work is the recycling of oldtyres which gives the raw material for thePERS. In Europe, the major part of thematerial in post-consumer tyres is reused.The principal means of reuse of the rubberis as an energy source in cement kilns andpower plants. A more sustainable strategy isto use the technical qualities of the recove-red rubber in engineering applications,before it is finally used as a fuel.
An application for a research projectconcerning PERS has received a favourableresponse from the EU Commission, and itis expected that the project can start nextyear. The project is coordinated by BRRC,VTI's counterpart in Belgium. If the pro-ject is approved, VTI will work on the com-position of the material, construction oftest surfaces, measurements on the roadsand dissemination of information.
VTI is hoping to produce a durable sur-face which is cost-effective and visuallymuch more favourable compared to noisebarriers, and which substantially reducesnoise levels on roads where noise exposureis a serious concern and porous asphalt isinsufficient.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Contact: Björn Kalman, [email protected] Sandberg, [email protected]
PHO
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PHO
TOS
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NOISE REDUCING
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2322 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
NOISE REDUCING
Good Governance Regarding Noise Management
Noise is an important factor to be considered when it comes todeveloping, upgrading and maintaining national road networks inEurope. In some EU member states, significant financial resour-ces are used to incorporate noise abatement measures in deve-loping or upgrading national roads.
The Conference of European Directorsof Roads (CEDR) had in the CEDR
Strategic Plan 2005-–2007 defined a task“to reduce road traffic noise”. One of themain objectives of the CEDR noise groupwas to facilitate knowledge sharing onnoise management and abatement issuesamong the European National RoadAdministrations (NRAs). In order toundertake these objectives, a comprehensi-ve questionnaire survey was carried out onhow noise issues are treated in NRAsaround Europe. A report has been prepa-red summarizing the results of the surveywhich was responded to by 20 CEDR mem-ber states. The report will shortly be avai-lable on the CEDR homepage.
For a more extensive version of theresults obtained, please see: www.nordicro-ads.com.
Recommendations on good governanceregarding noise On the background of the informationreceived from the NRAs in addition to thefruitful discussions of the CEDR noisegroup, the following fourteen recommenda-tions for good governance regarding noisemanagement and abatement are proposed:1. In Europe, the main noise problems
occur along the existing road networkand the order of magnitude of the pro-blems is increasing with increasingtraffic volume. Therefore, noise abate-ment along these roads is crucial inorder to start a process where thenoise exposure over the long term isreduced.
2. It is important to include noise issuesat the early planning stage for newroad developments. In adopting suchan approach, future noise problemsmay be avoided. The basis for such anapproach will normally be the nationalnoise guidelines.
3. Noise should be included as an impor-tant parameter in projects whereexisting roads are widened and impro-ved to accommodate increasing trafficvolumes. This can improve the noiseenvironment for people living in closeproximity to the upgraded road.
4. When planning to incorporate noiseabatement measures on new, existingand reconstructed roads, it is impor-tant to adopt a time horizon of 20 to30 years, when predicting future noisefrom increasing traffic volumes andplanning noise measures. This willenhance the robustness of specificnoise projects.
5. When road construction work is car-ried out in close proximity to residen-tial areas, it is relevant to consider con-
struction noise when planning andrealizing such works. Residents close tothe construction site should get suffici-ent information.
6. In projects where noise abatementmeasures are planned and designed, itis recommended to establish a goodcommunication strategy to ensure atwo way communication process withthe public. In this way, residents maytake ownership of the project and theirexpectations to what noise mitigationmay deliver in terms of noise reduc-tions may be more realistic.
7. Noise barriers erected on roads havenot only visual impacts for the resi-dents living in close proximity to theroad but also the drivers and their pas-sengers. It is therefore, important touse barrier designs that are appropria-te to the specific locations where theyare erected.
8. The use of noise reducing pavementsshould be considered when selectingnoise mitigation measures becausesuch pavements are purported to pro-vide a cost effective tool in noise abate-ment. In upgrading existing roads, theuse of noise reducing pavements isoften a low cost measure of noise aba-tement.
9. Integration of noise as an active com-ponent in Pavement ManagementSystems can increase the optimal use of
Hans Bendtsen, VD, Denmark
noise reducing pavements in the ongo-ing road pavement renewal process.
10. To enhance the current market fornoise reducing pavements the develop-ment and use of a noise labelling sys-tem in member states should be consi-dered.
Contact: Hans Bendtsen, [email protected]
11. In order to reduce noise emissionsfrom individual vehicles, it would beinvaluable if individual NRAs lobby atEU level to promote tighter noiselimits for the EU type approval of newvehicles and tyres.
12. Like all elements of infrastructure,
noise abatement measures such aspavements, barriers, facades, etc. needto be maintained on a regular basis.
13. There is a need for further researchand development in improved andlong time durable measures of noiseabatement like optimized noise redu-cing pavements, tyres, vehicles etc.
14. A continuation of international coope-ration on noise abatement and mana-gement between the NRAs is valueadding and fruitful. In the comingyears issues like noise mapping andnoise action plans in relation toEuropean Noise Directive (END)seems highly relevant.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2322 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
NOISE REDUCING
Good Governance Regarding Noise Management
Noise is an important factor to be considered when it comes todeveloping, upgrading and maintaining national road networks inEurope. In some EU member states, significant financial resour-ces are used to incorporate noise abatement measures in deve-loping or upgrading national roads.
The Conference of European Directorsof Roads (CEDR) had in the CEDR
Strategic Plan 2005-–2007 defined a task“to reduce road traffic noise”. One of themain objectives of the CEDR noise groupwas to facilitate knowledge sharing onnoise management and abatement issuesamong the European National RoadAdministrations (NRAs). In order toundertake these objectives, a comprehensi-ve questionnaire survey was carried out onhow noise issues are treated in NRAsaround Europe. A report has been prepa-red summarizing the results of the surveywhich was responded to by 20 CEDR mem-ber states. The report will shortly be avai-lable on the CEDR homepage.
For a more extensive version of theresults obtained, please see: www.nordicro-ads.com.
Recommendations on good governanceregarding noise On the background of the informationreceived from the NRAs in addition to thefruitful discussions of the CEDR noisegroup, the following fourteen recommenda-tions for good governance regarding noisemanagement and abatement are proposed:1. In Europe, the main noise problems
occur along the existing road networkand the order of magnitude of the pro-blems is increasing with increasingtraffic volume. Therefore, noise abate-ment along these roads is crucial inorder to start a process where thenoise exposure over the long term isreduced.
2. It is important to include noise issuesat the early planning stage for newroad developments. In adopting suchan approach, future noise problemsmay be avoided. The basis for such anapproach will normally be the nationalnoise guidelines.
3. Noise should be included as an impor-tant parameter in projects whereexisting roads are widened and impro-ved to accommodate increasing trafficvolumes. This can improve the noiseenvironment for people living in closeproximity to the upgraded road.
4. When planning to incorporate noiseabatement measures on new, existingand reconstructed roads, it is impor-tant to adopt a time horizon of 20 to30 years, when predicting future noisefrom increasing traffic volumes andplanning noise measures. This willenhance the robustness of specificnoise projects.
5. When road construction work is car-ried out in close proximity to residen-tial areas, it is relevant to consider con-
struction noise when planning andrealizing such works. Residents close tothe construction site should get suffici-ent information.
6. In projects where noise abatementmeasures are planned and designed, itis recommended to establish a goodcommunication strategy to ensure atwo way communication process withthe public. In this way, residents maytake ownership of the project and theirexpectations to what noise mitigationmay deliver in terms of noise reduc-tions may be more realistic.
7. Noise barriers erected on roads havenot only visual impacts for the resi-dents living in close proximity to theroad but also the drivers and their pas-sengers. It is therefore, important touse barrier designs that are appropria-te to the specific locations where theyare erected.
8. The use of noise reducing pavementsshould be considered when selectingnoise mitigation measures becausesuch pavements are purported to pro-vide a cost effective tool in noise abate-ment. In upgrading existing roads, theuse of noise reducing pavements isoften a low cost measure of noise aba-tement.
9. Integration of noise as an active com-ponent in Pavement ManagementSystems can increase the optimal use of
Hans Bendtsen, VD, Denmark
noise reducing pavements in the ongo-ing road pavement renewal process.
10. To enhance the current market fornoise reducing pavements the develop-ment and use of a noise labelling sys-tem in member states should be consi-dered.
Contact: Hans Bendtsen, [email protected]
11. In order to reduce noise emissionsfrom individual vehicles, it would beinvaluable if individual NRAs lobby atEU level to promote tighter noiselimits for the EU type approval of newvehicles and tyres.
12. Like all elements of infrastructure,
noise abatement measures such aspavements, barriers, facades, etc. needto be maintained on a regular basis.
13. There is a need for further researchand development in improved andlong time durable measures of noiseabatement like optimized noise redu-cing pavements, tyres, vehicles etc.
14. A continuation of international coope-ration on noise abatement and mana-gement between the NRAs is valueadding and fruitful. In the comingyears issues like noise mapping andnoise action plans in relation toEuropean Noise Directive (END)seems highly relevant.
24 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 25www.nordicroads.com
NOISE REDUCING
There is increasing focus inEurope on applying noise redu-cing pavements on the road net-works as cost effective noiseabatement. CaliforniaDepartment of Transportation(Caltrans) contracted the DanishRoad Institute to prepare an over-view of the current state of theart in this field.
Only a few countries have an explicitpolicy for the use of noise reducing
pavements, even though they are increasing-ly becoming part of the "toolbox" for con-sideration in noise abatement.
The Netherlands apply porous asphalton their entire main road network follo-wing an increase, in 1987, of the permittedvehicle speed from 100 km/h to 120 km/h.This policy is very efficient from a noiseabatement point of view.
In Denmark, noise reducing pavementsare also frequently used on new roads orwhen significant changes are made onexisting roads. The municipality ofCopenhagen has decided to apply noisereducing surfacings in its maintenance ofstreets with an ADT exceeding 2000 vehic-
les. The introduction of the Danish noiselabeling system for noise reducing pave-ment products on the market facilitates ten-dering such pavements. The process where-by road administrations and the pavementindustry developed the noise labeling sys-tem in consensus with consultants gavewide acceptance and has brought knowled-ge of the system to many users.
Noise reducing pavements can be usedin conjunction with other measures, butnoise reducing pavements should always bethe first choice because they attack the pro-blem at source (tire-road-noise) and it isoften the most cost-effective measure ofnoise abatement. In the Netherlands, noisereducing pavements combined with noisebarriers are used frequently. There is alegal demand on road administrations toreduce the increasing noise and this can bedone by either by increasing the height ofexisting noise barriers or by building new
barriers, both very expensive solutions, orby using noise reducing porous pavementor thin layer surfacings, which are muchmore cost-effective.
Noise reduction is evaluated in relationto a reference pavement. The referencepavement(s) in different countries are typi-cally chosen from what would have beenthe most probable alternative used for highcapacity roads prior to the focus of noisereducing pavements. In Denmark, thereference is a worn (approx. 8 years old)surface of a dense graded asphalt concretewith 11 mm as nominal maximum aggrega-te size. The Netherlands use a referencepavement based on a population of measu-red surfaces all of which were probably lessthan two years old at the time of noise mea-surement. Sweden uses a Stone MasticAsphalt 16 mm (or dense graded AsphaltConcrete 16 mm) at the age of one yearprimarily based on CPX-measurements.
Hans Bendtsen, VD, Denmark
Some noise monitoring over time onnoise reducing pavements is done in theNetherlands, France and Germany to gain“overall experience”; but not all individualpavement works are monitored. InDenmark, several test sections have beenmonitored every year by SPB measure-ments and now this is supplemented withCPX measurements. Texture measurementby means of laser equipment will be addedsoon. This has generated valuable lifetimenoise reduction time histories.
Usually, it is the road owner who payseither in a project for constructing a newroad or in the ongoing process of pave-ment renewal on existing roads. InDenmark, it has been discussed at theMunicipality of Copenhagen that a develo-per of a new residential area should pay fora noise reducing pavement on a nearbyroad in order to be given permission tobuild the new dwellings.
Warranty periods for noise reducingpavements in Denmark are the same as forstandard pavements (legally 5 years), butthere is no established practice yet as tohow the warranty covers the acoustical per-formance. When more experience is gathe-red with respect to the durability of theindividual mix types it is assumed thatdurability (acoustical as well as structural)will be important in the competition betwe-en products /contractors like it is on stan-dard asphalt materials.
Some new developments can be seen onthe horizon: a. The ongoing development and testing
of noise reducing thin layers seems toprovide low cost noise reduction.
b. In Germany, there is a trend to replacePortland Cement Concrete (PCC) withStone Mastic Asphalt which has a lot ofapplication advantages in the rehabilita-tion and maintenance situation on a
heavily congested road network. SomePortland Cement Concrete test sectionshave been built which show reasonablenoise levels, but they are presently fewand at a purely experimental stage, sono substantial information on PCC solu-tions is available.
c. Two-layer porous pavement optimizedfor long-term noise reduction and dura-bility for roads with speeds above 70km/h might be an option for testing inorder to achieve high noise reduction.
d. Poro-elastic surfacing might be an option.There are plans for European researchand development of such an idea.
Noise Reducing Pavements in Europe
Contact: Hans Bendtsen, Danish RoadDirectorate/Danish Road Institute, [email protected] more: www.vejdirektoratet.dk/publikationer/VInot069/index.htm
24 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 25www.nordicroads.com
NOISE REDUCING
There is increasing focus inEurope on applying noise redu-cing pavements on the road net-works as cost effective noiseabatement. CaliforniaDepartment of Transportation(Caltrans) contracted the DanishRoad Institute to prepare an over-view of the current state of theart in this field.
Only a few countries have an explicitpolicy for the use of noise reducing
pavements, even though they are increasing-ly becoming part of the "toolbox" for con-sideration in noise abatement.
The Netherlands apply porous asphalton their entire main road network follo-wing an increase, in 1987, of the permittedvehicle speed from 100 km/h to 120 km/h.This policy is very efficient from a noiseabatement point of view.
In Denmark, noise reducing pavementsare also frequently used on new roads orwhen significant changes are made onexisting roads. The municipality ofCopenhagen has decided to apply noisereducing surfacings in its maintenance ofstreets with an ADT exceeding 2000 vehic-
les. The introduction of the Danish noiselabeling system for noise reducing pave-ment products on the market facilitates ten-dering such pavements. The process where-by road administrations and the pavementindustry developed the noise labeling sys-tem in consensus with consultants gavewide acceptance and has brought knowled-ge of the system to many users.
Noise reducing pavements can be usedin conjunction with other measures, butnoise reducing pavements should always bethe first choice because they attack the pro-blem at source (tire-road-noise) and it isoften the most cost-effective measure ofnoise abatement. In the Netherlands, noisereducing pavements combined with noisebarriers are used frequently. There is alegal demand on road administrations toreduce the increasing noise and this can bedone by either by increasing the height ofexisting noise barriers or by building new
barriers, both very expensive solutions, orby using noise reducing porous pavementor thin layer surfacings, which are muchmore cost-effective.
Noise reduction is evaluated in relationto a reference pavement. The referencepavement(s) in different countries are typi-cally chosen from what would have beenthe most probable alternative used for highcapacity roads prior to the focus of noisereducing pavements. In Denmark, thereference is a worn (approx. 8 years old)surface of a dense graded asphalt concretewith 11 mm as nominal maximum aggrega-te size. The Netherlands use a referencepavement based on a population of measu-red surfaces all of which were probably lessthan two years old at the time of noise mea-surement. Sweden uses a Stone MasticAsphalt 16 mm (or dense graded AsphaltConcrete 16 mm) at the age of one yearprimarily based on CPX-measurements.
Hans Bendtsen, VD, Denmark
Some noise monitoring over time onnoise reducing pavements is done in theNetherlands, France and Germany to gain“overall experience”; but not all individualpavement works are monitored. InDenmark, several test sections have beenmonitored every year by SPB measure-ments and now this is supplemented withCPX measurements. Texture measurementby means of laser equipment will be addedsoon. This has generated valuable lifetimenoise reduction time histories.
Usually, it is the road owner who payseither in a project for constructing a newroad or in the ongoing process of pave-ment renewal on existing roads. InDenmark, it has been discussed at theMunicipality of Copenhagen that a develo-per of a new residential area should pay fora noise reducing pavement on a nearbyroad in order to be given permission tobuild the new dwellings.
Warranty periods for noise reducingpavements in Denmark are the same as forstandard pavements (legally 5 years), butthere is no established practice yet as tohow the warranty covers the acoustical per-formance. When more experience is gathe-red with respect to the durability of theindividual mix types it is assumed thatdurability (acoustical as well as structural)will be important in the competition betwe-en products /contractors like it is on stan-dard asphalt materials.
Some new developments can be seen onthe horizon: a. The ongoing development and testing
of noise reducing thin layers seems toprovide low cost noise reduction.
b. In Germany, there is a trend to replacePortland Cement Concrete (PCC) withStone Mastic Asphalt which has a lot ofapplication advantages in the rehabilita-tion and maintenance situation on a
heavily congested road network. SomePortland Cement Concrete test sectionshave been built which show reasonablenoise levels, but they are presently fewand at a purely experimental stage, sono substantial information on PCC solu-tions is available.
c. Two-layer porous pavement optimizedfor long-term noise reduction and dura-bility for roads with speeds above 70km/h might be an option for testing inorder to achieve high noise reduction.
d. Poro-elastic surfacing might be an option.There are plans for European researchand development of such an idea.
Noise Reducing Pavements in Europe
Contact: Hans Bendtsen, Danish RoadDirectorate/Danish Road Institute, [email protected] more: www.vejdirektoratet.dk/publikationer/VInot069/index.htm
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2726 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
METRONOMEA Methodology for Evaluation of Project Impacts in the Field of Transport
Transport research under the EuropeanResearch and Technological Deve-
lopment Framework Pro-grammes (FPs)aims to produce new knowledge and inno-vation for different stakeholders within thetransport sector, thereby helping themcontribute to the achievement of the goalsand objectives of the European PolicyStatements regarding e.g. sustainabilityissues, European competitiveness, Euro-pean governance practices and theEuropean research area.
A lot of transport-related research know-ledge on sustainability and competitivenessof the transport system has been producedin recent FPs. Policy support projects havealso aimed to contribute to improving com-munity and public policies. Currently,however, there is no systematic methodolo-gy for evaluating the achievements of theresearch projects towards often very broadpolicy goals or even research programmeobjectives. Further, there is the question ofhow to use the project results in definingfuture objectives for EU-funded transportresearch.
The METRONOME project, as part of
More than 800 transport research projects have been financedin the recent Framework Programmes of the EuropeanCommission. In order to evaluate the contribution of these pro-jects to the current key themes of the European Policies:Industrial Competitiveness, Sustainable Development, andImproving Community and Public Policies, the Commission haslaunched the METRONOME project.
FP7, will contribute to solving the abovedilemma by devel-oping a methodology forevaluation of European Commission RTDFramework Programmes (FP) 5 and 6transport projects, from the perspectives ofindustrial competitiveness, sustainabilityconcerns and uptake of research results inEuropean policy developments.
The project is set to continue until July2009, but a preliminary screening, selec-tion and evaluation framework has been
developed with the following three phases(Figure 1):1. Identification of European transport
research and policy objectives for thethree thematic fields of the METRONO-ME project
2. Project screening and selection3. Project impact evaluation
In the first phase, European transportresearch and policy objectives forIndustrial Competitiveness, Sustainable
Anu Tuominen, VTT,Finland
Contact: Anu Tuominen, [email protected]
Development, and improving Communityand Public Policies were identified fromthe European Policy documents relevant tothese fields.
In the second phase, around 60 ‘mostrelevant’ projects from the group of 400FP5 and FP6 projects were selected fordetailed evaluation. The project selectionwas carried out with text mining software(RapidMiner), the main idea being toidentify projects relating most to the iden-tified transport policy objectives forIndustrial Competitiveness, SustainableDevelopment, and Improving Communityand Public Policies.
In the third phase, the key questions inthe methodological development were asfollows:• What kind of impacts can research pro-
jects have on the three main themes ofthe European Poli-cies?
• What kind of indicators could be usedto describe these impacts? In conclusion we propose the following
four indicator groups: a. Scientific impact indicators. These indica-
tors will reflect the quality and validity of rese-arch projects versus the project’s own and FPtheme targets. Examples of indicators:• Number of publications, number of
patents
• Fit between framework and data• Efficiency of the research - results versus
resources used • Effectiveness of the research - outputs
versus set FP targets• The power to address previously unsol-
ved questionsb. Customer/ End user impact indicators.
These impact indicators will reflect the(short-term) benefit of the research resultsto their actual end users (e.g. EC, industry,national govern-ments, ministries, researchorganisations, etc.). Examples of indicators:• Public-policy initiatives • Long-term product or service develop-
ment• Advantage and stability of the research
resultsc. Societal impact indicators will reflect the
more long-term impacts (outcomes) of there-search on the society at large (e.g. onthe transport system end-users: individuals,logistic companies, industry, etc.).Examples of indicators: • Implementation of research output by
policy field, industry or other societalstakeholders
• (Active) use of implemented researchoutput by societal groups
• Contribution of priority setting, e.g.future research goals
• Contribution to strategy processes ofpublic and private organisations
• Norms, standards, regulationd. Impact indicators on management and
coordination will reflect the ‘enabling fac-tors’ or ‘tools’ for complementing theimpacts measured in the other threegroups above. Examples of indicators: • Improved networks, new networks with
public/ private organisations• Networks with global/EU/national
partners• Systematic dialogue with policymakers• Customer orientation: customer involve-
ment in project planningAlso considered very important is the
evaluation of the role and success of diffe-rent funding in-struments, as well as theimpact of various project partners (SMEs,universities, research organisa-tions,NGOs, others) on the project results.These issues will be covered in the forthco-ming tasks of the project.
The methodology under developmentwill hopefully provide one tool for mid-termreview of the EC FP7 transport projects.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2726 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
METRONOMEA Methodology for Evaluation of Project Impacts in the Field of Transport
Transport research under the EuropeanResearch and Technological Deve-
lopment Framework Pro-grammes (FPs)aims to produce new knowledge and inno-vation for different stakeholders within thetransport sector, thereby helping themcontribute to the achievement of the goalsand objectives of the European PolicyStatements regarding e.g. sustainabilityissues, European competitiveness, Euro-pean governance practices and theEuropean research area.
A lot of transport-related research know-ledge on sustainability and competitivenessof the transport system has been producedin recent FPs. Policy support projects havealso aimed to contribute to improving com-munity and public policies. Currently,however, there is no systematic methodolo-gy for evaluating the achievements of theresearch projects towards often very broadpolicy goals or even research programmeobjectives. Further, there is the question ofhow to use the project results in definingfuture objectives for EU-funded transportresearch.
The METRONOME project, as part of
More than 800 transport research projects have been financedin the recent Framework Programmes of the EuropeanCommission. In order to evaluate the contribution of these pro-jects to the current key themes of the European Policies:Industrial Competitiveness, Sustainable Development, andImproving Community and Public Policies, the Commission haslaunched the METRONOME project.
FP7, will contribute to solving the abovedilemma by devel-oping a methodology forevaluation of European Commission RTDFramework Programmes (FP) 5 and 6transport projects, from the perspectives ofindustrial competitiveness, sustainabilityconcerns and uptake of research results inEuropean policy developments.
The project is set to continue until July2009, but a preliminary screening, selec-tion and evaluation framework has been
developed with the following three phases(Figure 1):1. Identification of European transport
research and policy objectives for thethree thematic fields of the METRONO-ME project
2. Project screening and selection3. Project impact evaluation
In the first phase, European transportresearch and policy objectives forIndustrial Competitiveness, Sustainable
Anu Tuominen, VTT,Finland
Contact: Anu Tuominen, [email protected]
Development, and improving Communityand Public Policies were identified fromthe European Policy documents relevant tothese fields.
In the second phase, around 60 ‘mostrelevant’ projects from the group of 400FP5 and FP6 projects were selected fordetailed evaluation. The project selectionwas carried out with text mining software(RapidMiner), the main idea being toidentify projects relating most to the iden-tified transport policy objectives forIndustrial Competitiveness, SustainableDevelopment, and Improving Communityand Public Policies.
In the third phase, the key questions inthe methodological development were asfollows:• What kind of impacts can research pro-
jects have on the three main themes ofthe European Poli-cies?
• What kind of indicators could be usedto describe these impacts? In conclusion we propose the following
four indicator groups: a. Scientific impact indicators. These indica-
tors will reflect the quality and validity of rese-arch projects versus the project’s own and FPtheme targets. Examples of indicators:• Number of publications, number of
patents
• Fit between framework and data• Efficiency of the research - results versus
resources used • Effectiveness of the research - outputs
versus set FP targets• The power to address previously unsol-
ved questionsb. Customer/ End user impact indicators.
These impact indicators will reflect the(short-term) benefit of the research resultsto their actual end users (e.g. EC, industry,national govern-ments, ministries, researchorganisations, etc.). Examples of indicators:• Public-policy initiatives • Long-term product or service develop-
ment• Advantage and stability of the research
resultsc. Societal impact indicators will reflect the
more long-term impacts (outcomes) of there-search on the society at large (e.g. onthe transport system end-users: individuals,logistic companies, industry, etc.).Examples of indicators: • Implementation of research output by
policy field, industry or other societalstakeholders
• (Active) use of implemented researchoutput by societal groups
• Contribution of priority setting, e.g.future research goals
• Contribution to strategy processes ofpublic and private organisations
• Norms, standards, regulationd. Impact indicators on management and
coordination will reflect the ‘enabling fac-tors’ or ‘tools’ for complementing theimpacts measured in the other threegroups above. Examples of indicators: • Improved networks, new networks with
public/ private organisations• Networks with global/EU/national
partners• Systematic dialogue with policymakers• Customer orientation: customer involve-
ment in project planningAlso considered very important is the
evaluation of the role and success of diffe-rent funding in-struments, as well as theimpact of various project partners (SMEs,universities, research organisa-tions,NGOs, others) on the project results.These issues will be covered in the forthco-ming tasks of the project.
The methodology under developmentwill hopefully provide one tool for mid-termreview of the EC FP7 transport projects.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2928 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Recently, the Danish Road Directorate hasfinalized a project where LCA was perfor-med on an 11 km traditional motorwayproject in Jutland with asphalt wearingcourse and base to evaluate the environ-mental impacts and use of resources at dif-ferent stages during the life cycle of themotorway. Four alternative options for thechoice of materials were compared to thetraditional one: • Traditional Danish asphalt pavement
with asphalt wearing course and asphaltbase course on top of a granular roadbase.
• Thin asphalt on asphalt base course andgranular road base.
• Thin asphalt with cement stabilized base
and granular road base. • Asphalt wearing course on macadam
(stone) base and granular road base. • Cement concrete on cement stabilized
base and granular road base. The functional unit for the assessment is
construction of 11 km motorway operatedand maintained for 100 years. The roadconsists of four lanes, two hard shoulders,two soft shoulders and a central reserve.
What is assessed in the LCA?LCA includes inputs of energy and resour-ces as well as outputs of waste and emis-sions to air, water and soil for all materialsand processes related to the entire lifecycle. In this project, a Danish model forLCA on road materials (ROAD-RES) isused, where eight environmental impactcategories and seven resource categoriesare assessed.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool to assess theuse of resources and environmental impacts related to the entirelife cycle of a product, system or service. LCA has been testedby the Danish Road Directorate in relation to an 11 km motorwayproject in Jutland. Five different options for the choice of roadmaterials for the construction were assessed. The results provi-de the Danish Road Directorate with information regarding theuse of resources and environmental impacts related to the wholelife cycle of a motorway project - and whether the choice of mate-rials makes a difference for the environmental impacts of theproject. In this article, one of the environmental impacts asses-sed in the LCA is presented: The global warming potential.
Global warming potential of a traditionalmotorwayThe results of the LCA project show thatthe total contribution to the global war-ming potential for this 11 km traditionalmotorway construction during 100 years is29.000 tons CO2-equivalents or 2.670 tonsCO2-equivalents pr km. Approximately40% of the total impact is related to theconstruction phase and 60% is related tothe operation and maintenance during the100 years. The construction of 1 km of thisparticular traditional motorway construc-tion therefore emits 1.030 ton CO2-equiva-lents and the operation and maintenanceduring 100 years emits 1.640 tons CO2-equi-valents.
How much is that? Results in LCA areoften normalized and calculated into per-son equivalents (PE).This means that theresults are illustrated as the fraction of the
contribution to the impact deriving fromthe average person in the affected area,which in this case is Europe. So 1 PE equalsthe impact that one person in Europe con-tributes within one year with all his activi-ties. The contribution for the entire lifecycle of the 11 km motorway during 100years equals 3.380 PE or 307 PE pr. km.Since the construction phase accounts for40% of the total impact, the constructionof a 1 km motorway contributes 119 PEand operation and maintenance contribu-tes 188 PE during the 100 years.
Does the choice of materials make a dif-ference for global warming?As shown in table 1, the results show thatthe potential contribution to global war-ming is lowest for the scenario with thinasphalt, followed by the scenarios withasphalt and macadam base and cement sta-bilized base. The global warming potentialfor the traditional construction of a motor-way is approximately 9% higher than forthe solution with lowest impact. The globalwarming potential is considerably higherfor the road with concrete wearing course,or approximately 40% higher than thesolution with thin asphalt. When potentialCO2 uptake of concrete is taken intoaccount, the concrete scenario still ends uphaving the largest impact on global war-ming, or approximately 17% higher thanthe solution with thin asphalt.
Why LCA in the Danish RoadDirectorate?Technical, qualitative and economical para-
Harpa Birgisdóttir, Knud A. Pihl
Contact: Harpa Birgisdóttir,[email protected]) Knud A. Pihl ([email protected])
Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark =1030 ton CO2
- and much more –
meters are the fundamental parametersused in decision making when consideringdimensioning and maintenance of roadconstruction. LCA provides the opportuni-ty to add sustainability as an additionaldimension into the decision making pro-cess. By gaining more knowledge of LCA,the Danish Road Directorate can considerhow strategies and requirements regardingsustainability can be a part of construction,extension and operation of the road system.This may include procurement policies inc-luding strategies for choice of materials,operation of roads, requirements in tenderfor contractors and etc.
In Nordic Road & Transport Research3/2006, an article on this LCA project can
be found under the title “Life CycleAssessment of Road Materials in theDanish Road Directorate” which explainsthe basic premises of the LCA study.
A more detailed version of the presentarticle, as well as the article mentionedabove, can be found on the internet underwww.nordicroads.com. A DRD report (no.164) will be available on DRD’s homepage(www.roadinstitute.dk) under Publicationsby the end of 2008.
ton CO2-equiv. PE Difference
1 Asphalt – thin asphalt 26.909 3.093
2 Asphalt – on macadam (stone) 27.666 3.180 +3 %base
3 Asphalt – with cement 28.136 3.234 +5 %stabilized base
4 Asphalt – traditional 29.354 3.374 +9 %
5 Concrete – with cement 37.366 4.295 +39 %stabilized base
5* Concrete – with cement 31.450 3.615 +17%stabilized base and calculations of potential uptake of CO2 inconcrete during the life time of the construction and after demolition
Table 1: Ranking of the scenarios according to global warming potential.
Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark =1030 ton CO2
- and much more –
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 2928 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Recently, the Danish Road Directorate hasfinalized a project where LCA was perfor-med on an 11 km traditional motorwayproject in Jutland with asphalt wearingcourse and base to evaluate the environ-mental impacts and use of resources at dif-ferent stages during the life cycle of themotorway. Four alternative options for thechoice of materials were compared to thetraditional one: • Traditional Danish asphalt pavement
with asphalt wearing course and asphaltbase course on top of a granular roadbase.
• Thin asphalt on asphalt base course andgranular road base.
• Thin asphalt with cement stabilized base
and granular road base. • Asphalt wearing course on macadam
(stone) base and granular road base. • Cement concrete on cement stabilized
base and granular road base. The functional unit for the assessment is
construction of 11 km motorway operatedand maintained for 100 years. The roadconsists of four lanes, two hard shoulders,two soft shoulders and a central reserve.
What is assessed in the LCA?LCA includes inputs of energy and resour-ces as well as outputs of waste and emis-sions to air, water and soil for all materialsand processes related to the entire lifecycle. In this project, a Danish model forLCA on road materials (ROAD-RES) isused, where eight environmental impactcategories and seven resource categoriesare assessed.
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool to assess theuse of resources and environmental impacts related to the entirelife cycle of a product, system or service. LCA has been testedby the Danish Road Directorate in relation to an 11 km motorwayproject in Jutland. Five different options for the choice of roadmaterials for the construction were assessed. The results provi-de the Danish Road Directorate with information regarding theuse of resources and environmental impacts related to the wholelife cycle of a motorway project - and whether the choice of mate-rials makes a difference for the environmental impacts of theproject. In this article, one of the environmental impacts asses-sed in the LCA is presented: The global warming potential.
Global warming potential of a traditionalmotorwayThe results of the LCA project show thatthe total contribution to the global war-ming potential for this 11 km traditionalmotorway construction during 100 years is29.000 tons CO2-equivalents or 2.670 tonsCO2-equivalents pr km. Approximately40% of the total impact is related to theconstruction phase and 60% is related tothe operation and maintenance during the100 years. The construction of 1 km of thisparticular traditional motorway construc-tion therefore emits 1.030 ton CO2-equiva-lents and the operation and maintenanceduring 100 years emits 1.640 tons CO2-equi-valents.
How much is that? Results in LCA areoften normalized and calculated into per-son equivalents (PE).This means that theresults are illustrated as the fraction of the
contribution to the impact deriving fromthe average person in the affected area,which in this case is Europe. So 1 PE equalsthe impact that one person in Europe con-tributes within one year with all his activi-ties. The contribution for the entire lifecycle of the 11 km motorway during 100years equals 3.380 PE or 307 PE pr. km.Since the construction phase accounts for40% of the total impact, the constructionof a 1 km motorway contributes 119 PEand operation and maintenance contribu-tes 188 PE during the 100 years.
Does the choice of materials make a dif-ference for global warming?As shown in table 1, the results show thatthe potential contribution to global war-ming is lowest for the scenario with thinasphalt, followed by the scenarios withasphalt and macadam base and cement sta-bilized base. The global warming potentialfor the traditional construction of a motor-way is approximately 9% higher than forthe solution with lowest impact. The globalwarming potential is considerably higherfor the road with concrete wearing course,or approximately 40% higher than thesolution with thin asphalt. When potentialCO2 uptake of concrete is taken intoaccount, the concrete scenario still ends uphaving the largest impact on global war-ming, or approximately 17% higher thanthe solution with thin asphalt.
Why LCA in the Danish RoadDirectorate?Technical, qualitative and economical para-
Harpa Birgisdóttir, Knud A. Pihl
Contact: Harpa Birgisdóttir,[email protected]) Knud A. Pihl ([email protected])
Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark =1030 ton CO2
- and much more –
meters are the fundamental parametersused in decision making when consideringdimensioning and maintenance of roadconstruction. LCA provides the opportuni-ty to add sustainability as an additionaldimension into the decision making pro-cess. By gaining more knowledge of LCA,the Danish Road Directorate can considerhow strategies and requirements regardingsustainability can be a part of construction,extension and operation of the road system.This may include procurement policies inc-luding strategies for choice of materials,operation of roads, requirements in tenderfor contractors and etc.
In Nordic Road & Transport Research3/2006, an article on this LCA project can
be found under the title “Life CycleAssessment of Road Materials in theDanish Road Directorate” which explainsthe basic premises of the LCA study.
A more detailed version of the presentarticle, as well as the article mentionedabove, can be found on the internet underwww.nordicroads.com. A DRD report (no.164) will be available on DRD’s homepage(www.roadinstitute.dk) under Publicationsby the end of 2008.
ton CO2-equiv. PE Difference
1 Asphalt – thin asphalt 26.909 3.093
2 Asphalt – on macadam (stone) 27.666 3.180 +3 %base
3 Asphalt – with cement 28.136 3.234 +5 %stabilized base
4 Asphalt – traditional 29.354 3.374 +9 %
5 Concrete – with cement 37.366 4.295 +39 %stabilized base
5* Concrete – with cement 31.450 3.615 +17%stabilized base and calculations of potential uptake of CO2 inconcrete during the life time of the construction and after demolition
Table 1: Ranking of the scenarios according to global warming potential.
Construction of a 1 km Motorway in Denmark =1030 ton CO2
- and much more –
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3130 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
The objective of the EU project SPENS,Sustainable Pavements for European
New Member States, is to develop a sustai-nable pavement structure to increase thestandard of the road network in the newmember countries in East and CentralEurope. The aim is to develop appropriatetools and methods for rapid and cost effec-tive recovery and maintenance of the roadinfrastructure, so that it complies with theEU standard requirements.
Work in the project focuses on develo-ping methods to produce and apply mate-
Road standards vary considerably in the EU member countries.Generally speaking, the roads in the new member countries have alower standard, but in spite of this they already have heavy goodstraffic on their roads, and this poses acute demands for a sustai-nable infrastructure.
rials for road construction which take intoconsideration the traditions, availablematerials and construction techniques ofthe country concerned, and the characterof the existing roads in the country. Thiswill be achieved through the different tech-nology packages of the project, such asoptimisation of appraisal methods forroads, improvement of pavements and eva-luation of materials for higher road stan-dards and minimisation of the environ-mental impact.
VTI technology is an important compo-nentWithin SPENS, experiments on acceleratedtesting of strengthening measures have
been made for the first time. The VTImobile heavy vehicle simulator has been animportant tool in this work (more informa-tion on HVS in the box to the right).
In the spring of 2008 the simulator wasin Slovenia and Poland to test types ofstrengthening on four test roads.- The aim is to clarify the effect of variousoptions on different types of road and thusbe able to choose the option that providesthe best performance in relation to its cost.Experience from these experiments will beuseful in e.g. performance contracting andthe choice of the strengthening measure,says Leif G. Wiman who is responsible forthe equipment at VTI.- The results of the runs will not be ready
Contact:SPENS: Safwat Said, [email protected]: Leif G. Wiman, [email protected]
until 2009, but we can already see differen-ces in wheeltracking on the different surfa-cings, says Leif.
Tests were also made on the use of alter-native materials in the surfacings. Use ofslag in the wearing course, for instance, hasprovided greater knowledge of how alter-native materials can be used in surfacings.Alternative materials give rise to a recyclingapproach in road management whichincreases the opportunities for long termsustainable use of natural resources.
Quality versus costIn another part of the project, test methodsfor assessing the performance of bitumenand polymer modified binders are evalua-
ted. Prior to upgrading or strengthening aroad pavement, it is necessary to be able toestimate what gains in terms of greaterdurability can be made by choosing bin-ders of high performance, and to considerthese gains in relation to the higher cost ofconstruction. For such an estimate it isessential to have test methods that are cle-arly correlated to the functional propertiesof bitumen.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
HVS, Heavy Vehicle SimulatorThe HVS of VTI is a mobile equipment for test loa-ding and accelerated testing of road pavements atfull scale. Using HVS, real loads from heavy vehic-les can be simulated and a study made of how dif-ferent types of pavement stand up to heavy traf-fic. Its capacity for two-way loading is ca 24,000loads per day, which means that one year's heavytraffic can in many cases be simulated in only oneweek. Load, speed, temperature, tyre pressure,lateral position and load direction can be control-led. Load is transmitted via an ordinary lorrywheel, either as twin wheels or a single wheel.Wheel load can be varied from 3 to 11 tonnes,which is equivalent to an axle load of 6-22 tonnes.The equipment is mobile which means that it canbe used both in special test installations and outon existing roads. Over short distances it canmove under its own power, but over long distan-ces it is coupled to a tractor as a semitrailer.Through testing and evaluating how traffic degra-des different materials and constructions, know-ledge of road pavements and road maintenancemeasures is improved. It is also possible to esti-mate the service life of different types of mainte-nance and strengthening measures. HVS is madein South Africa and was purchased jointly byFinland and Sweden in 1997. In Sweden its costwas financed by the Swedish Road Administration,but VTI was appointed as its owner in Sweden.From 2005, VTI has been the sole owner of thesimulator through a partnership agreement withFinland. HVS is the only equipment of its kind inEurope, and VTI regards it as a "common"European facility that can be used jointly by con-tractors, material manufacturers and researchersin one or more countries.Read more: www.vti.se/hvs
New EU Countries Need Better Roads
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3130 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
The objective of the EU project SPENS,Sustainable Pavements for European
New Member States, is to develop a sustai-nable pavement structure to increase thestandard of the road network in the newmember countries in East and CentralEurope. The aim is to develop appropriatetools and methods for rapid and cost effec-tive recovery and maintenance of the roadinfrastructure, so that it complies with theEU standard requirements.
Work in the project focuses on develo-ping methods to produce and apply mate-
Road standards vary considerably in the EU member countries.Generally speaking, the roads in the new member countries have alower standard, but in spite of this they already have heavy goodstraffic on their roads, and this poses acute demands for a sustai-nable infrastructure.
rials for road construction which take intoconsideration the traditions, availablematerials and construction techniques ofthe country concerned, and the characterof the existing roads in the country. Thiswill be achieved through the different tech-nology packages of the project, such asoptimisation of appraisal methods forroads, improvement of pavements and eva-luation of materials for higher road stan-dards and minimisation of the environ-mental impact.
VTI technology is an important compo-nentWithin SPENS, experiments on acceleratedtesting of strengthening measures have
been made for the first time. The VTImobile heavy vehicle simulator has been animportant tool in this work (more informa-tion on HVS in the box to the right).
In the spring of 2008 the simulator wasin Slovenia and Poland to test types ofstrengthening on four test roads.- The aim is to clarify the effect of variousoptions on different types of road and thusbe able to choose the option that providesthe best performance in relation to its cost.Experience from these experiments will beuseful in e.g. performance contracting andthe choice of the strengthening measure,says Leif G. Wiman who is responsible forthe equipment at VTI.- The results of the runs will not be ready
Contact:SPENS: Safwat Said, [email protected]: Leif G. Wiman, [email protected]
until 2009, but we can already see differen-ces in wheeltracking on the different surfa-cings, says Leif.
Tests were also made on the use of alter-native materials in the surfacings. Use ofslag in the wearing course, for instance, hasprovided greater knowledge of how alter-native materials can be used in surfacings.Alternative materials give rise to a recyclingapproach in road management whichincreases the opportunities for long termsustainable use of natural resources.
Quality versus costIn another part of the project, test methodsfor assessing the performance of bitumenand polymer modified binders are evalua-
ted. Prior to upgrading or strengthening aroad pavement, it is necessary to be able toestimate what gains in terms of greaterdurability can be made by choosing bin-ders of high performance, and to considerthese gains in relation to the higher cost ofconstruction. For such an estimate it isessential to have test methods that are cle-arly correlated to the functional propertiesof bitumen.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
HVS, Heavy Vehicle SimulatorThe HVS of VTI is a mobile equipment for test loa-ding and accelerated testing of road pavements atfull scale. Using HVS, real loads from heavy vehic-les can be simulated and a study made of how dif-ferent types of pavement stand up to heavy traf-fic. Its capacity for two-way loading is ca 24,000loads per day, which means that one year's heavytraffic can in many cases be simulated in only oneweek. Load, speed, temperature, tyre pressure,lateral position and load direction can be control-led. Load is transmitted via an ordinary lorrywheel, either as twin wheels or a single wheel.Wheel load can be varied from 3 to 11 tonnes,which is equivalent to an axle load of 6-22 tonnes.The equipment is mobile which means that it canbe used both in special test installations and outon existing roads. Over short distances it canmove under its own power, but over long distan-ces it is coupled to a tractor as a semitrailer.Through testing and evaluating how traffic degra-des different materials and constructions, know-ledge of road pavements and road maintenancemeasures is improved. It is also possible to esti-mate the service life of different types of mainte-nance and strengthening measures. HVS is madein South Africa and was purchased jointly byFinland and Sweden in 1997. In Sweden its costwas financed by the Swedish Road Administration,but VTI was appointed as its owner in Sweden.From 2005, VTI has been the sole owner of thesimulator through a partnership agreement withFinland. HVS is the only equipment of its kind inEurope, and VTI regards it as a "common"European facility that can be used jointly by con-tractors, material manufacturers and researchersin one or more countries.Read more: www.vti.se/hvs
New EU Countries Need Better Roads
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3332 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Re-road Improves Asphalt Recycling
Re-road is a project that is coordinatedby VTI. Its aim is to improve the met-
hods for the recycling of asphalt.– We want to improve the functional
properties of asphalt which wholly or parti-ally consists of recycled asphalt and at thesame time we strive to improve the energyefficiency in recycling so that emission ofgreenhouse gases is reduced, says BjörnKalman who is coordinator for the project.
Retention of propertiesAt present, recycling of asphalt often invol-ves a certain downgrading of the material.High quality wearing course is recycled for
The objective of the Re-road project is that all asphalt should berecyclable and that the material should retain its functional pro-perties. This is a development that will have positive effects forboth the environment and the economy.
the production of bound or unbound lay-ers that are used lower down in the roadpavements. In future, we want to be able toutilise more of the good properties of therecycled asphalt in new high quality surfa-cings such as wearing courses and base-courses.
Recycled asphalt can have a highly vari-able properties, and at present there arecertain problems that make it difficult touse the material in an optimum manner.Work in Re-road aims to produce knowled-ge and to develop techniques for improvedrecycling strategies for asphalt in order toreduce material losses. The ultimate objec-tive is that all asphalt should be recyclableand that it should be possible to use thematerial without downcycling and withminimum addition of new material.
Reduced environmental impactOwing to improved strategies for recyclingasphalt material and methods that use lessenergy, i.e. energy efficiency that reducesemission of greenhouse gases, the use ofresources and energy at European level willdecrease. In the project, various strategiesand scenarios will be evaluated with regard toenvironmental impact and cost effectiveness.
Re-road incorporates an approachwhich also includes methods and strategiesfor scarifying asphalt, characterisation ofthe recycled material, handling and storingof the material, and procedures for theaddition of the recycled material to themixing plant.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Contact: Björn Kalman, [email protected]
Progress Report from Bjørvika
The 112 meter long, 35 000 tonne, bulkheaded element was manoeuvred into
place between the immersed tunnel andthe key edge with about 2 metres of spaceto spare. It was tight. A system of land-based winches was used to move the ele-ment into place. Its path resembled that ofa parallel parking car.
Before immersion of each element, afibre cloth was laid out in the carefully dred-ged trench. Onto this, a 160 cm gravel bed(with a tolerance of +- 30 mm) was laid out.The element was then manoeuvred intoplace and fastened with winches to two cata-marans. Ballast tanks inside the tunnel ele-ments were partially filled with water, andthe element could then be lowered intoplace. A rubber gasket between the ele-ments secured water tightness. After immer-sion, gravel was filled along the sides of theelement, and seabed and rocks covered thetunnel completely. Gradually, the ballastwater is replaced with ballast-concrete.
As the final element is immersed, a two-metre gap between the immersed tunneland the key edge at Sørenga remains. Thelast two metres of the tunnel will be castusing watertight shuttering. First, a wedgeis placed between the final element andthe key edge. The wedge will keep the sixtunnel elements in place, taking up the for-ces occurring when water-pressure is remo-ved. Steel plates with gaskets are then pla-ced around the gap and secured. Water ispumped out of the space, reinforcement isinstalled, and the concrete can then be cast.
As work on the raw construction nearsan end, the next phases of the tunnel-pro-ject begin. Fire-safety panels are to beinstalled, asphalt to be laid out, signs,
The sixth and final tunnel element in the Bjørvika Tunnel projectin Oslo was immersed on the 27th of October this year.
Johanne Solheim, NPRA, Norway
Contact: Johanne Solheim, NPRA E-mail: [email protected] information: www.vegvesen.no/bjorvika/Click: In English
cameras, emergency phones and othertechnical equipment will then follow. A lotof work is yet to be done. The Bjørvika tun-nel will open for traffic in 2010.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3332 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
Re-road Improves Asphalt Recycling
Re-road is a project that is coordinatedby VTI. Its aim is to improve the met-
hods for the recycling of asphalt.– We want to improve the functional
properties of asphalt which wholly or parti-ally consists of recycled asphalt and at thesame time we strive to improve the energyefficiency in recycling so that emission ofgreenhouse gases is reduced, says BjörnKalman who is coordinator for the project.
Retention of propertiesAt present, recycling of asphalt often invol-ves a certain downgrading of the material.High quality wearing course is recycled for
The objective of the Re-road project is that all asphalt should berecyclable and that the material should retain its functional pro-perties. This is a development that will have positive effects forboth the environment and the economy.
the production of bound or unbound lay-ers that are used lower down in the roadpavements. In future, we want to be able toutilise more of the good properties of therecycled asphalt in new high quality surfa-cings such as wearing courses and base-courses.
Recycled asphalt can have a highly vari-able properties, and at present there arecertain problems that make it difficult touse the material in an optimum manner.Work in Re-road aims to produce knowled-ge and to develop techniques for improvedrecycling strategies for asphalt in order toreduce material losses. The ultimate objec-tive is that all asphalt should be recyclableand that it should be possible to use thematerial without downcycling and withminimum addition of new material.
Reduced environmental impactOwing to improved strategies for recyclingasphalt material and methods that use lessenergy, i.e. energy efficiency that reducesemission of greenhouse gases, the use ofresources and energy at European level willdecrease. In the project, various strategiesand scenarios will be evaluated with regard toenvironmental impact and cost effectiveness.
Re-road incorporates an approachwhich also includes methods and strategiesfor scarifying asphalt, characterisation ofthe recycled material, handling and storingof the material, and procedures for theaddition of the recycled material to themixing plant.
Magdalena GreenVTI, Sweden
Contact: Björn Kalman, [email protected]
Progress Report from Bjørvika
The 112 meter long, 35 000 tonne, bulkheaded element was manoeuvred into
place between the immersed tunnel andthe key edge with about 2 metres of spaceto spare. It was tight. A system of land-based winches was used to move the ele-ment into place. Its path resembled that ofa parallel parking car.
Before immersion of each element, afibre cloth was laid out in the carefully dred-ged trench. Onto this, a 160 cm gravel bed(with a tolerance of +- 30 mm) was laid out.The element was then manoeuvred intoplace and fastened with winches to two cata-marans. Ballast tanks inside the tunnel ele-ments were partially filled with water, andthe element could then be lowered intoplace. A rubber gasket between the ele-ments secured water tightness. After immer-sion, gravel was filled along the sides of theelement, and seabed and rocks covered thetunnel completely. Gradually, the ballastwater is replaced with ballast-concrete.
As the final element is immersed, a two-metre gap between the immersed tunneland the key edge at Sørenga remains. Thelast two metres of the tunnel will be castusing watertight shuttering. First, a wedgeis placed between the final element andthe key edge. The wedge will keep the sixtunnel elements in place, taking up the for-ces occurring when water-pressure is remo-ved. Steel plates with gaskets are then pla-ced around the gap and secured. Water ispumped out of the space, reinforcement isinstalled, and the concrete can then be cast.
As work on the raw construction nearsan end, the next phases of the tunnel-pro-ject begin. Fire-safety panels are to beinstalled, asphalt to be laid out, signs,
The sixth and final tunnel element in the Bjørvika Tunnel projectin Oslo was immersed on the 27th of October this year.
Johanne Solheim, NPRA, Norway
Contact: Johanne Solheim, NPRA E-mail: [email protected] information: www.vegvesen.no/bjorvika/Click: In English
cameras, emergency phones and othertechnical equipment will then follow. A lotof work is yet to be done. The Bjørvika tun-nel will open for traffic in 2010.
NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3332 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLICATIONS
Assessment of traffic-inducedvibrations in buildings
Title: Assessment of traffic-induced vibrations inbuildingsAuthors: Talja, Asko, Vepsä, Ari, Kurkela, Juha &Halonen, MattiSeries: VTT Research Notes 2425Language: Finnish with 15 page English summaryAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Assessment of traffic-induced
In regard to traffic-induced vibrations, clayareas with surrounding rocky or gravellyhills are especially problematic in Finland.The thickness of the soft layer is often lessthan 10 metres. Vibrations spread effective-ly through such layers and are difficult toevaluate. Often, horizontal vibrations ofthe ground can be greater than the verticalcomponent, and frequencies under 10 Hzwith a very narrow band dominate. Theareas are problematic especially for deta-ched houses, because natural frequenciesbelow 10 Hz are typical of the buildingframe and resonance vibration may occur.Because lightweight floors and short-spanconcrete floors usually have natural fre-quencies above 10 Hz, resonance of floorsdoes not usually appear in soft clay areasbut is possible in harder soils where higherfrequencies dominate. The resonance phe-nomenon is not very common, but when itdoes appear it poses a real problem.
A method for the vibration design of theframe and floor of a building is presentedthat takes into account the direction andfrequency content of the soil. The design is
based on measured ground vibrations.The evaluation has two approaches: oneconsiders the uniform magnification ofthe vibration and the other the magnifica-tion in the resonance. The resonancedesign of the frame is based on the hori-zontal, and the resonance design of thefloor on the vertical, vibration of theground. In resonance design only the 1/3octave band that coincides with the funda-mental frequency is studied.
The design method is based on thevibration measurements of buildings, onFE calculations and on a literature study.Altogether 36 buildings were measured.Seven of them are at least three-storey hou-ses and the other 29 are one- or two-storeylow-rise houses. All the high-rise buildingsare in clay areas. Seven of the low-rise buil-dings are in sand or gravel areas and theothers in clay areas. The vibration is indu-ced by railway traffic in 22 houses and bystreet traffic in 14 houses. FE analysis ofthe frame is based on a simple two- tothree-storey plane model and the examina-tion of the floor on a simply supportedbeam model. The FE study was based bothon the statistical resonance study and onthe measured vibration signals.
Greenbox-vehicle platform forsafe and sustainable transport
Title: Greenbox. Vehicle platform for safe and sus-tainable transportAuthors: Risto Kulmala, Risto Öörni (VTT), HeliMattila, Jari Oinas, Kristian Appel (Traficon), andTuomo Roivainen (Semel Oy)Series: Ministry of Transport andCommunications, AINO publications 48/2007Language: Finnish with English abstractAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Greenbox
The objective of the Greenbox project wasto demonstrate how existing in-vehicle sys-tems installed in taxis can be used to col-lect, at low cost, a high volume of data onthe fluency of traffic. The project was fun-ded by the Research and Development
Programme on Real-Time TransportInformation (AINO), the Ministry ofTransport and Communications, TheFinnish Road Administration, Semel Oy,and Helsingin Ympäristön Taksikeskus Oy(Lähitaksi).
Services piloted during the Greenboxproject were based on taxi dispatching,control and payment systems produced bySemel and related solutions for data com-munications. The second and third chap-ter describe these systems and the potenti-al ITS services to be implemented withthem.
Three ITS services were piloted in theproject: production of real-time trafficinformation as floating car data, road usercharging, and anonymous monitoring oftravel speed. A full-scale trial was organisedin the Helsinki region involving around1,100 taxis. Piloted services and the way thefull-scale trial was realised are documentedin the report.
The evaluation of ITS services includedin the Greenbox concept focused on theproduction of real-time traffic informationand road user charging. The Greenbox sys-tem was able to produce reliable informa-tion on traffic conditions in the Helsinkiregion. Travel time information producedby Greenbox was compared with that pro-duced by the Finnra travel time informa-tion system, which is based on automaticnumber plate reading and cameras instal-led at several points along the road net-work. The medians of travel times produ-ced by different systems were within 20% of
each other on all links chosen for compari-son. The number of vehicles equipped withthe Greenbox system was not always ade-quate to generate up-to-date informationon all links. Even with a small number ofobservations of travel time, the uniformspeed behaviour of taxis allowed the detec-tion of congestion. Bus lanes used by taxiswere found to have no major impact on thereliability of floating car data on the roadlinks chosen for comparison.
The system was found to be reliable withregard to positioning required by road usercharging. Only some of the vehicles invol-ved in the test experienced any problemswith satellite positioning. The distance tra-velled without functioning satellite positio-ning was usually a small fraction of thewhole distance the vehicle covered duringthe test.
Finally, lessons learned during the pro-ject as well as the technical feasibility of ser-vices piloted in the project are briefly revie-wed. The report ends with future views ofthe technology used and the services pilo-ted in the Greenbox project.
Optimized thin layers – urbanroads
Title: Optimized thin layers - urban roads-TheKastrupvej experiment Series: Technical Report 66Author: Sigurd N. Thomsen, Hans Bendtsen, BentAndersenLanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Optimized thin layers
The Kastrupvej experiment The objective of the SILENCE WorkingPackage WP F.2 (New production techno-logies for surfaces on urban main roads), isto develop and test concepts for new noisere-ducing thin pavements for urban roads,focussing especially on SMA pavements.Alto-gether 8 different test sections havebeen constructed on Kastrupvej inCopenhagen. Samples of 4 SMA pavements
were also acoustically tested at BASt. Fullscale acous-tical testing was carried out incompliance with the SPB and the CPX met-hods, respec-tively. Initial noise reductionmeasured by the SPB method was in therange of 0.9 to 4.3 dB relative to the refe-rence surface DAC 0/11 for passenger carsat 50 km/h at 20 °C.
Use of noise reducing pavements
Title: Use of noise reducing pavements –European experienceSeries: Technical report 69Author: Hans Bendtsen, Jørgen Kragh, ErikNielsenLanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Noise reducing pavements
European experience In this report the latest European experi-ence on the practical use of noise reducingpavements are presented. The work hasbeen carried out in the framework of theAdministrative Agreement on “RoadInfrastructure Technologies and QuieterPavements between California Department
of Transportation (Caltrans) and DanishMinistry of Transport, Road Directorate,Danish Road Institute A collection andanalysis of European practice on the use ofnoise reducing pavements have been per-formed. Subjects like policy and praxis forthe use of noise reducing pavements, noiselabelling and Conformity of Productionprocedures are included. To cover a varietyof European countries Denmark,Germany, the Netherlands, Norway,Sweden, Switzerland, and the UnitedKingdom have been selected.
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NORDIC NO. 3 2008 | 3332 | NORDIC NO. 3 2008 www.nordicroads.com
PUBLICATIONS
Assessment of traffic-inducedvibrations in buildings
Title: Assessment of traffic-induced vibrations inbuildingsAuthors: Talja, Asko, Vepsä, Ari, Kurkela, Juha &Halonen, MattiSeries: VTT Research Notes 2425Language: Finnish with 15 page English summaryAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Assessment of traffic-induced
In regard to traffic-induced vibrations, clayareas with surrounding rocky or gravellyhills are especially problematic in Finland.The thickness of the soft layer is often lessthan 10 metres. Vibrations spread effective-ly through such layers and are difficult toevaluate. Often, horizontal vibrations ofthe ground can be greater than the verticalcomponent, and frequencies under 10 Hzwith a very narrow band dominate. Theareas are problematic especially for deta-ched houses, because natural frequenciesbelow 10 Hz are typical of the buildingframe and resonance vibration may occur.Because lightweight floors and short-spanconcrete floors usually have natural fre-quencies above 10 Hz, resonance of floorsdoes not usually appear in soft clay areasbut is possible in harder soils where higherfrequencies dominate. The resonance phe-nomenon is not very common, but when itdoes appear it poses a real problem.
A method for the vibration design of theframe and floor of a building is presentedthat takes into account the direction andfrequency content of the soil. The design is
based on measured ground vibrations.The evaluation has two approaches: oneconsiders the uniform magnification ofthe vibration and the other the magnifica-tion in the resonance. The resonancedesign of the frame is based on the hori-zontal, and the resonance design of thefloor on the vertical, vibration of theground. In resonance design only the 1/3octave band that coincides with the funda-mental frequency is studied.
The design method is based on thevibration measurements of buildings, onFE calculations and on a literature study.Altogether 36 buildings were measured.Seven of them are at least three-storey hou-ses and the other 29 are one- or two-storeylow-rise houses. All the high-rise buildingsare in clay areas. Seven of the low-rise buil-dings are in sand or gravel areas and theothers in clay areas. The vibration is indu-ced by railway traffic in 22 houses and bystreet traffic in 14 houses. FE analysis ofthe frame is based on a simple two- tothree-storey plane model and the examina-tion of the floor on a simply supportedbeam model. The FE study was based bothon the statistical resonance study and onthe measured vibration signals.
Greenbox-vehicle platform forsafe and sustainable transport
Title: Greenbox. Vehicle platform for safe and sus-tainable transportAuthors: Risto Kulmala, Risto Öörni (VTT), HeliMattila, Jari Oinas, Kristian Appel (Traficon), andTuomo Roivainen (Semel Oy)Series: Ministry of Transport andCommunications, AINO publications 48/2007Language: Finnish with English abstractAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Greenbox
The objective of the Greenbox project wasto demonstrate how existing in-vehicle sys-tems installed in taxis can be used to col-lect, at low cost, a high volume of data onthe fluency of traffic. The project was fun-ded by the Research and Development
Programme on Real-Time TransportInformation (AINO), the Ministry ofTransport and Communications, TheFinnish Road Administration, Semel Oy,and Helsingin Ympäristön Taksikeskus Oy(Lähitaksi).
Services piloted during the Greenboxproject were based on taxi dispatching,control and payment systems produced bySemel and related solutions for data com-munications. The second and third chap-ter describe these systems and the potenti-al ITS services to be implemented withthem.
Three ITS services were piloted in theproject: production of real-time trafficinformation as floating car data, road usercharging, and anonymous monitoring oftravel speed. A full-scale trial was organisedin the Helsinki region involving around1,100 taxis. Piloted services and the way thefull-scale trial was realised are documentedin the report.
The evaluation of ITS services includedin the Greenbox concept focused on theproduction of real-time traffic informationand road user charging. The Greenbox sys-tem was able to produce reliable informa-tion on traffic conditions in the Helsinkiregion. Travel time information producedby Greenbox was compared with that pro-duced by the Finnra travel time informa-tion system, which is based on automaticnumber plate reading and cameras instal-led at several points along the road net-work. The medians of travel times produ-ced by different systems were within 20% of
each other on all links chosen for compari-son. The number of vehicles equipped withthe Greenbox system was not always ade-quate to generate up-to-date informationon all links. Even with a small number ofobservations of travel time, the uniformspeed behaviour of taxis allowed the detec-tion of congestion. Bus lanes used by taxiswere found to have no major impact on thereliability of floating car data on the roadlinks chosen for comparison.
The system was found to be reliable withregard to positioning required by road usercharging. Only some of the vehicles invol-ved in the test experienced any problemswith satellite positioning. The distance tra-velled without functioning satellite positio-ning was usually a small fraction of thewhole distance the vehicle covered duringthe test.
Finally, lessons learned during the pro-ject as well as the technical feasibility of ser-vices piloted in the project are briefly revie-wed. The report ends with future views ofthe technology used and the services pilo-ted in the Greenbox project.
Optimized thin layers – urbanroads
Title: Optimized thin layers - urban roads-TheKastrupvej experiment Series: Technical Report 66Author: Sigurd N. Thomsen, Hans Bendtsen, BentAndersenLanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Optimized thin layers
The Kastrupvej experiment The objective of the SILENCE WorkingPackage WP F.2 (New production techno-logies for surfaces on urban main roads), isto develop and test concepts for new noisere-ducing thin pavements for urban roads,focussing especially on SMA pavements.Alto-gether 8 different test sections havebeen constructed on Kastrupvej inCopenhagen. Samples of 4 SMA pavements
were also acoustically tested at BASt. Fullscale acous-tical testing was carried out incompliance with the SPB and the CPX met-hods, respec-tively. Initial noise reductionmeasured by the SPB method was in therange of 0.9 to 4.3 dB relative to the refe-rence surface DAC 0/11 for passenger carsat 50 km/h at 20 °C.
Use of noise reducing pavements
Title: Use of noise reducing pavements –European experienceSeries: Technical report 69Author: Hans Bendtsen, Jørgen Kragh, ErikNielsenLanguage: EnglishAvailable at: www.nordicroads.com/publicationsName: Noise reducing pavements
European experience In this report the latest European experi-ence on the practical use of noise reducingpavements are presented. The work hasbeen carried out in the framework of theAdministrative Agreement on “RoadInfrastructure Technologies and QuieterPavements between California Department
of Transportation (Caltrans) and DanishMinistry of Transport, Road Directorate,Danish Road Institute A collection andanalysis of European practice on the use ofnoise reducing pavements have been per-formed. Subjects like policy and praxis forthe use of noise reducing pavements, noiselabelling and Conformity of Productionprocedures are included. To cover a varietyof European countries Denmark,Germany, the Netherlands, Norway,Sweden, Switzerland, and the UnitedKingdom have been selected.
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Danish Road Institute Helen Hasz-SinghGuldalderen 12DK-2640 HedehusenePhone +45 72 44 70 00Email [email protected] www.roaddirectorate.dk
NORDICDENMARK
VTT Technical Research Centreof FinlandKari MäkeläP.O.Box 1000FI-02044 VTTPhone +358 20 722 4586Email [email protected] www.vtt.fi
FINLAND
Icelandic Road AdministrationG. Pétur MatthiassonBorgartún 7IS-105 ReykjavikPhone +354 522 1000Email [email protected] www.vegagerdin.is
ICELANDInstitute of Transport EconomicsHarald AasGaustadalléen 21NO-0349 OsloPhone +47 22 57 38 00Email [email protected] www.toi.no
NORWAYNorwegian Public RoadsAdministrationThorbjørn Chr. RisanP.O. Box 8142 DepNO-0033 OsloPhone +47 915 02030Email [email protected] www.vegvesen.no
NORWAY
VTIMagdalena GreenSE-581 95 LinköpingPhone +46 13 20 42 26Orderphone +46 13 20 42 69Email [email protected] www.vti.se
SWEDEN
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