Filenews 17 March 2022 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
A system with which the roads of Cyprus will be scanned in order to identify problems of safety, road construction or faults in the substrate, at a cost of more than one million euros, is soon acquired by the Ministry of Transport. With this multipurpose system it is expected that the problems will be solved and new roads will be received and immediately afterwards repairs will be needed due to poor infrastructure.
The Multipurpose Road Surface Inspection System, as it is called, is, as stated in the "F" the Minister of Transport Yiannis Karousos, a modern solution for the mapping of the road network. It is used in most countries to record the road network in an automated way. The recording is done by equipment in specially designed vehicles (type vans) which move at a normal speed so as not to require the closure of the roads.
The main measurements, according to Mr. Karousos, that will be recorded by the System will be:
- The smoothness of the road associated with the comfort of drivers and the protection of cars from wear and tear.
- The macro-texture of the bitumen that is an indicator for the measurement of slipperiness at high speeds.
- The surface damages of the asphalt (cracking, potholes, etc.) that are associated with the general wear of the road surface.
- Photographing of the road network, signs and other similar equipment.
To carry out the measurements, as explained by the Minister of Transport, there will be installed in the vehicle special equipment consisting of lasers, photographic, computers, sensors and other components. In addition, there will be a positioning system (GPS type) installed so that all measurements are correlated with the exact point of the road network where they were taken. After a measurement, the data will be transferred to computers and will be processed and analyzed in order to draw qualitative conclusions for each road network, but also for individual short sections. This will facilitate decision-making regarding the extent of maintenance required.
The most important thing, however, is that it will allow the Department of Public Works to control the quality of the projects (motorways) during the construction phase, as well as during the period of liability for defects.
The cost of the System amounts to €1,029,618 of which €790,998 is for the purchase and €238,619 for the five-year maintenance/warranty, while the delivery schedule is ten (10) months after the signing of the contract.
