The following are summaries of papers published in other parts of ICE Proceedings during 2001 that readers of Transport may find of interest. You can get copies of individual papers emailed or posted to you for £5 or faxed to you for £2 a page from the ICE library (telephone +44 (0)20 7665 2251; fax +44 (0)20 7976 7610; e-mail library@ice.org.uk). In all cases you need to complete a copy request form which can be downloaded from the ICE website at www.ice.org.uk/library/icepbprq.html. Summaries of all papers in ICE journals are also freely available and fully searchable at the ‘journals on-line’ section of the ICE website at www.ice.org.uk/jol.
Setting out the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
C. Kelly
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Civil Engineering 2001, 144 May, 73–77
The £5·2 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link is the largest single civil engineering project currently under construction in the UK. Due for completion by end 2006, it will cut train journeys to Europe by 35 minutes and make it possible to get from London to Paris in just 140 minutes. On the first 74 km section, which is now 60% complete, all setting out and as-built surveys are being undertaken by way of an innovative shared network of state-of-the-art global positioning system (GPS) base stations. Using compatible GPS rover units, contractors are able to transfer project design information directly to the field to an accuracy of ±25 mm horizontally and ±20 mm vertically. This paper describes the thinking behind the approach, how it has worked in practice and in particular how it has helped to foster a partnering environment.
Civil engineering market and needs in Poland—transport infrastructure
A. Minasowicz, I. Whyte, P. Nowak
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Civil Engineering 2001, 144 May, S11, 26–32
Not only is Poland the largest country in central and eastern Europe after Russia, it also stands in a commanding central position and has one of the fastest growing economies. A high-quality transport infrastructure is thus vital to its success–including its anticipated accession to the European Union within five years—and a vast amount of expendiutre has been sanctioned to this end. However, this progress is painfully slow and there is still a long way to go. This paper reviews the current and planned development of the country's road and rail networks and its air and seaports, which collectively represent an enormous range of opportunities for civil engineers and investors worldwide.
Preventing landslides on roads and railways: a new risk-based approach
D. M. Lloyd, M. G. Anderson, A. N. Hussein, A. Jamaludin and P. L. Wilkinson
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Civil Engineering 2001, 144 Aug., 129–134
Much of the world's road and railway network is built on embankments or in cuttings and thus susceptible to disruption from landslides-particularly in wet weather. Although rapid repair of landslide damage is well within modern civil engineering capabilities, the economic consequences of severing a major transport artery for even a short period can far outweigh the remedial costs. Ideally landslides should be prevented from occurring in the first place, but that requires a sea change in approach. This paper reports on an innovative risk-based system for managing landslide prevention on a 116 km highway in Malaysia. In the four years since it was implemented, maintenance costs have nearly halved and landslides are becoming rarer events.
Rion-Antirion bridge, Greece: measuring a moving gap
N. Hytris, A. Kominos
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Civil Engineering 2001, 144 Nov., 166–169
A spectacular 2.8 km long bridge is being built across the deep and earthquake-prone Corinthian Gulf in Greece. However, designing not least since the land masses on either side are constantly moving independently. The bridge has been designed to allow for a total movement of 2.5 m in 125 years. This paper describes a three-year GPS survey to determine how much and in which direction the land is really moving. It found movements up to 52 mm but with no pattern whatsoever. It also proved that local earthquakes can have a dramatic and unpredictable effect.
Metros under construction around the world
E. E. Hellawell, J. Hawley, A. J. Pooley, S. D. Eskesen, B. Garrod, M. Leggett
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Geotechnical Engineering 2001, 149 Jan., 29–39
Many cities are tackling their urban congestion problems by utilising underground space and developing or expanding underground railways or metros. This paper presents metro projects currently being constructed in four major world cities: Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Bangkok and Toronto. An overview of each project is presented together with illustrations of the tunnelling process and station development. The major design issues common to all the projects were settlement and groundwater control. Other issues specific to particular projects, such as earthquake allowance or maintenance of traffic flow, are also discussed. The aim of the paper is to show the infrastructure developing below our cities and briefly outline some of the complex geotechnical problems faced in the construction of these essential facilities.
Geotechnical aspects of A331—Blackwater Valley route centre section
M. Stephen
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Geotechnical Engineering 2001, 149 April, 77–84
The A331 is a new dual carriageway link between two major east-west routes; the A31 Winchester-Guildford road and the M3 London-Southampton motorway. Its route follows the valley of the River Blackwater on the Surrey-Hampshire border to the east of Aldershot and Farnborough. The road was designed and constructed in three sections, with the centre section being the last to be completed, in 1996. The horizontal and vertical alignments of this section were dictated by numerous constraints so that the very difficult ground and groundwater conditions present had to be overcome rather than avoided. This paper describes the ground and groundwater conditions, the problems that these presented and the solutions adopted.
The Copenhagen Metro—observational method at Norreport station
D. Beadman, R. Bailey, T. Roberts, S. Welman, P. Thurlow, M. Fauschou
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Geotechnical Engineering 2001, 149 Oct., 231–236
The Copenhagen Metro includes six cut and cover stations located in the centre of Copenhagen, the deepest of which is Norreport. The observational method was used to eliminate a level of temporary propping at Norreport station in order to maintain the station excavation programme to suit the arrival of the tunnel-boring machine. This paper describes the development of the monitoring and control system associated with the use of the observational method by a team including the client, the permanent and temporary works designers and construction team members.
Parking strategies across the subregion
H. S. Potter
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 3–6
This paper describes why it is important for local authorities to develop and implement parking strategies jointly. Parking is now seen as an increasingly effective and selective tool in the array of measures available for managing traffic demand. Within the subject area of parking there are often seriously conflicting stances taken by neighbouring authorities over the levels of provision (parking standards) and pricing. The paper proposes a means of overcoming these differences by establishing a parking forum across the subregion. It outlines the different means of setting parking standards and sets out the case for establishing a more comprehensive approach to pricing. Parking management and pricing is set in the changing context of road-user charging, workplace parking levies, park-and-ride facilities and in the realisation that parking quality is at least as important as price. The paper recognises that through-traffic in one urban area would be influenced by parking management in another.
Reallocating road space to buses and high occupancy vehicles in Leeds
A. W. Hall
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 7–13
Securing the most efficient use of existing road space to maximise the efficient and sustainable movement of people and goods has emerged as one of the key issues for urban transport planners. For over ten years Leeds has been implementing an integrated transport strategy, a central part of which is to secure greater efficiency from the existing road network. This paper outlines these policies and focuses on the practical aspects of reallocating road space and traffic capacity by reference to three different projects in Leeds. The measures discussed cover traffic management in the city centre and priority issues on major radial corridors, including the various approaches being adopted within a ‘quality bus initiative’ on a busy radial corridor. The example of the pioneering A647 scheme is used to show how high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes can not only assist public transport but also benefit motorists.
Should we install road pricing?
B. Simpson
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 15–22
The UK Transport Act 2000 gave local traffic authorities powers to introduce road pricing with an assurance that for at least ten years they will be allowed to keep the proceeds for investment in public transport or other local transport projects. It is possible that only a few local authorities will take up the offer but many more will wish to carry out studies of the possibilities before coming to a conclusion. For many authorities the decision will be affected by what alternative sources of finance are available. Decisions could be reviewed; perhaps most authorities will come to the conclusion ‘not now but maybe in future’. They may wish to study the possibilities now so that if and when the time is right, they will be able to recognise it. This paper sets out the main issues affecting a decision and the criteria for developing policies towards road pricing. The paper also draws a distinction between compulsory or negative road pricing as a means of restricting road traffic and optional or positive road pricing as a means of improving the use of road space and in particular, securing bus priority in the right locations.
Encouraging schools and employers to adopt travel plans
R. Bradshaw
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 23–28
A travel plan is a package of measures aimed at reducing the impacts of travel to a particular site. Such packages are also sometimes known as green transport plans, green commuter plans or mobility management plans. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions has recently started to use the term ‘travel plan’, preferring to drop the ‘green’ label in order to ensure that these plans are seen as addressing other issues as well as environmental issues. The ‘commuter’ label has also been changed to reflect the fact that this approach could be used to address many different types of travel, not just the journey to work. To date, however, the development of travel plans has concentrated primarily on work journeys and school journeys and there is an increasing amount of information aimed at encouraging the wider take-up of travel plans by employers and schools. This paper starts by explaining why these types of journey are being targeted and then goes on to provide a brief history of initiatives for reducing car use on the journey to school and the journey to work. It finishes with a summary of recent policy developments in this area.
Using bus service subsidy to develop the network
R. Bentley, J. Lynch
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 29–35
This paper looks at the effects of using bus service subsidy to develop the local bus network through tendering, specifically within the city of Plymouth. However, much of this may be applicable to other urban areas. The authors argue that while tendered rural bus services may never cover their marginal costs and hence become commercially sustainable, within the urban context seed-corn funding can frequently be used to pump prime services, which then go on to become commercial operations, as has been demonstrated in Plymouth. By so doing, this releases that subsidy to be used elsewhere within the network, to develop a further section of that network. For Plymouth, the average time that this takes is approximately five years. The issue of operators ceasing to cross-subsidise services that may cover their marginal costs and contribute to overheads, but instead require external subsidy, is examined. A further question is posed regarding whether the remaining municipal bus companies (which still includes Plymouth Citybus) deliver better value for money than the publicly listed operators. Finally, although Best Value is supposedly designed to test value for money, a note of caution is sounded about its use in this context.
Planning for the bicycle: current issues and future challenges
H. McClintock
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 37–45
This article assesses current policies for the promotion of bicycling, especially in urban areas and with particular reference to implementation of the latest advice from the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) in its publication Guidance on Full Local Transport Plans.
Walking and cycling and the Local Transport Plan
J. Cleary
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 47–53
This paper looks at the opportunities for promoting walking and cycling through five-year Local Transport Plans (LTPs), which have recently replaced the annual Transport Policies and Programme (TPP) scheme as the means for securing funding approval for investment in local transport. The paper examines the key differences between LTPs and TPPs in terms of the greater scope LTPs offer for facilitating more sustainable travel patterns, which include permitting expenditure on 'soft’ measures such as travel awareness campaigns, in addition to the traditional ‘hard’-infrastructure-measures. There is a summary of the variety of engineering, educational and enforcement measures local authorities are being encouraged to employ to encourage walking and cycling, such as dedicated facilities, vehicle-restricted areas, home zones, speed management, clear zones. The opportunities for targeting different types of travel are looked at: commuting, school journeys, recreation and leisure trips. The relevance of travel patterns, and thus LTPs, to wider policy objectives-health, urban renaissance, social inclusion, air quality, children's social development-is acknowledged, as is the importance of integrating transport and land-use planning to facilitate non-motorised travel patterns. The paper includes a list of criteria used by the DETR in assessing the quality of LTPs with respect to the national objectives of encouraging walking and cycling for local transport.
How do we make transport interchanges work?
T. M. Mulroy
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 55–59
An important element of the UK Government's 1998 White Paper on transport was the encouragement of travellers away from car use in favour of public transport. Such a modal shift can only be successfully achieved if the alternatives to the car are made as user-friendly as possible. One of the main improvements in this regard would be to make transport interchanges work more effectively for the traveller. This paper outlines the current problems perceived for each transport mode and explains what is required to resolve or improve them.
Intelligent transport systems: possibilities and limitations
C. Wright
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 61–68
The technology of intelligent transport systems (ITS) has reached an exciting phase in which separate functions can be linked together to have a large-scale impact on transport services generally. This paper reviews areas in which ITS might have a role to play during the next 20 years or so, and how some of the systems now under development might be integrated. It concludes with a brief examination of the obstacles likely to be encountered along the way: technological barriers, cost, public acceptance, and reliability. One possibility for synergy lies in the development of a multi-purpose management tool that coordinates the allocation of road space to individual trip-makers within the framework of a block signalling system, rescheduling delays to the beginning of each journey. This ‘virtual railway’ system could act as a platform for demand management, help to control congestion, protect the local environment, and contribute towards de-marketing the car.
Is local road maintenance meeting the community's needs?
T. C. Martin
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 March, 169–174
This paper presents the methodology and preliminary outcomes of an Austroads (Association of Australian Federal and State Road Agencies) National Strategic Research Programme (NSRP) project and the results of two consulting projects that assessed the community's expectations of levels of service on local roads. All of these projects made an estimated and objective assessment of the community's expectations of levels of service on various local road samples. In addition, the NSRP project estimated what the community expectations mean in terms of the annual maintenance and rehabilitation expenditure needed to achieve the lowest pavement life-cycle cost. This estimate was compared with samples of the actual current annual maintenance and rehabilitation on local roads. The latter comparison was made on a plot of maintenance expenditure against level of service for the local roads sampled and provided a preliminary assessment of whether maintenance funding is adequate, in life-cycle cost terms, in meeting the community's expectations of levels of service.
Overcoming challenges facing the completion of the Avon Ring Road
J. Bickerstaffe, C. Kearns
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 June, 175–184
There have been proposals for a new road around the eastern fringe of Bristol and Kingswood since the 1930s. The completed scheme has long been seen as an essential means of providing improved transportation links to Kingswood and a route for the movement of heavy goods vehicles. The last section, stage II, is finally under construction following a delay of about three years as a result of several legal actions in the High Court by two objectors to the scheme. The paper refers briefly to the whole scheme and then describes the implementation of stage II with particular reference to the statutory procedures, the challenges in the High Court and lessons to be learnt from the management of these processes. The paper also refers to other aspects of the project management including scheme procurement in relation to environmental issues, threats of direct protest action and partnership arrangements in respect of the main works contract. The project acts as an interesting case study to illustrate the challenges faced in implementing traditional road schemes in the context of an increased awareness of the means of objecting to highway construction schemes.
Modern road crossing designs and visually impaired people
B. Duncan-Jones
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 June, 185–194
Making the street environment pedestrian-friendly and accessible for disabled people is high on the agenda. Hence the designs of road crossings with flush kerbs and the development of the tactile paving system to benefit visually impaired people. These are great developments and long-awaited, but are all the designs really helpful to people with visual impairment?
Partnering in the provision of a highway management system
C. Kennedy, A. Johns
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 227–233
The concepts of best value and best value performance plans have required a thorough review of the aims and objectives of management and the way in which local authorities provide service to the customer. The need for these reviews has applied not only to the local authorities but also to the private sector who provide them with many of the goods and services. With this in mind Devon County Council reviewed the provision of software support for highway maintenance management and concluded that best value could be achieved by entering into a partnership with the private sector. The objective of the partnership is to deliver an improved and cost-effective highway management system to the people of Devon by taking advantage of the latest developments in computer software and computer technology. The partnership was established in June 1999 and has now completed its second year. This paper describes how the partnership was established, lists the objectives set by each party at the outset, explains how it is managed and presents details of its achievements
Funding and procurement. Proving the link—from potholes to poverty
D. R. Pigg
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 247–250
Proving the improvement that highway investment can make in the quality of life in our most deprived neighbourhoods, from potholes to poverty, is the new neighbourhood agenda. It is about doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well. Prior to the general election the UK Government had decided that the way forward was to tackle objectively measured social, economic and environmental deprivation through formulae funding and differentiated service provision. Formulae funding is based upon statistically proven need, assigned mathematically, and monitored through best value. This paper develops the formulae funding theme, looks at performance measured by outcome and finally at the role of partnerships. This is the Government agenda, the key to future funding.
Poverty and urban transport in East Africa
J. D. G. F. Howe
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Municipal Engineer 2001, 145 Dec., 267–271
This paper summarises a review of research and Dutch donor experience with regard to poverty and urban transport in four African cities—the capitals of Kenya and Tanzania and two of their secondary cities. They are areas dominated by the number, but not the influence, of the poor. The means of transport they use—walking, cycling and public transport—have been systematically discriminated against for decades, and the effects of this policy have worsened their quality of life. The major obstacle to reform is the collapse in the authority of civic government, which is characterised by the evolution of informal land use and transport service markets. Without control of these it is difficult to conceive of a sensible basis for comprehensive transport planning. NGO and donor organisations have led the way in the improvement of infrastructure for the poor, including transport, using participatory techniques. Project and research experience has yielded convincing results, showing that transport infrastructure, services and safety issues can be addressed through innovative processes and organisations. The NGO–donor alliance must be strengthened and complemented by a transport planning process centred on the needs of people rather than vehicles. However, such a process has to be preceded by efforts to rebuild the credibility of local governance.
The A13 viaduct: construction of a large monolithic concrete bridge deck
D. Collings
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Structures and Buildings 146 Feb., 85–91
The A13 viaduct is a new structure carrying the A13 road around Ford's Dagenham plant. The structure was designed with the dual aim of fast mechanised construction by the use of glued segmental cantilever construction and of providing a low-maintenance structure with minimum joints and bearings. The use of continuity is actively encouraged in UK standards as it has obvious design and durability advantages; this paper describes the design and construction of this large fully continuous, precast prestressed segmental concrete structure. Emphasis is placed on the design and construction methods used to form the innovative 54000m2 monolithic deck from 1030 precast segmental units giving a 1750m long continuous structure.
Construction of Westminster Station, London
P. Glass, C. Stones
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Structures and Buildings 2001, 146 Aug., 237–252
The most complex and technically demanding station on the Jubilee Line Extension Project, with the deepest basement in London, was constructed within the political heart of the country and under one of London's oldest underground railway stations. Various civil engineering techniques such as tunnelling, piling, diaphragm walling and top-down construction were used to construct the station escalator hall and foundations to a prestigious new parliamentary building. Buildings surrounding the worksite, together with the District and Circle Line station passing diagonally through it, severely restricted construction access and working space. Major challenges to the construction team included movement control of adjacent structures such as St Stephen's Clock Tower (Big Ben) and a major trunk sewer, and rebuilding the existing station while maintaining an uninterrupted flow of passengers and trains through the station. This paper describes the construction of the new Westminster Station (excluding tunnel works), which was part of Contract 102 of the Jubilee Line Extension Project: Green Park to Waterloo Tunnels, Westminster and Waterloo Stations.
Parametric study of the residual strength of deteriorating simply-supported post-tensioned concrete bridges
D. G. Cavell, P. Waldron
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Structures and Buildings 2001, 146 Nov., 341–352
This paper discusses the results of a parametric study of the residual strength of deteriorating simply-supported post-tensioned bridges of the internally grouted duct type. This was conducted with the use of an analytical model that was developed to investigate the effects of tendon failure due to corrosion and regions of grout voids in post-tensioned concrete beams. The research was initiated to address concerns over the remaining structural capacity of deteriorating post-tensioned bridges following the discovery of a variety of defects in post-tensioned bridges during the inspection of the UK's national stock of post-tensioned concrete bridges. The defects, ranging from incompletely grouted ducts to chloride-induced tendon corrosion and fractures, may have a detrimental effect on residual strength. The findings from this parametric study provide an understanding of the behaviour of corrosion-damaged post-tensioned concrete bridges, and will assist in the development of strategies for extending the lives of such structures through repair and strengthening, so avoiding unnecessary and costly replacement.
The effect of traffic vibration on adhesive curing during installation of bonded external reinforcement
R. A. Barnes, G. C. Mays
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Structures and Buildings 2001, 146 Nov., 403–410
This paper describes a programme of research that was conducted to examine the effect of traffic vibration on adhesive curing during the installation of bonded external reinforcement. Steel and carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) plates were used in conjunction with four epoxy adhesives. A literature review was undertaken in order to select appropriate magnitudes for the strains and frequency of vibration to be used during an experimental programme involving the vibration during cure of lap joints, steel and reinforced concrete beams. The lap joint results show that vibration during cure causes a progressive reduction in strength with increasing strain level. The tests involving strengthened steel beam specimens suggest that use of simple lap joints will give a safe prediction of the effect of vibration during cure. In the reinforced concrete beams there were noticeable differences in failure mechanism between those strengthened with steel as opposed to CFRP plates. However, in both cases failure modes in the concrete masked any effect arising from vibration during cure. Recommendations for the design of externally reinforced concrete elements have been proposed which involve increasing the partial safety factor on the ultimate shear strength of the bonded joint if the joint is to be subject to traffic vibration during cure.
Assessment loading criteria for bridge decks, piers and parapets
P. C. Das
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers—Structures and Buildings 2001, 146 Nov., 411–421
The volume of road traffic in Great Britain has grown rapidly since the 1950s. This has been accompanied by considerable increases in gross vehicle weights. In response to these developments, the traffic loading requirements for bridge design were significantly upgraded in the 1980s. Notwithstanding these enhancements, the network still contains a large number of existing decks, parapets and piers designed to the earlier requirements, a proportion of which may now be at some risk. The authorities are aware that these elements need to be identified and upgraded as soon as possible. Wholesale upgrading of all structures or structural elements to their full design requirements, and maintaining them at that level, is not a practical proposition. Nor is this justifiable as the conditions on some routes represent negligible risk to even the 'sub-design standard’ structures. Assessment specific criteria for bridge decks which are less onerous than the design requirements have therefore been used formally from the 1960s in order to identify the existing structures in need of upgrading. This paper attempts to derive similar assessment criteria for bridge piers and parapets in respect of accidental vehicle impact. The first part of the paper examines four possible methods that can be used for the purpose deterministic, risk based cost-benefit, target reliability and whole life cost optimisation methods. These methods are somewhat related to each other, in the sense that they all consider the probability of failure in some way. It is concluded that the deterministic criteria, which can be justified as being based on simple engineering judgement, produce in reality similar results to the other approaches. In the second part of the paper, the assessment criteria for existing piers and parapets are therefore derived using a deterministic approach based on the maximum speeds of vehicles on specific types of road.
