Smart highways key part of transportation future

Building smart highways is a trend for the development of transportation in China, an expert said on Thursday.

"As an important area for transportation technology innovation, smart roads have become an inevitable trend and choice for future road construction in China," said Weng Mengyong, chairman of the China Highway and Transportation Society.

He made the remarks at a forum of the 2023 World Transport Convention in Wuhan, Hubei province.

Bringing together more than 4,000 experts in transportation from China and abroad to discuss sustainable development in the field, the four-day conference kicked off on Wednesday. More than 230 subforums with different themes will be held.

China's road development is facing some challenges, Weng said. For instance, there are some hidden safety hazards in the network, including road accidents and infrastructure safety hazards.

He also noted that the efficiency of the road network is not high, and traffic restrictions often occur due to bad weather and improper maintenance.

Management coordination with relevant departments such as public security also needs to be improved.

It should also adapt to the needs of energy and technology development, such as new energy vehicles, intelligent network connection and autonomous driving.

Weng said the development of technologies in transportation can support building smart roads, such as satellite positioning, big data, cloud computing, internet of things and artificial intelligence.

Some new roads have already utilized smart technologies to boost safety.

The 5G network covers a section of the Beijing-Xiong'an Expressway, which opened in December. It utilizes the Beidou navigation system and smart monitoring to reduce accidents.

Road safety warning lights have been placed at 30-meter intervals.

"The lights turn on automatically and flash when bad weather causes low visibility, such as in heavy fog, rainfall or snow," said Chen Yang, a manager at China Railway Jingxiong.

When a vehicle is too close to the car in front, the lights will turn red to remind drivers to keep their distance, he added.

The expressway operator has cooperated with navigation service providers to offer real-time information, Chen said. "Drivers can get up-to-date information when they use their navigation systems. We call it a 'housekeeping' service."