Fugro awarded three-year survey contract by HA

Fugro has been awarded a three-year contract by the Highways Agency to undertake traffic speed structural surveys (TRASS) of England’s strategic road network.

From late 2014 to 2017, Fugro will undertake the structural performance surveys using the Highways Agency’s Traffic Speed Deflectometer (TSD) vehicle.

The £1.3m contract includes annual TSD data collection for lane one of the strategic road network in England, a length of approximately 14,000 lane-km, in addition to programmed surveys of lane two plus slip roads. This is believed to be the first contract of its type and scale to be outsourced by a public road agency to the commercial sector.

In 2012, as one of three survey companies undertaking extended trials of the technology, Fugro surveyed 5,600 lane-km of English trunk roads and differentiated itself by processing data overnight for client evaluation.

Fugro’s expertise in ground penetrating radar (GPR) will also be of value because the Highways Agency plans to collect radar data alongside deflection measurements from 2015. Provided with an integrated and up-to-date perspective on pavement structure and performance, the Agency will be able to better target future maintenance schemes.

Highways specialists at Fugro will process the data and upload results to the Highways Agency’s Pavement Management System. TRL will provide quality assurance and technical advice.