Automated Maintenance Technology to Reduce Fuel Consumption by Minimizing LaneClosure Time

摘要

It is found that tremendous needs for technological advancements exist in roadmaintenance. These needs include reducing the labor requirement of current maintenance practices as well as removing workers from potential danger and hazard, shortening the lane closure time by faster maintenance operations, minimizing the size of a work zone and the interference between maintenance crews and the traffic, increasing the capacity of maintenance forces to reduce the time lapse between defect formation and repair, extending the flexibility of maintenance forces in terms of working at night and under bad weather conditions, improving the quality of current maintenance techniques, and conforming to environmental regulations. If these needs can be met by technological advancements, two major categories of costs directly or indirectly related to road maintenance can be reduced: (1) the direct costs of maintenance operations, and (2) the user costs. The study has focused specifically on automation technology as one major area of technological advancements in road maintenance.