If the Roman Empire excelled in anything, it was a genius for public works. Its roads were the first ever. When you travel from Italy or the south of France to Spain, for example, the highway states that on some sections you are using the old Roman route. Its legacy is alive.
Roman governors soon realized the importance of creating a road network over their territories. And, in the Empire, road construction was always a matter that was directly overseen by successive Emperors or their immediate deputies.
Roman roads could also be said to be the first smart roads in that their construction techniques applied all the technology available to them and the engineering concepts they used were incredible for their time. They took into account resistance to movement on gradients and longitudinal slope, never greater than the 8% over which animal-drawn carriages could transport cargo. When necessary, the Romans levelled land to the millimeter, calculated according to the hardness of the mountain rock, and they used a collection of solid, smart materials to transport heavy items at speed. They also had accurate signage.
All kinds of goods and materials were transported over Roman roads, from Turkish marble to Andalusian olive oil, gold, lead, cereals, etc. Both armies and citizen travelers moved by them. Many high-ranking Romans, who knew by which routes people traveled, chose to be buried at privileged locations next to the roads that ensured passers-by leaving and entering Rome would visit their tombs. “I am next to the road, thus powerful,” they seemed to be saying. Everyone was aware of the importance of a road network that linked territories, trade, the economy and communications over a large part of Europe and Asia.
Engineering has changed a lot since the Romans taught the world how to build infrastructure. But one reality hasn’t changed in the intervening years: the power of roads to stimulate the economy and underpin society’s progress. Roads convert far into near, difficult into easier, and the impossible is allowed to happen.
ACCIONA has built over 5,000 kilometers of highways, motorways and roads all over the world in recent years: Australia, Spain, Canadá, Denmark, and so on; a veritable Mappa Mundi of smart roads, increasingly innovative and sustainable, thanks to the advances in the technological revolution. It also carries out maintenance on a multitude of roads, including cleaning and clearing of scrub, drainage networks, culverts, underdrains and signage works.
Roads stimulate the economy and underpin society’s progress.
Today these highways and roads emerge on the screen of engineers in ACCIONA’s centres for technological innovation with the help of sophisticated software. Later, they are made real in the remotest of places thanks to the new applications of topography, 3D and 4D modeling, sensor systems, remotely operated machinery, drones, laser scanning and smart and sustainable materials capable of self-repair and which warn about where they are deteriorating. Solutions that pursue the application of the concept of circular economy and digitize processes to reduce construction delays and increase the reliability and safety of construction projects.
Another of the most important tasks for our engineers is driver safety. Thanks to advances in innovation and sustainability, ACCIONA’s road projects are essential not only in reducing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere but also the number of accidents on the road.
But when designing a smart highway, engineers must also consider what damage it might cause. ACCIONA prioritizes environmental studies in the development of road projects so that a minimum of impact is generated on the surroundings and transport emissions can be reduced. Examples are designing routes that harmonize the speed of vehicles, avoiding driving in low gears and hard braking, toll points without barriers and using wireless communications so that cars don’t have to stop and queue, a big cause of pollution.
Additionally, the stages of damage prevention and conservation in the places in which we work include the tasks of rehabilitating surrounding landscapes through the planting of trees and shrubs, the creation of new landscapes to reduce environmental impact and respect for vegetation, animal life and cultural heritage in the vicinities.
ACCIONA’s experience can be appreciated by its network of over 5,000 km of highways and roads built worldwide. These are some of the most important smart roads:
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