October’s top stories: BMD secured contract to widen Yan Yean Road, Delphi Automotive agreed to acquire nuTonomy for $450m

Australia’s BMD won contract for Yan Yean Road project

Australian company BMD Constructions secured a contract to widen the Yan Yean Road located in Plenty, about 30km north of Melbourne’s central business district (CBD).

The upgrade will improve both safety and travel times on the Yan Yean Road.

Under the contract, BMD will design and construct the 3.9km road stretch and widen it from two to four lanes between Diamond Creek Road to Kurrak Road.

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 Delphi signed deal to acquire nuTonomy for $450m

Delphi Automotive signed an agreement to acquire nuTonomy for $450m in a bid to speed up its plans to supply autonomous vehicle systems to automakers.

With the acquisition, Delphi aims to accelerate its commercialisation of autonomous driving (AD) and Automated Mobility on-Demand (AMoD) solutions for automakers and new mobility customers worldwide.

It will also enable the company to serve new customers and markets in the growing mobility space.

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 Highways England unveiled £15bn road improvement programme

Highways England (HE) unveiled its updated £15bn road improvement programme, which has been revised to minimise the impact of roadworks on motorists.

As part of the programme, which also aims to reduce congestion, plans have been revised for 26 road upgrades that are set to take place in the same area.

Highways England chief executive Jim O’Sullivan said: “Our update today is a sensible and responsible way to deliver major national investment in road infrastructure. It will keep our roads moving, deliver a lasting legacy for the country and ensure best value for money for the taxpayer.”

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Reconstruction of road from Guinea to Sierra Leone to receive funding from ADF

The African Development Bank Group (AFDB) is set to provide funding of €48m from the African Development Fund (ADF) for the reconstruction of the border road from Guinea to Sierra Leone.

The Guinea to Sierra Leone road project has been jointly funded by the ADF, the European Union (EU), and the Government of Guinea.

The project works will see reconstruction and improvement of 75km of the road stretch, including bridge structures between the Coyah area in Guinea and the border with Sierra Leone.

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Renovo to integrate AWare with INRIX OpenCar solution

Mobility software technology firm Renovo announced a partnership to integrate its AWare system with connected car services and transportation analytics provider INRIX’s OpenCar solution.

Intended to provide additional value to automated mobility vehicle users, the partnership will also see a collection of new information from highly automated vehicle (HAV) data.

AWare is an automated mobility operating system, while OpenCar is an end-to-end solution designed to offer optimal experience to automakers, drivers and content providers.

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GM’s Cruise Automation made plans to test fully autonomous vehicle in New York State

Cruise Automation, a business unit of General Motors (GM) planned to test its autonomous vehicles in Manhattan, New York, by early next year.

The company noted that mapping has already begun in the Manhattan region.

During the test, an engineer will be present in the driver’s seat to monitor and evaluate performance, with a second person in the passenger seat.

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NZTA opened Cobham Drive underpass in Hamilton

The New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) opened a new pedestrian and cycling underpass to create a safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians under State Highway 1-Cobham Drive in Hamilton.

The new project was carried out with an investment of NZ$1.8m ($1.25m) and connects Hamilton East at Sillary Street, near the Grey Street-Cobham Drive corner, with the gardens and shared walkways on the southern side of Cobham Drive.

New paths along State Highway 3 and the Western Rail Trail opened this year will also be linked to the underpass.

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Mitsubishi exhibited autonomous-driving vehicle xAUTO

Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric (Mitsubishi) unveiled its xAUTO vehicle, as well as autonomous-driving technologies for self-sensing and network-based driving.

The xAUTO was exhibited during the 45th Tokyo Motor Show 2017 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition complex in Tokyo, Japan, from 27 October to 5 November.

The Japanese firm carried out field tests of the xAUTO vehicle and its autonomous driving technologies on two Japanese expressways since May last year.

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Draft decision released for Northern Corridor improvements project in Auckland

The board of enquiry for the Northern Corridor improvements proposal released its draft report and decision for the project in Auckland, New Zealand.

The draft report and decision were provided to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Auckland Council, all submitters, and the NZ Minister for Environment, as well as landowners and occupiers directly affected by the decision.

These parties are required to comment on minor or technical aspects of the report to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). The decision has been released after assessing the evidence submitted by NZTA, stakeholders and the community.

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MOVE_UK consortium completed first phase trials of autonomous driving systems

Bosch-led MOVE_UK consortium completed the first phase of its three-year research programme, which has been designed to speed up the development of automated driving systems and make them smart and safe enough for UK roads.

The consortium also includes Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), Jaguar Land Rover, Direct Line, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and The Floow.

The first phase of the programme took place at the Royal Borough of Greenwich and witnessed the development of a new validation method that will reduce the time taken to test automated driving systems and bring them to market.