Scottish Road Research Board

Overview

The Scottish Road Research Board (SRRB) is a partnership between Transport Scotland, the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and the Scottish Road Works Commissioner (SRWC).

We annually commission research and development work to deliver improvements in safety, construction, operation and maintenance of the Scottish road network.

Our Objectives

Our objectives are to promote and deliver innovation; share new products, techniques and knowledge across Scotland’s road sector. We aim to:

coordinate research activity within the roads community to provide a targeted, prioritised, focussed framework to the development of new processes, procedures, proprietary products and materials across all sectors, properly undertaken and communicated to all
establish better formal links with academia
identify new appropriate potential sources of research funding
establish links with other bodies undertaking road related research, coordinate activity and communicate results and research activity to the wider roads community.

Our Priorities

Our delivery priorities include:

improved connections across Scotland and internationally
better journey times, better reliability, quality and accessibility
low carbon technology & infrastructure, reduced emissions
increased safety, more innovation
continuously improving performance and organisation

How we Work

The SRRB comprises a Board of senior roads professionals from Transport Scotland, SCOTS and the SRWC with research conducted on our behalf by specialist research contractors and / or consultants.

We meet on a quarterly basis to co-ordinate and prioritise ongoing research and to consider new bids for funding.

Our research programme is co-ordinated and managed by a Programme Manager who performs a Secretariat role in providing overall coordination and reporting to the SRRB.

Eligibility & Selection

Projects must be roads related and fall within the context of defined research themes, and realise real benefits in terms of safety, operation and functionality of trunk and local roads.

We assess each project proposal, and those aligning with our delivery priorities are incorporated into our research programme.

How We Are Funded

The research programme is jointly funded by Transport Scotland and SCOTS. Our research budget is around £400,000 per annum.

How We Report

All project reports and other relevant information are disseminated to the roads community in the form of technical reports, advice notes and guidance documents. In most cases, reports are uploaded to this website on a regular basis.

We also recommend projects for presentation at national events such as Road Expo.

For more information on the SRRB research projects, please contact our mailbox at SRRB@transport.gov.scot

News

SRRB announces 2020-21 research programme

The Scottish Road Research Board is pleased to announce its 2020-21 research programme. The list of new projects includes:

Value of the Local Road Network Stage 2
Recycled Materials in Road Construction & Maintenance
Landslide Forecast, Detection & Notification
Early Life Pavement Failures
Winter Maintenance Liquid Treatments
Suitability of Kerb Heights
Fully Accessible Zebra Crossings
Adaptive Flood Level Markers

Please see the research programme for further details.

Project themes

The themes of the SRRB research programme are aligned with the Scottish Government’s purpose and seek to encourage research projects that support the activities of both trunk and local road authorities in terms of:

Geotechnical & Drainage Engineering – such as consideration of geotechnical and drainage parameters affecting strength and durability of transport infrastructure assets
Design Standards, Specifications & Materials – such as consideration of road construction materials and construction methods and techniques on the strength and durability of carriageways, bridges, retaining walls and other transport infrastructure structural assets
Road and Transport Safety & Security – such as consideration of the effectiveness of road safety strategies and initiatives including research that informs the development, technical performance and effectiveness of road safety system, strategies and initiatives
Bridges and Structures – such as consideration of materials, proprietary systems, design and construction techniques and technologies in relation to the strength and durability of bridges, culverts, footbridges, underpasses, retaining walls, high mast lights and other transport infrastructure structural assets
Maintenance & Operation of Roads and Other Transport Infrastructure Assets – such as consideration of practices, materials, proprietary systems, techniques and technologies that may be used to maintain the serviceability of the transport infrastructure during winter or other adverse weather conditions or events
Traffic & Transportation – such as traffic modelling and consideration of the service levels, capacity, economic performance and cost effectiveness, and growth for roads and other transport modes
Environment & Sustainability – such as consideration of the environmental and sustainability impact and effectiveness of transport infrastructure related practices and schemes and consideration of practices, materials, proprietary systems, techniques and technologies that may be used to improve the environmental and sustainability performance of the transport network
Road Works – such as consideration of improvements in working practices, materials and planning, co-ordination and quality of road works throughout Scotland, along with better monitoring and compliance with legislation

Eligibility & Selection

To be eligible for funding, projects must be roads related and fall within the context of the research themes outlined above.

Projects should realise real benefits in terms of safety, operation and functionality of trunk and local roads in delivering the Scottish Government’s Purpose.

In addition, projects should:

be of priority to the Scottish roads community
investigate Scottish circumstances where these are likely to differ from the rest of the UK
demonstrate a sound business case.

Projects are assessed by the Programme Board, and those aligning with our delivery priorities are incorporated into the research programme.

On-going contributions and memberships

National Winter Service Research Group (NWSRG)
On-going contribution to the NWSRG research programme
http://www.nwsrg.org

Current research projects

Compaction Control Specification

Study to develop a specification for monitoring and control of onsite compaction using real time automatically collected electronic data. This will replace existing destructive sample testing methods with more efficient and safer processes that deliver a more consistent and compliant compaction level and thus longer lasting roads.

Zebra Crossings (Phase 2)

Second phase of study to consider the benefits of zebra crossings to some vulnerable road user groups, and the potential for improvements to address any short comings particularly in regard to accessibility for blind and partially sighted pedestrians.

Continuous Footways and Floating Bus Stops

The Continuous Footways study aims to identify tactile indicators that could be included in standard details to enable blind and partially sighted people to identify the crossing and be guided across it. The research will explore user behaviour at ‘live’ sites to explore influence of a variety of factors on how well continuous footways operate.

The Floating Bus Stops study aims to explore user behaviour at a number of a 'live' sites of bus stop bypasses. The objective will be to explore influence of a variety of factors on how well these bus stops operate, in terms of user volumes, conditions, and user perception.

Suitability of Kerb Profiles (Phase 2)

Second stage of study to find evidence based conclusions to appropriate kerb heights and profiles, along with any associated design elements.

Value of Local Road Network (Phase 3)

Third and final stage of study to determine optimum roll-out phasing of the Minimum Variable Product (MVP) model across Scotland's local authorities, along with an exploration of deeper definitions of generic value judgements within different settings, and further in-depth consideration of the detailed value impact of proximity to the trunk roads network.

Vulnerability of Scottish Road Network to Flooding

Study to develop a framework for defining the vulnerability of roads to adverse weather-related flood events. The framework could be applied to evaluate the vulnerability of the Scottish road infrastructure and to assess its risk and resilience to critical events, allowing the identification of the most vulnerable components and support risk mitigation strategies and management actions.

Boulder Hazard Assessment (Phase 2)

Second phase of study to expand the boulder hazard inventory to consider boulders across the wider Study Area at the Rest and be Thankful site, using UAV survey undertaken for the Operating Company BEAR to capture photogrammetry data across the wider study area allowing the identification of boulder locations, colour coded to indicate their individual low/medium/high hazard rating.

Road Surface Noise Reduction Techniques

Research study to produce technical guidance (IAN) associated with low noise surface materials as noted in HD 36/06 and based on specification detail in the (unpublished forthcoming) 900 Series of the Specification for Highway Work.