Hyderabad: The Outer Ring Road (ORR) is set to undergo a comprehensive road safety audit aimed at identifying accident-prone locations, improving road infrastructure and reducing crashes across the 158-km expressway.According to a request for proposal (RFP) document, issued by HGCL, a part of HMDA, the appointed road safety consultant would have to carry out safety audits at four stages, immediately after appointment, after six months, at the end of the second year and after three years. The consultant should recommend engineering improvements to roads, bridges, culverts, road markings, signage and crash barriers.A major component of the study would involve identifying black spots through scientific analysis of accident data collected from police stations, intelligent road accident database (iRAD), toll operators, multi-violation detection systems (MVDS), Hyderabad Traffic Management System (HTMS), CCTV footage and other available sources.The consultant would collect and analyse fatal and grievous injury crashes after the first year and again after the third year to identify recurring accident locations and determine the causes behind collisions. For every identified accident-prone location, detailed topographical surveys would be conducted to map road geometry, roadside hazards, utility structures, building lines and all features within the right of way.The study would also include extensive traffic surveys. Classified vehicle counts, turning movement counts at interchanges and junctions, directional traffic counts, pedestrian and bicycle counts would be carried out at 15-minute intervals for at least eight hours during the peak traffic periods.The consultant has also been asked to utilise existing intelligent transport systems (ITS), automatic traffic counters and classifiers (ATCC), automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems and variable message signs (VMS), to improve the accuracy of traffic and crash analysis.“As part of this, field inspections will be carried out during both daytime and nighttime to assess roadway geometry, pavement condition, road markings, traffic signs, delineators, crash barriers, lighting, roadside hazards, work zones, access control measures, and other safety-related elements. The consultant will have to identify deficiencies that are contributing to road traffic crashes and recommend appropriate remedial measures based on engineering principles and road safety best practices,” an HMDA official said.As per the document, detailed investigations would be carried out for accident-prone locations and identified black spots. Collision diagrams, accident trend analysis, severity assessment, and risk prioritisation should form part of the study. Recommendations should include immediate, short-term, medium-term, and long-term safety improvement measures along with conceptual drawings, cost estimates, and implementation priorities, it added.
