Cracks, patches, elevations of tree roots and other damage to bike paths along federal and country roads as well as railway lines will in future be determined in North Rhine-Westphalia with a “laser buggy” as a measuring vehicle, said the Ministry of Transport on a small request from the Greens in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament. The pilot project, which has been running since October, is supposed to be around 20 kilometers of cycle paths maintained by the State Agency for Road Construction in North Rhine-Westphalia, Straßen.NRW under the laser.

The small measuring vehicle contains laser and camera technology.

(Image: Straßen.NRW)

The four-wheeled mini vehicle has a little technology on board, which is mainly located at the rear. Several lasers scan the traveled route. With their help, a longitudinal profile of the cycle path is created. Every five meters, a front and rear camera take photos of the bike path and the surrounding area. Damage to the bike path is recorded by a camera at the rear of the “laser buggy” aimed at the ground.

This technology is not new. The condition recording with subsequent evaluation (ZEB) has been used for years to record road damage, for example on federal highways and motorways. As there, the measurements on the cycle paths are also carried out while traffic is running, so that no closures have to be made.

Lengthy test Round 7200 Kilometer of cycle path is to be examined after the presentation of Straßen.NRW in North Rhine-Westphalia However, this can take some time, because the vehicle is, depending on the nature of the bike path and the weather conditions, at a speed of 10 km / h to 20 km / h on the way. In addition, the cycle paths must not be contaminated, for example with leaves, or otherwise covered, for example with snow.

As out the answer to the No inquiry results, the pilot project in Ostwestfalen-Lippe should bring the first results in the first quarter 2021. The cycle paths on federal and country roads, railway lines and cycle expressways are to be examined in the course of the year. The data is then evaluated by road construction experts. The results should then be available in spring 2022. Then the bike paths also have to be repaired.

(olb)