National Highways has signed an agreement to extend its IT services contract with CGI for a further five years as part of a program to make better use of its vast information resources.
As part of the government body's data architecture and engineering programme, CGI will provide road user-centric services that will leverage massive data sets and ultimately minimize disruption.
National Highways is responsible for the operation, maintenance and improvement of motorways and major A roads in England. Its digital ecosystem generates data from roadside sensors, CCTV systems and intelligent highway systems. It collects information on millions of trips across thousands of miles of highways every day.
The relationship between the organizations will see CGI continue to work on modernizing the National Highways data backbone, including moving existing National Highways data onto a single digital platform to improve the accessibility and usability of the data.
The data, which National Highways says is worth more than £60 billion, could help improve travel, reduce disruption and support freight and emergency response services.
Adam Locker, head of data architecture and engineering at National Highways, said: “Our data is one of our most valuable assets and plays a critical role in how we operate and improve the network. This next phase will help us use our operational data in a more meaningful and timely manner, supporting better decision-making and helping us share useful information with drivers. Ultimately, we want to make journeys easier and ensure our network continues to meet the needs of road users.”
User-facing services planned in the next phase of the National Highways Data Strategy include sharing real-time information about road closures and incidents through platforms such as Google Maps and Waze. The company said this will help with travel planning and ensure more efficient movement of cargo.
Kevin O'Neill, senior vice president at CGI, which is supporting the project, said: “With CGI helping to connect and improve access to disparate data sources, National Highways can significantly improve the road experience, minimizing disruption across the entire network and modernizing a vital part of our transport ecosystem.”
In 2021, the organization formerly known as Highways England and formerly the Highways Agency unveiled a five-year plan that included data sharing to support the smooth running of the road network it manages. He stated his desire to use intelligent asset management using data and technology to enable predictive asset management.
National Highways said it wanted same data sources will be used by construction partners across all sites, providing a single source of truth, which he says improves collaboration and delivery results. The strategy also includes the regular use of digital tools to rehearse actions on the construction site. According to National Highways, this results in more efficient delivery, improved safety and minimized inconvenience for customers.
CGI has experience working on organizational data strategies. It has a 12-year relationship with the European Space Agency (ESA). helping to improve scientific access to data about the Earth sent from space.
Through his work on the Multi-Objective Algorithm and Analysis Platform (MAAP) within ESA enhanced data access and processing services for the joint Earth observation ground segmentit gives scientists access to NASA and ESA data on Earth's biomass.
