Visualising Blackspot Improvement at Nagpur

Nagpur, the “Orange City” of the country is situated in the state of Maharashtra. Nagpur is one of the fastest economically growing cities and part of the “Smart City Mission”. In this paper, the city of Nagpur has been identified as the test bed to understand and demonstrate the before and after scenarios of black spot improvement through 3-D modelling. In this regard, road crash data obtained from Nagpur Police in the form of First Information Reports (FIRs) was analysed to identify the black spots conforming to the protocol of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H). The geometric countermeasures deduced for two out of the 37 locations are illustrated by presenting ‘before’ and ‘after’ scenarios through 3-D Modelling with the primary objective of pictorially depicting the efficacy of the proposed intervention for two out of the 37 locations in Nagpur. The above form of pictorial illustration of the detailed Geometric Design Plan (GDP) for the above black spots will serve as an eye-opener for the relevant stakeholders in terms of undertaking steps towards the implementation of the suggested black spot remedial measures. It is clarified that the overall project termed Intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering (iRASTE) includes redesigning the road geometry as well as applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to achieve its aim of reducing road fatalities by at least 50%, safety of pedestrians, and ease in traffic flow. However, this paper aims to highlight the importance of 3-D visualization for the representation of design interventions through which the policymakers, stakeholders and the general public alike can easily understand.