General Manager of Highways, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, attended the 12th Transport and Communications Council organized by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, which opened its doors yesterday.
Making a statement to AA correspondent within the scope of the event, Uraloğlu said that determining the 2021 theme of the Council, which has been held since 1945 and will be held for the 12th time this year, as logistics, mobility and digitalization is important for Turkey’s 2023, 2035 and 2053 vision.
Stating that the Council is the most important transportation-oriented event in Turkey with the participation of national and international guests and companies that stand out with their activities in the field of transportation, Uraloğlu expressed that he expects the event to be held with the logic of consultation to yield beneficial results.
Uraloğlu stated that as of today, the General Directorate of Highways (KGM) has a road network of 68 thousand 633 kilometers, including 3,523 kilometers of highways, 30 thousand 974 kilometers of state roads and 34 thousand 136 kilometers of provincial roads, and this is about 45 times on the map of Turkey. He noted that it corresponds to the reciprocation from west to east.
“First of all, we are trying to establish systems in which the vehicle communicates with the road, and then the vehicle communicates with the vehicle.”
Uraloğlu said that the roads contribute to the delivery of all kinds of services and the equal distribution of income, and continued as follows:
“Roads have a capacity, that is, they have defined capacities. We need to use this capacity fully and increase it. We can only do this with smart ways. We can do all the work related to traffic safety, not only with capacity, but also with smart ways, with smart transportation systems. We invest, we develop.
The first smart transportation systems route in Turkey started with the toll collection systems on the Bosphorus Bridge. Today, we provide the management of junctions with signaling, forecasting the weather conditions with meteorological stations, warning the drivers instantly, and following the snow and ice struggle with the sensors we place on the roads. The point we want to reach is that we are trying to establish smart ways in smart transportation systems, systems where the vehicle first communicates with the road, and then the vehicle communicates with the vehicle. For smart roads, as the General Directorate of Highways, we planned to lay 15 thousand kilometers of fiber optic cable network in Turkey. At the moment, we have passed approximately 1,500 kilometers. We will conduct a pilot application in Antalya. Again, on a road in Istanbul, we will conduct a complete pilot application and expand them throughout Turkey.”
Uraloğlu stated that equipping all roads with fiber optic network can be achieved in the medium and long term, “We think that we can achieve it by 2035, but there will probably be new things until we get there, and we will revise our targets. We will set new targets.” used the phrases.
