Civil Engineering September 2021 | Vol 29 No 8

Civil Engineering September 2021 35 S TRg is patronised by some of the country’s leading organisa- tions in the field of science and engineering including but not limited to UKZN, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, eThekwini Municipality, the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL), and the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). Four staff members spearhead the group as the core UKZN civil engineering team, empanelled as A-rated researchers by SANRAL. More than 20 postgraduate students are engaged in their Masters and PhD research under this group. A further 24 undergraduate students are currently conducting their dissertations on various STRg themes. Moreover, several staff members and students from universities across the country collaborate with STRg on various research endeavours. The group members are currently engaged in four research projects funded by SANRAL in 2021. These projects are being conducted in collaboration with researchers and scholars from various leading organisations such as the University of Pretoria, the University of Cape Town, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and several leading engineering service consulting agencies. The projects include funda- mental road transport-related issues at the national level, namely advanced asphalt technology; alternative and innovative asphalt materials; provision of bypass roads and through-ways in settlements, towns and cities; and non-motorised transport behaviour. STRg considers an array of research areas that are related to sustainable roads. These areas include but are not limited to smart and sustainable transportation in developing countries; integrated transpor- tation systems; transportation planning; traffic management and safety; pavement materials; and pavement life cycle assess- ments and management. The group aims to create knowledge and solve complex problems linked to transportation by using advanced scientific and engineering principles. The following paragraphs shed light on some of the group’s publications in the area of smart transportation. RESEARCH ON SMART TRANSPORTATION In 2021, in collaboration with researchers from other universities in South Africa Smart transportation is the future: UKZN STRg research Prof. Mohamed Mostafa Associate Professor and Academic Leader School of Engineering University of KwaZulu-Natal mostafam@ukzn.ac.za Prof. Dillip Das Associate Professor School of Engineering University of KwaZulu-Natal dasd@ukzn.ac.za The Sustainable Transportation Research group (STRg) is a research group located in the civil engineering discipline of the the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) School of Engineering focused on both basic and applied research in the field of transportation. Figure 1 Smart instrumentation of pavement using moisture instrumentation sensor for pavement analysis Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 STRg considers an array of research areas that are related to sustainable roads. These areas include but are not limited to smart and sustainable transportation in developing countries; integrated transportation systems; transportation planning; traffic management and safety; pavement materials; and pavement life cycle assessments and management.