Recently, at the construction site of the Provincial Highway 247 overhaul project, a drone took off slowly and began an intelligent inspection along a preset route. The pilot application of intelligent drone inspection in Huai'an has broken the traditional maintenance inspection model of "manual on-foot inspections, visual surveys, and experience-based judgments," comprehensively improving road inspection efficiency and safety. Highway maintenance in Huai'an has entered a new intelligent stage of "technological inspection and smart prevention and control."

In recent years, the highway department of Huai'an has closely followed the highway development and deployment requirements of the province. Focusing on the direction of highway digitalization and intelligent construction, it has actively promoted the application of "four new technologies" in highway maintenance and strives to create a Huai'an practice model for "Jiangsu-style maintenance." Provincial Highway 247 connects Qingjiangpu District, Hongze District, and Jinhu County. It is a key arterial road for regional passenger and freight transportation with dense traffic flow. The traffic control plan of single-side closure for construction and two-way traffic on the other side is adopted for the overhaul section, which is very likely to cause traffic congestion. As a result, it is difficult to carry out traditional manual inspections normally. With the pilot application of the intelligent drone safety inspection system, automatically deployed drones have become all-weather "aerial sentinels," and the inspection routes of the drones are combined with the construction site through preset programs.

In the next step, the highway department of Huai'an will closely follow the province's smart transportation construction plan, continue to expand the application scenarios of intelligent drone maintenance, and constantly enrich digital maintenance methods. It aims to protect the safety and smoothness of national and provincial trunk lines with a new, accurate, efficient, safe, and intensive maintenance model, providing highway transportation guarantees for the steady development of the local economy and society.