29 November 2017 | Brussels, Belgium

On 14 November, the Belgian Association representing the major Belgian construction companies (ADEB-VBA) organised a seminar at the ULB (Université Libre de Bruxelles) on the topic of “Public Transport Infrastructure Asset Management – Trends and Challenges”.

This event gathered representatives from Belgian road authorities, academics and construction industries and gave the speakers the opportunity to present some examples of recent developments in transport infrastructure asset management. During this seminar, Christophe Nicodème, Director General of the ERF, delivered a presentation on the ‘UK experience on Asset Management of roads’, and in particular some examples of successful PFIs (Private Finance Initiatives).

The presentations were followed by an intense roundtable debate with representatives from the public and private sectors.

15 February 2016 | Paris, France

Alain Vidalies, the French State Secretary in charge of Transport, Sea and Fisheries, announced an investment plan for 2016 concerning the maintenance of the national roads and waterways. The French government intends to allocate an additional €150 million to the €300 million already planned in operations for upgrading national roads.

Mr Vidalies decided to make maintenance a priority, as he believes roads and waterways infrastructure to be a vital part of the French economy.

Investing in the maintenance of these networks is will immediately result to new job positions, and it will generate further business activity, both for companies and authorities.

In 2015, Alain Vidalies had launched an initial investment plan of € 100 million in existing networks, thus over 150 projects were then launched. The investment plan for 2016 is the highest in the last 10 years.

28 January 2016 | Brussels, Belgium

Last week, the Vice-President of the Walloon Government and Minister for Public Works, Traffic Safety and Waterways, presented the Walloon Government’s ambitious Infrastructure Plan for 2016-2019.

This plan, endowed with unprecedented budgetary resources of € 640 million is articulated around four axes:
– The continued rehabilitation of highways (€ 128 million);
– Renovation and safety for the secondary road network (€ 347.5 million) – i.e. 54% of the whole budget
– The development of “Roads of Employment” (€ 89.5 million);
– Investments in Inland waterways (€ 75 million).

The Infrastructure Plan is the result of collaboration and concerted methodology with the PricewaterhouseCoopers consulting firm, commissioned to study the major infrastructure challenges in Wallonia and socio-economic gains associated with its maintenance and its strategic development.

It deploys a strategy of investment in order to meet a selection of highest priority structuring needs for Wallonia in terms of rehabilitation, security, mobility and sustainable economic development.

Thanks to this unprecedented budget and a clear control and time setting, this plan is estimated to generate between € 418 and € 624 million of added value and contribute to the creation of between 5800 and 8300 new jobs.

Needs are substantial and resources are limited. Therefore, it was imperative to develop a strong methodological approach to identify priority projects with maximum relevance and transparency. This was the sine qua non for deploying the strategic vision aiming at the socio-economic development of Wallonia.

Different strategic directions were established, among which:

• Devoted resources for the rehabilitation of surfaces and bridges (with a special investment for rehabilitation of bridges with critical conditions)
• Sufficient means for guaranteeing safe road sections and urban crossings
• Strengthen complementarity between transport modes
• Integrate roads into their environment

This plan required a significant inventory of the Walloon road network; this was done through the “GPS” Plan (Gestion des Projets Routiers – Management of Road Projects). This plan listed all the requirements and weighed them according to different criteria.

The Plan will be implemented with the highest quality standards and a continuous quality control will be applied through the whole process (from first sketches to the final work control).

The original budget of € 320 million, which was planned to be financed by the kilometer levy for trucks over 3.5 tonnes (implemented as from April 2016), has doubled to reach € 640 million, in order to respond more relevant and effective needs expressed. The extent of such an investment will not only enable the modernisation of the Walloon road and river infrastructure, but will also foster the socio-economic development of the region.

Information can be found on  http://www.n931.be/images/Pdf/Documents/PLan-infrastructure-2016_2019.pdf

19 February 2015 | Athens, Greece

On 12-13 February, more than 200 road infrastructure safety stakeholders gathered in Athens, Greece to attend the first Technical Conference on ‘Current Advances in Road Infrastructure Safety Equipment’.

Co-organised by the European Union Road Federation (ERF), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Hellenic Institute of Transportation Engineers (HITE), the conference was dedicated to providing Road Authorities and Operators, Transportation Planners, Engineers and Road Safety Experts with an overview of European policies, legislation, technical norms and good practices in the field of roadinfrastructure safety equipment, in view of  the re-launching of important motorways construction projects to complete the Greek TEN-T.

Following the opening remarks by the co-organisers, the first session was devoted to ‘European and National Policies’ where presenters focused on the policy challenges in terms of infrastructure.  There was a consensus over the need to do more for the protection of vulnerable road users (in particular, motorcyclists) on motorways as well as the need to ensure that road marking remain visible in order to maximise the safety benefit from the introduction of Advanced Drivers Assistance Systems in the intelligent vehicle.

Subsequently, the conference focused on the essential role of road restraint systems as a means of improving safety on Europe’s roads.  The introduction of the EN 1317 and CE marking for safety barriers represents an opportunity for Greek authorities, yet challenges remain.  In particular, authorities need to ensure the authenticity of CE certificates in order to ensure that all products placed on the road are properly tested according to hEN 1317-5.  In addition, when selecting products, authorities need to also take into account maintenance considerations as a means of maximising public investment.

The 2^nd day of the conference was dedicated to the topics of horizontal and vertical signage, work zones and road maintenance.  Road marking and traffic signs are one of the most cost-effective safety measures available to policymakers and as such, it is essential to ensure that they remain visible to satisfy both the needs of an increasingly ageing driver population and ensure the potential safety gains from the introduction of Lane Departure Warning and Traffic Sign Recognition Systems in the intelligent vehicle.  With respect to work zones, they remain an area where significant safety gains can be achieved and as such, participants were encouraged to explore available solutions for enhancing their performance. Last but not least, and in view of limited public resources, it is imperative to consider ways of maintaining the skid resistance of roads in order to avoid run-accidents.

In their conclusions, ERF General Director, Mr Nicodème and NTUA Prof. Yannis both highlighted the essential role of road infrastructure as a means of improving road safety with immediate effect.  In view of cut-backs in road maintenance budgets in recent years, both speakers talked about the necessity to reverse this trend to ensure that Europe’s road can continue to serve citizens and businesses in their daily lives.

The Technical Conference was accompanied by an exhibition, where leading safety companies in the field had the opportunity to display their solutions.

Below you can find:

– Agenda of the conference

– List of participants