Research & Development

Innovative solutions that build on research and development contribute substantially to ASFINAG reaching its goal of being one of Europe’s leading road operators in terms of network availability, information and safety. So it’s important to direct research and development (R&D) activities at an early stage towards meeting the needs and requirements of future users in order to provide solutions that are both technologically innovative and commercially viable. ASFINAG took on this challenge and completed the R&E reorientation it had launched in 2008.
As well as providing operational assistance in R&D projects, the completion of the new R&D strategy, the installation of R&D coordinators for operation, construction and tolling and the implementation of an internal R&D platform facilitating communication and exchange of information among all of ASFINAG’s R&D players were the central elements of related activities in 2009.
In addition, the first ASFINAG series of R&D studies and reports was published at the end of the year. In future, this R&D series will be published two to three times a year. Apart from giving detailed information on the new research strategy, the first edition presents three selected R&D projects, gives an outlook of innovative future-oriented projects and includes interesting insights from independent experts and numerous facts and figures on ASFINAG’s R&E activities.

2009 R&D project highlights:

• Successful completion of “eMOTION”, the first EU project to be coordinated by ASFINAG. The project was co-funded under the Sixth European Framework Programme (FP6) and its goal was to create the necessary framework for future intermodal real-time traffic information services for road and local public transport.
• Successful completion of the “CESARE IV” project, co-funded under the FP6 and headed by ASFINAG on behalf of ASECAP. The project goal was to define specifications for the implementation of the EU Directive on establishing an interoperable European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) published in October 2009.
• Opening of one of the first test sections for cooperative systems on the A12 Inntal motorway as part of the COOPERS project co-funded under the FP6.
• Completion of several research projects co-funded by the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (road research), including projects focusing on the “optimisation of rehabilitation opportunities for composite bridges” and the “grip optimisation for sands used in road surface structures”. The findings were incorporated in external guidelines and internal working instructions.
• Preparation for the practical implementation of research findings from the AKUT – Akustisches Tunnelmonitoring (acoustic tunnel monitoring) project funded by the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology. In spring 2010, the system will be installed in a tunnel on the Bruck expressway (S35). By mid-2010 project details will be published in Volume 2 of ASFINAG’s R&D series.