On Wednesday 19 January, the European Commission authorised €20 million in Spanish support through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for the deployment of smart systems, which will provide improved communication and information services on motorways and in tunnels in the country’s national road network.
The RRF will fully finance the measure after the Commission’s positive assessment of the Spanish Recovery and Resilience Plan and its adoption by the EU Council.
Assistance will be provided until the end of December 2024, and support will take the form of direct grants.
The aid will be awarded, following a competitive selection procedure, to concessionaires and operation and maintenance companies active in the State roads network.
The measure has two objectives: - improve traffic safety, efficiency, interoperability, energy efficiency and innovation on motorways and tunnels managed under a concession regime; - improve the safety of road operation and maintenance.
Projects include automatic incident detection systems, systems for monitoring atmospheric conditions on roads, smart lighting control systems and automatic and remote control systems for maintenance work using drones and digitalised machinery. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)