Skip to main content

Austrian highway firm opposing larger trucks

Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long. The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4 billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due
March 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Concern has been expressed in Austria over the potential costs of upgrading the country’s road network to cope with 60tonne trucks measuring up to 25.5m long.

The introduction of these massive ‘gigaliners’ has been proposed across the EC. But Austrian highway operator 4178 Asfinag has said that upgrading the country’s roads, highways, bridges and tunnels to make them suitable for gigaliners would cost some €5.4 billion. Asfinag has also expressed its concern over the safety issues surrounding these vehicles due to their size and weight. Vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians are thought to be at particular risk should such vehicles be introduced.

The Austrian minister for transport, Doris Bures, is also against the introduction of gigaliners to the country. The possibility of these giant trucks being introduced has also been causing concern in a number of other European nations but it is of note that a leading highway operator in Austria should be against these vehicles.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IRF World Congress: Road user charging
    October 16, 2024
    Where will the money come from to develop and maintain tomorrow’s sustainable road network, no mater in what nation? This was the focus of another session at the IRF World Congress in Istanbul of day of the three-day event.
  • Saint Gobain widens access cover range
    July 14, 2015
    Saint-Gobain PAM UK is now offering the Opt-Emax and Ult-Emax variants of its anti-skid treated GripTop range of access covers. These units have been developed to help boost safety for vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and cyclists in particular. Conventional access covers can wear away over time and become smooth and slippery due to decades of traffic. These pose major hazards to motorcyclists and cyclists, particularly in poor weather. The GripTop range from Saint-Gobain PAM UK features D400 an
  • Worrying decline in road safety in US
    July 4, 2016
    There has been a worrying increase in traffic fatalities in the US, according to the latest available information. The data has been released by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), showing that traffic fatalities for 2015 were 7.7% higher than for 2014. Road deaths reached 35,200 in 2015, compared with 32,675 in 2014. The data reveals a disquieting trend as the US road fatality rate for 2015 was the highest for seven years. While the total distance travelled by US drivers increase
  • Ukraine’s shattered highways
    July 26, 2024
    With no end to its war with Russia in sight, Ukraine is also fighting hard to cope with a growing backlog of major infrastructure projects, especially in terms of rebuilding the country’s roads and bridges. David Arminas reports.