FEDRO Roads and Traffic 2012

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft Confédération suisse Confederazione Svizzera Confederaziun svizra Swiss Confederation Swiss Federal Roads Ofﬁce FEDRO FEDRO 2012 Roads and Traffic Facts and figures Contents 3 Editorial 4 – 6 Energy Saving energy – but not at the cost of safety 7 Solar power production on noise-prevention barriers 8 – 9 Pedestrian crossings Accidents on pedestrian crossings during winter 10 – 13 Traffic noise Noise reduction in the interest of our health 14 – 15 CO2 emissions Lower CO2 emissions from cars to protect the climate 16 – 17 Operation and safety Cables are vital motorway components 18 Road signs Useful information on 900 road signs 20 – 21 Archaeology/Palaeontology Neanderthals and dinosaurs beneath the motorways 22 – 23 FEDRO unearths “Jurassic Park” on the A16 24 – 25 Federal network resolution Main roads to be added to the motorway network 26 – 27 Roadworks in 2012 Major roadworks 28 Personnel Changes in FEDRO management Facts and figures 30 Motorway network 1,798.7 kilometres of motorway completed 31 The Swiss motorway network 32 Administrative measures Number of confiscated licences down again 33 Accumulated kilometres 26 billion kilometres on the motorways 34 – 35 Traffic volume Map of traffic volume on the motorway network 36 – 37 Transalpine goods traffic Unchanged volume of goods traffic through the Alps 38 Vehicle statistics Total registered vehicles rose by 121,000 in 2011 39 New registrations of cars in 2011 40 Accident statistics Fewer accident victims on Swiss roads 41 Finance Finance and expenditure 42 Structure of FEDRO Organisational chart of the Federal Roads Office 43 Addresses Addresses of FEDRO and regional units 44 Cantonal police headquarters 45 Road traffic departments Cover photo Every four years, the condition of the surfaces of the motorways is checked with the aid of laser technology. The data relating to the depth of grooves or fissures are then entered in a database. Stretches with deep grooves or fissures are shown in red on the computer screen, while those without are depicted in green. The colouring of the segments, which each represent a 100-metre stretch of motorway, informs planners at FEDRO whether maintenance work needs to be planned on a given stretch. The map section depicted on the front cover shows the A1/A9 near Lausanne. ------------- Editorial 3 Dear Reader, In the 2012 edition of “Roads and Traffic – Facts and Figures”, I would like to take you on a journey along the Swiss motorway network. En route you will be able to discover things about our motorways that you may have seen before, but with which you are probably not immediately familiar. For example, you can discover that it is not only traffic that flows along the motorways, but electricity too page 16 . And the design and content of road signs on motorways is based on a carefully conceived system page 18 . You will also be amazed how many archaeological and paleontological sites and relics are uncovered during construction work on motorways page 20. You can also read about the efforts that are being undertaken by FEDRO to reduce electricity consumption, as well as to promote green power, on the motorway network page 4 . As every motorist knows, our motorways are very heavily frequented. In 2011, vehicles covered an accumulated distance of almost 26 billion kilometres on the Swiss network page 33. Congestion frequently occurs, especially in the major agglomerations. The latest traffic volume map shows where traffic densities are at their highest page 34. Last winter a series of reports of tragic accidents on pedestrian crossings captured the public’s attention. This is a strong reminder that all road users need to play their part in making our roads safer, especially during the winter months page 8 . I hope that you will find the 2012 edition of “Roads and Traffic” both interesting and informative! Rudolf Dieterle Director of the Swiss Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) Energy ------------- 4 Saving energy – but not at the cost of safety Motorways cannot function without electricity. There is considerable savings potential in the area of lighting, and various trials with LED lighting have been initiated. But safety must always come first. ------------- In 2010, electricity consumption for the operation of Switzer- In the medium term, the concept of light-coloured paint will also land’s motorways amounted to 145 gigawatt hours, which is be applied in tunnels. The Lungern bypass tunnel which is to be equivalent to the annual level of consumption of 40,000 house- opened in 2012 on the A8 (Brünigstrasse) is a “low-energy tun- holds. The operation of the 228 tunnels accounts for around 75 nel”. Here, FEDRO is initiating a trial with a special light-coloured percent of electricity consumption on the motorway network, and non-soiling paint on the tunnel walls and ceiling. Thanks to most of which is required for lighting and ventilation systems. nanotechnology, this paint prevents the surfaces from darkening Some electricity is also required for signalling and monitoring so that the reflection effect remains intensive and lasts longer. It systems, e.g. fire alarms, SOS services, video surveillance. By con- is hoped that this will significantly reduce the level of electricity trast, special heating systems, e.g. for heating the fire-fighting consumption for lighting. The lighting system itself is based on water supply at tunnel portals, only consume very little energy. LED lamps, which also require less electricity than conventional bulbs. Ventilation However, with respect to all savings measures, whether on open With respect to energy management on the motorway network, stretches or in tunnels, safety and visibility will remain the high- a balance has to be found between safety and efficiency. Follow- est priority in FEDRO’s strategy. ing the fire in the Gotthard road tunnel in 2001, for example, the general requirements on tunnel ventilation and smoke extraction Asphalt systems had to be revised. This resulted in the installation of The structural maintenance of motorways, and thus above all the significantly more powerful equipment, with the accompanying construction of the surface layers, is by nature extremely energy- increase in electricity consumption. In the area of ventilation, the intensive. But here, too, there is savings potential in the long energy savings potential is therefore very low. term. The (hot) asphalt in use today has to be applied at a tem- perature of 160° C, but a new product – warm asphalt, which Savings potential thanks to nanotechnology only has to be heated to 120° C – has recently been brought onto On the other hand, there is considerable efficiency potential in the market. Its suitability for use on motorways has not yet been the area of lighting. It is already the case today that lighting is not established, however. Based on present knowledge, it is unlikely used at all along open stretches of motorway. And within the that the large-scale use of warm asphalt will be possible before scope of maintenance projects, the last remaining lighting instal- 2023. lations are being gradually dismantled. The illumination of road signs is also becoming a thing of the past. Thanks to the use of highly reflective materials, sufficient visibility can now be guaran- teed even at night. ------------- 5 Tunnel lighting using LED lamps. Ventilation system in the control centre of a motorway tunnel. ------------- 6 Ceiling ventilation. Source of electricity LED trial in the Tellsplatte tunnel: Electricity for powering the infrastructure of motorways is sup- 30 percent less electricity consumption plied by local electricity works on the basis of agreements At present, the lighting on the motorway network is between the latter and the respective cantons. In other words, mainly based on sodium high-pressure and fluores- FEDRO is a large-scale customer of regional electricity supply cent lamps. In 2010, FEDRO carried out a trial in the companies. 234-metre Tellsplatte tunnel near Sisikon (canton Around 90 percent of the motorway network is equipped with of Uri) using LED lamps. In this test, a comparison was made between the existing 20-year-old sodium channels housing not only electricity cables, but also cables for high-pressure lamps and new LED lighting. The safety installations (video, alarm and fire prevention systems). results of this comparison were as follows: The power system operated by FEDRO does not supply motorway Advantages of LED lighting: service stations and restaurants, which operate independently – Only 23 lamps required instead of 39 and are supplied separately, but FEDRO is responsible for the – 70 percent increase in light intensity electricity supply for safety installations and lighting at service – Energy savings of up to 30 percent – LED lamps amortised after 20 years stations. - - - - - - (versus 30 years for other lamps) – Modular system: lower installation costs, convenient recycling of components Disadvantages of LED lighting: – More difficult heat management – No existing manufacturing standards – As yet, no findings relating to long-term use On average, savings of up to 30 percent can be achieved with LED lighting compared with conventional lamps. This means that savings could be as high as 50 percent versus even older systems. How- ever, for cost reasons it would not make sense to re- place all existing lighting systems on the basis of these findings. For FEDRO the rule still applies that old systems first have to be amortised. Energy ------------- Solar power production on 7 noise-prevention barriers In November 2010 FEDRO initiated a research project aimed at studying the feasibility of installing solar power plants on noise-prevention barriers along motorways. But FEDRO does not plan to operate these facilities itself. ------------- As of the end of 2009, the total output of photovoltaics systems installed throughout Switzerland amounted to around 70 MW. During that year, the output was increased by approximately 25 MW.

Load more