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Connecting the European high-level road network
The youngest euro-regional project makes a strongcontribution to the integration of the Central and Eastern Europeancountries into the European Union.
CONNECT (CO-ordination and stimulation of iNNovative ITSactivities in Central and Eastern European CounTries) is one of theseven present euro-regional projects. The aim of these projects,which are supported by the European Commission?s DirectorateGeneral Energy and Transport, is to ensure co-ordinated trafficmanagement and to control
Europe?s strategy on roads as well as high-quality travellerinformation services using Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
The CONNECT project is a cooperation of public authorities, roadadministrations and traffic information service providers fromAustria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovakiaand Slovenia. The Central Eastern European countries cover majoreast-west and north-south road corridors of the Trans European RoadNetwork (TERN). The project formally started in May 2004 with themain focus on integrating the new EU member states into the ongoingITS initiatives to have a uniform ITS deployment in Europe.
For a successful cooperation within the euro-regional communitythe project partners are working together very closely to improvethe European high-level road network. This is very important inorder to avoid system differences due to the lack of co-ordinationbetween national traffic management arrangements, on the major roadcorridors in Europe. The countries are working together, exchangeknowledge and best practice.
The overall aim is the harmonisation of cross-border strategies,systems and services which includes the formulation ofcross-boarder traffic management plans. Besides these activitiesthe CONNECT partners are also focusing on urban and interurbantraffic management and control strategies. This effort ensuressmooth traffic not only on the high-level road network but theconnecting road network as well.
The European Commission expressed different transport policytargets and strategic objectives in the transport White Paper(issued 2001) and in the review ?Keep Europe moving? (issued 2006).To achieve these objectives CONNECT is organised in six specificworking areas, so called domains, which cover implementation andpreparatory study work of road monitoring infrastructure, trafficcentres, traffic management and control as well as travellerinformation services. All these activities make their contributionto improve safety and security as well as efficiency andenvironment on the European road network.
The involved parties show great commitment for the CONNECTproject and therefore many achievements could be made towards theintelligent road network in the CONNECT area in the last threeyears. Road monitoring infrastructure is the basis for all trafficinfrastructure and traffic control services. The countriesemphasised in establishing and improving monitoring equipment. As anext step traffic information and control centres were built ortotally renewed. Now the focus lies on cross-border trafficmanagement and traveller information services.
In the coming years the CONNECT partners are confirming withtheir extensive work in the field of ITS to overcome still existingbarriers towards the vision of an improved European-wide mobility,as well as safety and security on the European road network.
(written by Nadja Sulzberger)
Connect Project Area
