VISION: Road Transport in Europe 2025 - FEHRL

The limited construction in Western Europe is likely to concentrate on areas where it can make a major impact
in terms of relieving congestion. It is likely also to be associated with more novel design, including limited
facility bridges or tunnels to provide local improvements in capacity, extended also to the provision of
separate lanes for cars and trucks. The smaller and lighter cars will have the use of car-only lanes on double
decks either above the road surface or in tunnels. This will be made possible by advances in tunnel technology
and by the inclusion of all costs in scheme appraisal which will make tunnels relatively more attractive. Where
new roads are required or existing roads replaced, novel methods of road construction such as those currently
being investigated in the Netherlands are likely to be developed and used in some applications. There will
include modular construction that enables roads to be constructed off-site. Once in position novel methods of
overlay such as asphalt carpets which can be rapidly laid will be employed. The units may contain preformed
voids for utilities which are accessible without disrupting traffic and built in drainage systems.They will also be
designed to absorb noise thus reducing the impact of vehicles on the surrounding community. A further
potential capability is to incorporate a facility for collecting and storing energy from solar radiation.
Recycling will be the norm. Replacement of roads at the end of their life will involve substantial re-use of the
existing material, possibly being cast into the modular units described above, and the use of raw materials will
be minimised.
Thus, to summarise, we anticipate significant physical construction in central and Eastern Europe, and rather
more limited supplementing of networks in western Europe by targeted and sometimes novel additions to
physical capacity. Overall, the growth of road-based multimodal corridors coupled with growing hubs of
urban and suburban development will begin to reconfigure surface transport to some degree. In twenty years
the advancement in this direction cannot be complete, but coupled with changes in communications it will
have significant impact on both mass movement and on the travelling experience of individuals.
Changes in Land Use and Development
There is likely to be a net movement towards urbanisation and the
growth of city dwelling, especially perhaps in Eastern Europe,
accompanying a relative decline in the availability of services,
employment opportunities and transport supply in rural areas. Cities
will see some re-urbanisation, as previously derelict or low-quality
inner areas are refurbished and gentrified, but overall there will be a
relative shift in the location of activities (housing, industries, retail
and other services) towards the peripheries of cities, exacerbating
urban sprawl.
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