Sustainable Investments in the Road Network Considering the Introduction of Automated Vehicles

Abstract

Governments invest a lot of money in the road network and the automated vehicle will play a role in the future. The research question is: How can the current investments in the road network be made sustainable for the introduction of automated vehicles? The communication between cars and infrastructure will be with WI-FI-P and 5G communication. Traffic signs will disappear but not all traffic signs be removed. The road authority probably will invest less in physical and more in the digital infrastructure. Telecom providers will play a role in the digital infrastructure. Interviews with experts are combined with the literature to study case studies. The first case is about the enforcement. The police should invest in WI-FI-P equipment to communicate with automated vehicles. The second case is the Flemish traffic sign database. To keep it up-to-date there is need of a rapid response team. Intersections will change a lot, there will be need for a small server at each intersection to receive the signals from the vehicles. The fourth case is about governmental asset management. Governments should be responsive against quicker response times for maintenance. Another case is about road works. The role of the traffic centre will play a role in it by communicating directly to the vehicles. Overall, it is important to invest in a central database where different stakeholders can tap in for different purposes. Governments should invest in in-car systems used by WI-FI-P and 5G. It is less useful to invest in roadside systems.