We attended the 12th Slovenian Congress on Roads and Transportation, which took place on 22nd and 23rd of April 2015 in Portorož.
At the congress we presented 3 topics, addressing:
- Financing the conservation and development of transport infrastructure
There are two basic issues. First, the new efficient motorway system is not yet fully completed, therefore new investments are planned. However, current tolls revenue is not sufficient to cover the regular maintenance costs and liabilities for loan repayments. Therefore, DARS has to either provide additional resources or reschedule existing debts. In both cases it is expected for all DARS liabilities to be covered by tolls on long-term.
On the other hand, main and regional roads (6.000 km) are facing rapid deterioration due
to insufficient regular investments in road maintenance and reconstruction, which has caused so -called internal debt to this infrastructure. It is estimated that in the next few years around 1.700 mio EUR will be needed to normalize our main and regional roads state. Additionally, it is necessary to provide funds for regular maintenance, basic source being the annual fee on the use of motor vehicles. However, this fee, even if fully utilized for main and regional roads, is not expected to be sufficient to ensure normal road condition.
- Methodology and model for determining the route of transport of dangerous goods on roads
Transport accidents could affect the population either directly, as road corridors run through densely populated areas, or indirectly by polluting areas with drinking water sources or other areas with fragile ecosystems. Addressing the risks associated by transport of hazardous substances requires the analysis of basic elements of risk and related concepts such as danger, danger management, risk mitigation and risk management.
- Dangerous spots on the National Road Network
For locations with a high accident rate the term »black spots« was used in the past. In the last years typical »black spots« have nearly disappeared from the Slovenian road network, and only a few of them exist today. Therefore for these locations the new term spots with a high accident rate is used nowadays. Spots with a high accident rate have been determined according to a methodology that enables identifying dangerous parts of road sections and intersections, e.g. the road parts with an accident rate higher than the average one when comparing them to other similar road parts in a three year time period. The methodology has over the years been repeatedly updated and upgraded.