Road Transport System: Roads

5. Roads

On this page, you will learn more about the element infrastructure. In case of the road transport system, "Roads" are representing the infrastructure of the road transport system.

Mindmap — Road system model - Roads von Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heike Flämig, Dorothee Schielein (CC BY-SA)

As you have already learned, road infrastructure is required to generate road traffic.

There are different types of roads like:

federal highways
federal roads
state roads
districts roads
private roads

These road classes differ in terms of their connecting function and meaning, their standard distance range and their target car driving speed.

The geometric and weight-related dimensions of the trucks permitted on European roads differ in part. This is usually based on a social dialogue about the costs of providing the road infrastructure and possible consequences of the accident.

In addition, there is the question of a modal shift from the more environmentally friendly means of transport, rail and ship, in the past to the truck if its efficiency is increased.

The relation between roads and facilities is called land use.

Land use

is the location of facilities at specific sites.
is the combined result of public planning and complex market mechanisms.
may be seen as an interaction between a planned facility and infrastructure in its widest sense.
results in giving the facility a permanent address.

Literature

Flämig, H., Sjöstedt, L., Hertel, C. (2002): Multimodal Transport: An Integrated Element for Last-Mile-Solutions? Proceedings, part 1; International Congress on Freight Transport Automation and Multimodality: Organisational and Technological Innovations. Delft, 23 & 24 May 2002. (modification of Sjöstedt 1996)

International Transport Forum (2019): Permissible maximum weights of lorries in Europe. URL: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/weights-2019.pdf (last access: 30.03.2022)