Anas (FS Italiane Group), the major Italian road operator, has launched the Smart (Safe, Multimedial, Accessible, Renewable and Technological) Road project (as a part of Smart Mobility Program) with the aim of leading Italy towards the digital transformation of its road infrastructure. The objective is to realize an efficient road network in order to improve and create services that enhance mobility and monitories roads.
The services to be implemented as part of in the overall Smart Mobility Program will improve:
One of the most important itineraries covered by the Program is the A19 – Palermo Catania highway that is part of on the TEN-T Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridor and connects Sicilian cities of Palermo and Catania.
Along this highway, to implement mentioned services, Anas is installing cameras for image processing, radiocommunication devices, traffic detectors as well as the implementation of wireless connectivity and traffic/road management software systems.
Anas Smart Mobility Program is a plan of road development through different itineraries in the Northern, Central and Southern part of Italian country, conceived to bolsters road management by providing powerful monitoring and control tools and enhance road users’ driving experience by a set of C-ITS (Cooperative-Intelligent Transport Systems).
According to European development and digitalization process of infrastructures, by the implementation of C-ITS Services has the aim to attain primarily the following targets:
In order to fulfil increasingly demanding traffic management and safety requirements Anas S.p.A., in the field of Anas Smart Mobility Program, has been turning the A19 Palermo Catania highway into a “Smart Road“: an ecosystem of ground-breaking technologies designed to advocate a new mobility model, aimed at promoting communication and sustainability as well as paving the way for autonomous driving.
A19 – Palermo Catania highway has been playing a crucial role in connecting people in Sicily since 1975. The highway connects Sicilian cities of Palermo and Catania by crossing central Sicily and passing through Caltanissetta and Enna with an overall length of about 191 km.
The activity planned for this highway is dedicated to the deployment and configuration of first ~30 kilometers near Palermo of smart technologies.
The project includes the installation of cameras for image processing, radiocommunication devices, traffic detectors as well as the implementation of wireless connectivity and software systems The project will improve road safety and traffic efficiency through infrastructure-to vehicle C-ITS technologies. Completion of the project, firstly planned for the end of 2023, is currently scheduled for the end of 2024.