20 marzo 2026
🇬🇧 Anas: a Marshall Plan is needed to make the roads safer. More resources, technology and focus on road safety Anas CEO Claudio Andrea Gemme has launched a strong appeal for massive European financial investment in road infrastructure , comparing it to a modern ‘Marshall Plan’ to make roads safer and more resilient in the face of climate change and growing regulatory demands. The appeal was made on 10 March 2026 in Chambéry, France, during the 17th World Congress on Winter Services , Road Resilience and Decarbonisation organised by the PIARC World Road Association. The event This is the most important international gathering for experts, r oad operators, researchers and public decision-makers who discuss the sector’s challenges in an era marked by extreme weather and technological transition. The congress, which began on 10 March, will continue until 13 March and brings together delegations from around the world. The strategy In his speech, Gemme highlighted the financial challenges faced by Anas, which are shared by other national road authorities : ‘Anas, like all the others, must bear substantial costs to ensure safety, resilience and accessibility.’ He then expressed the hope that the European Commission would allocate adequate resources to road infrastructure , so that it can comply with increasingly stringent European directives on safety and environmental sustainability. Gemme then outlined the concrete efforts made by Anas during recent major events: the preparatory work for the 2025 Jubilee and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics has enabled significant improvements in mobility and inclusivity across various parts of the country. The technical example A concrete example of innovation presented in Chambéry is the specialised vehicle for intelligent winter road management, which was successfully tested on the SS 51 “di Alemagna” during the Olympic Games. It is a pick-up truck equipped with advanced sensors capable of monitoring crucial parameters in real time, such as the temperature of the road surface and the air , the presence of moisture, the status of anti-freeze treatments and the levels of residual salt on the carriageway. The data is transmitted in real time to operations centres and state-of-the-art gritting vehicles, enabling more precise, timely and targeted interventions, with clear savings in resources and increased safety. The future The CEO also highlighted the digitalisation process that Anas has been pursuing for several years: ‘Through predictive maintenance, we have raised our quality and safety standards. We can anticipate any critical situations and plan the necessary interventions.’ Key programmes include Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), which monitors the condition of bridges and viaducts 24 hours a day using sensors, digital road systems to provide real-time information to users, and the development of digital models of road assets for better management of extreme events.