Heavy goods vehicles are essential to European trade, but they also bring specific challenges to motorway operators: where do they rest safely, and how are the riskiest loads among them identified and managed? Two MATIS projects, one in France, one in Italy, tackle these questions.
Lugos: rethinking space instead of expanding it
On the A63 motorway between Bordeaux and the Spanish border, Atlandes faced a familiar problem at the Lugos rest area: chronic saturation caused by high volumes of cross-border HGV traffic. Rather than pursuing a costly land expansion, Atlandes redesigned the existing space using a compact “column parking” concept, arranging trucks in groups of four. The result is a jump in capacity from 72 to 128 spaces (a 40% increase) achieved largely through smarter organisation rather than new construction.
The technology behind this reorganisation is what makes it work. License plate recognition at entry and exit tracks vehicles as they arrive and leave, while laser scanners and LIDAR systems monitor occupancy in real time. Drivers indicate their expected break or departure time via a terminal, and the system then guides them to the most efficient available space via variable message signs and a mobile app. Initial simulation point to average peak occupancy rising from 72 to 110, easing saturation without the delays and expense of a traditional expansion project. The project also demonstrates a model that other high-demand corridors could replicate: limiting civil works while still delivering a meaningful capacity gain, alongside greater comfort and safety for resting drivers.
SINA–SATAP: knowing what’s on the road, not just how many
Further along the network, on the A4 Torino–Milano motorway between the Novara Est junction and the Milano Ghisolfa barrier, SINA and SATAP addressed a different question: what exactly is travelling through, and whether it’s safe.
To address that issue, a Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) solution was implemented: two dynamic scales equipped with 28 sensors and 9 cameras, installed across different carriageways, alongside a static weighbridge. The system is designed as a flexible, modular “end-to-end” solution that can be configured to different applications, allowing continuous, real-time weight monitoring without requiring vehicles to stop.
The second component targets dangerous goods specifically: four ADR detection stations, equipped with 10 cameras and dedicated software, interface directly with the radio control room. Intelligent cameras issue a notification for every relevant transit, capturing license plate, country of origin, ADR vehicle plate, transit time, direction and vehicle class. This data feeds into Sincro ADR, a purpose-built software platform providing risk analysis, post-incident strategy management, video analysis integration and automatic alarms for the traffic control centre, giving operators a single, unified view of dangerous goods movements along the corridor, in both routine and emergency conditions.
