The project to provide rest areas for heavy goods vehicles (PRPL) forms part of the Federal Roads Office’s (FEDRO) response to the shortage of parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) identified on Switzerland’s national road network. This shortage regularly leads lorry drivers to park in unsuitable locations (such as hard shoulders) and/or to leave the national road network to park in built-up areas. This situation is unacceptable, particularly for reasons relating to road safety and lorry drivers’ working conditions.
The main objective of the PRPL project, on the Geneva–Lausanne section, is to plan for the creation of 25 lorry parking spaces in each direction.
Thus, at the St-Prex and Pierre-Féline rest areas, shared parking spaces for lorries and light vehicles will be provided, thereby increasing the number of lorry parking spaces overnight.
Furthermore, a system for detecting vacant lorry parking spaces, based on AI-assisted image analysis, will provide real-time information on the number and location of lorries. This system will be linked to advanced traffic signs displaying the number of vacant lorry parking spaces before each rest area.
As part of this work, the service areas will be refurbished in order to meet the following general objectives:
• Refurbishment and bringing electromechanical equipment up to standard to meet the current requirements of the Federal Roads Office (OFROU) and the Transport Unit (UT).
• Ensuring easier operation and maintenance.
• Anticipating civil engineering works associated with major maintenance works (UPlaNS).
• Improving existing visitor facilities.
We would like to thank OFROU Branch 1 for entrusting us with the management of this project to date, thereby ensuring that the sites in question can continue to be used safely in the future.
