Sustainable Road Infrastructure

In 2007, Rijkswaterstaat, the executive department of the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management (RWS) and the University of Groningen, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Department of Planning (RUG) started a five year cooperation programme meant to develop theoretical and practical insights for a sustainable planning of motorway infrastructure in the Netherlands. The cooperation comprises:

1. the education of potential employees,
2. the contribution of practical experiences to academic education,
3. the enhancement of an (international) network of contacts, and
4. the development of joint research projects.

The latter contains both small, short-term studies/advices and four PhD research projects. The short run research consists of, amongst other things, a yearly report regarding trends in the field, consultancy work on request of RWS and the dissemination of knowledge within and outside RWS.