Traffic jam researcher
12.10.2016
'Often the problem lies in the planning of the construction sites,' says Prof. Schreckenberg a uto motor und sport . “There is practically no coordination between the individual builders, be they federal, state or local authorities. Instead, construction takes place as soon as there is money. Regardless of whether the road a few meters further on is torn open at the same time, ”criticizes Schreckenberg, who is researching the causes of traffic jams at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Construction sites without construction activity have legal reasons
There are even legal reasons for building sites to be set up even though the construction work does not even begin. The problem: 'Something has to happen on the construction site for the agreed start of construction,' explains traffic expert Schreckenberg. The erection of a barrier is an adequate means for companies not to breach the contract, even if the actual construction cannot begin for a long time due to a lack of capacity. These are then the construction sites on which no construction machine moves.
Even inadequate management on the construction site itself can ensure that the work is dragged on and nothing happens on a motorway construction site: material deliveries are delayed, important construction machines are still in use on other construction sites. Construction sites are not a marginal phenomenon as a cause of traffic jams. 'At least 25 percent of traffic jams are caused directly by construction sites, around 60 percent by congestion,' has calculated Prof. Schreckenberg. 'How many overloads are caused by construction sites, however, can hardly be said, and the number of unreported indirect construction site jams is correspondingly high.' According to ADAC, around 575 construction sites were set up on German motorways in June. This is a good 30 percent more than in 2015. As a result, the length of the construction site has increased from 740 to 1,000 kilometers across Germany within one year.
