Together with representatives from local political, economic and military authorities, A4 Holding today celebrated its 65th anniversary at its headquarters in Verona - 65 years of managing and developing infrastructure.
In fact, it was back in 1952 when the company Autostrada Brescia Verona Vicenza Padova S.p.A. was first established by an alliance of public bodies and economic operators covering seven provinces in the north of Italy: Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza, Padua and Venice. The company's main aim was to join together the two existing motorways: the Milan-Brescia and the Padua-Venice, thereby improving the motorway connection between the capitals of the Lombardy and Veneto regions. In the mid-1980s, this stretch of the A4 was then merged with the Valdastico motorway, whose management company was created on 23rd September 1970 under the original name of “Autostrada Trento Valdastico Vicenza Riviera Berica Rovigo Spa.” Today’s stretch of motorway between Vicenza and Piovene Rocchette, which passes through the areas of Dueville and Thiene and connects the various industrial districts in the province of Vicenza with the rest of northern Italy’s industrial system, was opened in 1976, whereas the section to the south, running between the provinces of Vicenza and Rovigo, was completed and has been in operation since August 2015.
The company has come a long way over the last 65 years, consolidating its skills and expertise in the design, implementation and management of large-scale infrastructure. Thanks to the Group's new organisational structure, with A4 Holding at the helm of the governance structure,the Group's ability to promote infrastructure and mobility initiatives has been given form and substance.
Today, the Group’s mission, together with its 600 co-workers, is not only to manage the A4 Brescia-Padua and the A31 Valdastico motorways as a concessionaire, but also to contribute to improving the transport system throughout the surrounding area. This undoubtedly involves designing, building and managing motorways and road infrastructure, but also means developing integrated, innovative and technologically advanced solutions in order to guarantee a high standard of service and safety for travellers.
Over the last 20 years, the 146 km-long stretch of motorway between Brescia and Padua, managed by the concessionaire A4 Brescia-Padova, has seen exponential growth in the traffic using its network: from the 77 million vehicles per year recorded in 1997, to almost 103 million at the end of 2016, representing an increase of approximately 34% and an annual growth trend of almost 2%, even considering the drop in traffic recorded between 2008 and 2013 as a result of the economic crisis experienced by our country during that period.
Over 290 thousand vehicles travel on the A4 BS-PD motorway every day, of which approximately 65,400 are heavy goods vehicles. Over the last two decades, the number of road haulage vehicles has also increased continuously, going from 19.2 million vehicles per year in 1997 to approximately 24 million today, with a 3% growth being recorded in the last two years alone (2015-2016).
The entire A31 Valdastico motorway in use today, covering around 57 km, counts an actual traffic flow of almost 20 million vehicles per year (figure from 2016), of which approximately a quarter are heavy goods vehicles. Traffic volumes on this motorway have increased by more than 90% in the last twenty years, recording an average annual growth of around 3.5% since 1997.
The accident rate on the stretches of the A4 and A31 motorways falling under our responsibility has dropped by 45% over the last ten years.
Considering the traffic volumes described above, A4 Holding believes this figure to be particularly significant - despite not being the final goal that our Group has set itself - proving how valuable the huge investments have been in making this artery road as safe as possible.
Over the last 65 years, the A4 Holding Group has been a firm, solid and stable point of reference for the entire area that its motorway runs through. It has contributed to creating employment, specialisation and innovation through its management of transport, communication and technology infrastructure.
It has successfully become a valid partner for the constant development of the social-economic fabric in all of the provinces along the A4 and A31 motorways. This remarkable development has today allowed companies in these areas to make themselves known and become competitive on a global scale.
However, an area, especially this area, is also about important culture, architecture and landscapes. In this context, the A4 Holding Group has always believed that connecting people must go hand-in-hand with protecting, preserving and increasing the cultural and social heritage of the areas in which they live.
It’s not the Group’s style to only think about managing the present. That’s why, soon, there’ll be further transport developments in the north east of Italy, extending the connections between the Veneto region and Trentino Alto-Adige in the direction of central Europe. In fact, we recently presented the final project for the first functional lot: the completion of the north of the A31 Valdastico motorway, linking our past to our future - the artery road that, right from its establishment, has been included in A4 Holding's industrial and financial plans as one of the company's assets.
