The Directorate-General of Infrastructures of the Department of Development and Housing has the principal functions of coordinating, developing and exercising its competences in roadways and any road infrastructure associated with them.
In particular, its remit includes the drafting of roadway plans and programmes for the Andalusian Autonomous Region as part of the general infrastructure planning established by the Department as well as developing and monitoring them; the drafting of studies and standards on the design, construction, conservation and operation of roadways; the annual scheduling of investments in studies, projects and roadway building works; the construction, conservation and operation of the roadways that fall under the competences of the Andalusian Autonomous Region and their quality control; the protection and management of the public roadways domain.
As part of its competences, and in compliance with European Directive 2002/49/CE of the European Parliament and Council of 25 June 2002 on the assessment and management of ambient noise, the Directorate-General has set itself a calendar of actions, among which is the Action Plan Against Noise (PAR), whose principal aim is the reduction of population numbers exposed to current noise levels caused by the road traffic of more than six million vehicles per year, together with the reduction of those noise levels.
Additionally, this Directorate, based on its experience in R&D & Innovation contracts, is reinforcing road surfaces in the Andalusian Road Network by applying manufacturing techniques of bitumen mixes with modified bitumen to which tyre dust and warm mixes have been added.
In its drive to reduce the production of greenhouse gases, the Directorate-General of Infrastructures is promoting the environmental integration of plantations in urban roadway settings.
The R&D & Innovation projects funded by the FEDER 2007-2013 operative programme in which it has participated in the past two calls were the following:
- Applications of recycled aggregate from construction and demolition waste (CDW) for the sustainable construction of road infrastructures in central Andalusia
- Reuse of agricultural plastic waste in the manufacture of bitumen mixes for use on roadways according to dry process technology (PLASTIC-ROAD)
- Influence of modified bitumen on the mechanical performance of bitumen mixes
- Environmental management system for Andalusian transport infrastructure noise (GARITA)
- Independent and sustainable vegetation barriers for acoustic mitigation and CO2 compensation in transport roadways with telematic monitoring
- Noise information systems for Andalusia’s road infrastructures
The Directorate-General of Infrastructures, as beneficiary partner, has participated in the following LIFE projects:
Life Conservation of the Iberian Lynx (ed. 95). LIFE95 NAT/E/004818
The purpose of the Life Iberian Lynx Conservation Project (ed. 95) was to ensure the species’ future viability, addressing several of the causes behind its decline. The principal goals were the conservation and restoration of its habitat and a reduction in mortality. This project was undertaken between the years 1994 and 1998.
Recovery of the Iberian Lynx Population in Andalusia. LIFE02 NAT/E/008609
The goal of the Life Lince project was to reintroduce new individuals from the captive breeding programme or from wild specimens and to strengthen measures for the conservation of the species. The action period encompassed the years 2002 to 2006.
Recovery of the Historical Range of the Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Spain and Portugal. LIFE10 NAT/E/000570
The goal of this Life Iberlince project is to obtain a number of lynxes and lynx populations that will allow the tabling of a proposal to the IUCN of downgrading the Iberian lynx from the threat category of “critically endangered” to “endangered”. The execution period for this project began in 2011 and will end in 2016.