The CAU or USER ASSISTANCE CENTER is the nerve center of the Company's control, coordination and information system
It is located near to the tollgate of Trento Centro and consists of two distinct divisions: a Traffic Control Center (TCC) and a Traffic Information Center (TIC). Through optic fibers, radio links and telecommunication cables it receives images from 230 CCTV cameras: 150 are dedicated to traffic control, 67 to AID monitoring inside tunnels while 13 are linked to the website (web cam). It is also connected to 403 SOS call boxes and 25 weather stations. In this way it obtains information in real time about: traffic, weather conditions, visibility and requests for rescue services. The staff of the CAU consisting of 1 assistant and 21 operators work on a shift rota to manage the information and coordinate interventions of the road assistance staff 24/7. The road assistance staff are widely distributed along the entire tollway and have the main task of providing users with assistance where necessary and signaling tailbacks, work in progress and road disruption. They also support the actions of the Road traffic police (Polizia stradale). The CAU also transmits warnings to the other emergency services (road emergency service, ambulance service and the fire fighters) and to travelers themselves via the dedicated radio channels: variable message signs (VMS), radio, website and the App.
The Tollway Operation Center (COA) coordinates the Road traffic police patrols who keep watch over the tollway 24/7 365 days a year
The Road traffic police service along the A22 is organized by the Departments of Trentino Alto Adige and Belluno, Veneto, and Emilia Romagna, with the four sub-departments of: Vipiteno, Trento, Verona sud and Modena nord. The tasks assigned to each of the above range from the prevention and detection of highway code infringements to the detection of accidents, from the arrangement of services aimed at regulating and controlling the traffic to providing assistance to motorists in difficulty. The COA and the CAU are both housed in the same building and work together closely to ensure a prompt and smooth response in each case. The CAU coordinates any events requiring the intervention of the Road traffic police with the COA.
Along the A22 there are 6 CSAs: Vipiteno, Bolzano, San Michele, Ala, Verona and Pegognaga. A total of 80 Road Assistance staff and 159 other workers are positioned there
Along the tollway there are six Tollway Safety Centers (CSA), i.e. structures with technicians, workers and road assistance staff with the relative vehicles and equipment necessary to provide assistance. The CSAs are strategically placed along the axis at intervals of around 50 km, which means they can monitor and inspect the condition of the tollway constantly through constant maintenance work. The Company decided to include such a high number of workers along each section in order to guarantee the greatest possible awareness of each detail of the infrastructure. The staff employed at the CSAs are also responsible for setting up signs for road works and for extraordinary services, such as clearing snow from the tollway. For this purpose, silos and hangars are situated at the CSAs for the storage of salt and grit, gritters and de-icers, snow ploughs and snow blowers.
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