en.Wedoany.com Reported - Via Cristais, a company under Vinci Highways, plans to implement HS-WIM (High-Speed Weigh-in-Motion) on the BR-040 highway (Belo Horizonte to Cristalina segment) it manages, replacing traditional weigh stations. CEO Tulio Abi-Saber stated in an interview with Agência iNFRA that, since HS-WIM in Brazil is similar to a free-flow system with no toll booms, the adoption of this technology requires more complex user communication, prompting the company to conduct "extensive and intensive publicity."

Abi-Saber noted that these two technologies represent a major change for highway concessions, improving traffic flow but also adding implementation complexity due to changes in user experience. Despite the need for adaptation and special attention to communication, these trends are irreversible. For the free-flow system, Via Cristais will evaluate in the future whether to retrofit traditional toll plazas, but the change to HS-WIM is already confirmed. The engineering work for this system officially began last weekend, and the new weigh station is expected to be operational in Paraopeba by the end of this year, capable of automatically weighing 100% of vehicles passing through the monitored section without requiring trucks to stop.

The executive stated that the goal is to begin signage for this new facility on the road two months before operations start. The communication plan is not limited to the highway; in addition to signs, billboards, and weigh station identification on the gantries themselves, the company has developed strategies to disseminate information through traditional media, blogs, social media, transporters and truck driver unions, and WhatsApp channels. Abi-Saber indicated that lessons learned from domestic free-flow systems can be fully leveraged to conduct intensive publicity as strongly as possible. He suggested that, besides HS-WIM target users needing to understand the technology, other drivers should not confuse the gantries with free-flow toll plazas, thereby avoiding increased misunderstanding about tolls—although there are currently no free-flow tolls on the company's concession route, which it began operating early last year after taking over from Invepar.

Brazil's highway industry began accumulating HS-WIM experience in a Sandbox project regulated by ANTT (National Land Transport Agency), implemented at Ecovias do Cerrado and deployed in 2023. Two years later, the case has accumulated positive data, leading regulators and other concessionaires to consider the transition. Last year, some operators submitted their own projects to ANTT. HS-WIM aims to replace traditional weigh stations, not requiring trucks to drive at low speeds, and can monitor 100% of highway traffic. Sandbox data indicates that, at traditional weigh stations, the number of evasion inspections is six times the number of overweight fines, with fines paid to the federal government, not the concessionaire. Due to low evasion rates, full monitoring is expected to have an educational effect in the medium to long term, encouraging transporters to load only compliant cargo, thereby improving road safety and subsequently enhancing pavement quality.

Via Cristais' CEO intends to emphasize in the communication plan that the operation is not intended to create "problems" for truck drivers, as license points are recorded on the driver's license, although fines are typically borne by the company. He stated that signage will be set up well in advance and will inform from which day it starts, and truck drivers will become partners of the concessionaire in controlling load weight, together with cargo owners, ensuring that the trucks they drive comply with specifications and regulations. The executive also noted that highways are not designed for overloaded traffic, and overweight trucks will cause road deformation. "My expectation is that the lifespan of our highway will be significantly extended, maintaining its quality level for a longer period without requiring frequent maintenance."

In addition to implementing HS-WIM and building new rest stops, Via Cristais also plans to expand the capacity of the road it manages. The goal is to complete by the end of next year the works scheduled for delivery in 2028, one of which is adding lanes between the Belo Horizonte ring road (km 533) and Contagem's Ceasa (km 523), converting most sections from two lanes in each direction to four lanes, and reaching six lanes on about 60% of the section. "Currently, most of this section is two lanes in each direction," with 10 to 13 kilometers of congestion during peak hours daily. The only duplication project in the contract is in Cristalina (Goiás State), a key agricultural hub connecting another agricultural city, Paracatu, to Goiás' logistics center. The company will duplicate 10 kilometers and connect to another already-duplicated section.

Via Cristais operates the seven existing traditional toll plazas within the concession area and currently has no plans to convert them to free-flow mode. The CEO believes it is time to consolidate the barrier-free toll collection business model so that operators can observe default rates. He praised the ongoing integration work between current concessionaires, the Ministry of Transport, and Serpro to centralize toll data on driver's licenses, calling it "very well done."

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