EU - ALPNAP - Monitoring and minimising traffic-induced noise and air pollution along major Alpine transport routes

Eleven partner research institutes, universities and public institutions from the four Alpine countries of Germany, Austria, Italy and France are participating in ALPNAP. They combine a significant proportion of the relevant scientific and technical expertise available in these countries. The project works closely with the MONITRAF project, another INTERREG III B Alpine Space project, in which regional authorities dealing with transport issues from Austria, Italy, France and Switzerland have joined forces. The two projects are the first ever to comprehensively combine the latest methods for assessing meteorology, air quality, noise and health, tailor them to the specific requirements of the Alpine region and incorporate them into local, regional, national and EU-wide decision-making processes. A key objective of ALPNAP is to support the decision-making and argumentation processes of national authorities and policy makers with an internationally agreed scientific methodology. The work carried out by ALPNAP focuses on two transport corridors: the Frejus route in the Western Alps, which connects Turin with Chambry, and the Brenner route between Rosenheim and Verona in the Eastern Alps. Along these routes, and intensively in individual target areas such as the Lower Inn Valley, the new methods are being tested on a model basis and their applicability to issues of air quality, noise and their health effects demonstrated. The work in the Brenner corridor is intended to serve as a model for the situation along other transalpine transport routes.