Setting up the first measuring point for road maintenance

How heavily are Dresdens roads loaded? And how do temperatures affect the asphalt? In order to better answer these questions, the road and civil engineering office Dresden set up a new measuring station on Tharandter Straße in December 2025. It is part of the Smart-City project "Strategic Maintenance Management".

The measuring point is located towards the city center just before the city border with Freital. Two types of data are recorded there: the weight of passing vehicles and the temperature of the road surface. Sensors regularly measure the temperatures at various depths in the asphalt - up to 25 centimetres below the surface. This makes it possible to observe how heat and cold affect the road structure over the course of the year.

The axle loads of the vehicles are also measured. The sensors record how heavy individual vehicles are and how much strain they put on the road surface. The speed of the vehicles can also be determined. The measurements are taken automatically as the vehicles roll over the sensors.

The data obtained helps the Road and Civil Engineering Department to better assess the condition of the roads. The aim is to plan maintenance measures in a more targeted manner in future and to maintain roads in the long term. The measuring station on Tharandter Straße is the first of a total of four planned locations in the Dresden city area.