Our teams help customs officers!

As part of the project to redevelop the customs platform between Basel and Saint-Louis, on the border between France and Switzerland, the Collectivité Européenne d’Alsace has awarded Aximum the contract to carry out the work needed to improve the flow of heavy goods vehicles.

The teams were able to set up an HGV detection system with lane assignment lights.

This customs platform, dedicated to HGV traffic and used in particular to complete customs formalities, was no longer adapted to daily traffic flows. 

Designed for 400 heavy goods vehicles a day, the platform crossing the Franco-Swiss border used to handle more than 1,200 lorries a day in each direction. 

The resulting congestion meant long transit times for HGVs, dangerous parking on the platform lanes and HGVs queuing up on the A35 in the France-Switzerland direction, disrupting the operation of the motorway and creating safety risks for motorway users. 

The existing infrastructure (2 lanes only) was no longer able to cope with the growing flow of heavy goods vehicles. 

The restructuring of the customs hub was therefore necessary to guarantee the fluidity and security of traffic. 

Our mobilised teams set up the gantries with lane assignment lights and fixed message signs by Aximum’s teams. 

With these changes, customs officers can now select the type of lorry and assign it to a dedicated lane: transit or load control. Depending on demand, customs officers authorise the passage of a lorry and direct it via the FAV (lane assignment lights) to a customs clearance or transit control booth. 

Cameras positioned above the two waiting areas are used to prioritise the processing of lorries according to their arrival times. So when a customs officer selects a lorry, it is the first to arrive on the list that is selected.