Report – EUPAVE Webinar: Re-recycling of the Concrete Pavement of Motorway A1 in Austria

07/07/2026

On 2 July 2026, EUPAVE organised a webinar on “Re-recycling of the Concrete Pavement of Motorway A1 in Austria”, attracting around 95 participants.

The webinar was opened by Luc Rens, Technical Director of EUPAVE, who introduced Stefan Spalt from ASFINAG, Austria’s motorway operator. He highlighted that the project received the EUPAVE Outstanding Project Award 2025 for demonstrating the successful re-recycling of a concrete motorway on a large scale while meeting the requirements of the EU Taxonomy.

During his presentation, Stefan Spalt explained Austria’s long experience with concrete pavement recycling and presented the rehabilitation of the A1 motorway, where previously recycled concrete pavement was successfully re-recycled into a new pavement. He described the technical approach, including on-site recycling, optimised concrete mix design and quality control throughout construction, which enabled a recycled aggregate content of around 70% in the lower concrete layer while maintaining the required pavement performance.

The project demonstrated that re-recycling concrete pavements is both technically feasible and economically attractive, delivering approximately 10% cost savings while contributing to the circular economy through the efficient use of existing materials. It also provides a model for the future rehabilitation of Austria’s ageing concrete motorway network.

The webinar concluded with an interactive Q&A session. Participants discussed the design of the recycled concrete mix, quality control during construction, the management of recycled fine aggregates and the factors that have enabled Austria to become a leader in concrete pavement recycling. Stefan emphasised that the project’s success relied not only on the concrete mix itself, but also on continuous monitoring, experienced personnel and close collaboration between all parties involved.

Luc Rens closed the webinar by congratulating ASFINAG on this outstanding project, describing it as an excellent example of circular construction and a benchmark for sustainable concrete pavement rehabilitation worldwide.