Background

The Highway Institute was established by the decree issued by the government of the People’s Republic of Serbia back in the 1950s with the assignment to investigate on a scientific basis and to propose the solutions for construction, maintenance and repair of roads and bridges in Serbia. Present organization set-up of the firm was attained in 1972 by merging with the Bureau for studies and design of roads and bridges denominated “Trasa”, which was established by the resolution No.105 issued by the government of the People’s Republic of Serbia on 6 April 1950. The most relevant events in the history of this establishment refer to the beginnings of activities within the framework of its various technological units, as follows:

  • 1958 – Supervision Department
  • 1959 – Department for Building Materials
  • 1961 – Soil-Mechanics Department
    (presently Department for Geotechnics)
  • 1969 – Traffic & Economy Department
  • 1980 – Department for Pavement Structures
  • In the period from 1982 till 1990, this establishment was nominated by The World Bank – Economic Development Institute (EDI) and the Royal Netherlands Government to run the course for the duration of six weeks under the name “Techno-Economic Feasibility of Road Planning, Design, Construction and Maintenance in Developing Countries “. This course was attended by 250 experts from 20 countries of Asia, 23 countries of Africa and 10 countries of Central and South America.
  • In the period from 1950 till 2005 this establishment organized 7 symposia, 3 scientific-expert meetings, 3 international meetings, 20 counseling courses, 1 conference and 5 seminars.
  • In addition to jobs carried out in Yugoslavia, the Highway Institute was involved in various projects in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Malaysia, Jordan and elsewhere.