Living on the highway? Addressing highway infrastructure potential through object detection

The rapid increasing demand for freight transport has precipitated a critical need for expanded highway infrastructure, including Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) parking spaces. Utilizing state-of-the-art object detection techniques in satellite imagery, we conduct a comprehensive analysis to assess the current availability of HGV parking facilities along German highways. We relate our results to HGV traffic volume data. Our findings reveal local disparities in infrastructure supply and demand. In a next step, we conduct location analysis to determine regions impacted the most by identified undersupply. Our results deliver valuable insights to both, specialized real estate developers and policymakers likewise. • Novel approach estimating infrastructure supply using an object detection model • Traffic-driven demand model accounting for regulatory driving constraints • Spatially heterogeneous mismatch between HGV parking supply and demand • Calls for competitive market reforms and incentives to address supply gaps