She has suffered some recent setbacks, though, as two cold winters gave us monster-size potholes and tipped-over lamp posts. She was "shocked", she says, when a truck driver lost control of his vehicle after hitting a pothole 10 centimetres deep, causing the death of another driver earlier this month in Waasmunster, East Flanders.

"It's no secret that in the past new infrastructure received the most attention, as maintenance gets you few votes," she says. "As a minister, I started off with a plan for repair straight away. An annual inventory of the roads, which used to disappear into some drawer, has now become a veritable instrument for policy. Due to the severe winter weather, I have had to revise my plans; but even with a chronic lack of means, I stick to the timing of 2015-2020."

By 2015, all highways should be in good order, and by 2020 the same should be true of all regional roads. Crevits (pictured) has warned Flemish drivers that extensive roadworks will take place in the next couple of years. "Right now we are working on some 85 sites; by the summer that should be 200." But her administration, she says, has improved its efficiency, and she offers the E313 between Antwerp and Hasselt as an example. A bridge has to be rebuilt, plus improvements performed on the road and crash barrier, and it will all be done at once. "People will only be held up by these works once."

Crevits considers herself "lucky" to have all transport infrastructure in her portfolio: roads, waterways, the coast, harbours, regional airports (excluding Brussels Airport), cycle paths and all public transport. "This means that there isasinglelineindecisionmaking," she says. "For example, buses and cars have a completely different view on how the flow-through at crossings should happen. Cars are best off with a so-called green wave, while buses want preference at the traffic light. My portfolio makes me responsible for both. In finding an agreement, I can only argue with myself."

This department is mostly about investing, Crevits says. "My department has seen no budget cuts for two years. The situation does not allow for that, what with lamp posts falling over. Still, the need for financial injections remains high. The good thing is that one-offs help, too. With €100 or €50 million, I can bring a number of investments to a good end. This means I can use any budgetary leftovers."

Speaking of lamp posts, what did happen to those on the E19 earlier this year? "The metal inside the posts corroded. The posts are regularly inspected, but from the outside the problem was invisible. We are now investigating and might have to change our inspection procedures accordingly. In the meantime, we're taking no risks and are removing the lot of them."

Give them a reason
The Flemish government has decided to close some major missing links (see sidebar), but will these resolve the congestion around Brussels, Antwerp and on the E40? "I cannot promise that the congestion will disappear," Crevits admits. "What I hope to do is make people think about their means of transport by providing a range of attractive alternatives. Therefore, we are also investing in new direct public transport lines between and within cities. Ultimately, we should arrive at a situation where people check their mobile phones in the morning to see what the best alternatives are to reach any destination, given the congestion at that moment. Public transport may just be the best option."

Getting people out of their cars is not a priority per se to Crevits, although she does want people to think about how they organise their mobility. "I believe in offering a range of options," she says. "In the past, my staff did not think twice about being driven to a meeting. Now they use the bikes that are available. I always return from the Flemish Parliament on foot, a three kilometre walk, which allows me to make some phone calls, enjoy the sunshine and arrive in a good mood."

But public transport requires adequate infrastructure, she continues. "When it comes to public transport, price is not an obstacle to people, facilities are. People need transport to be frequent and on time, and they need safe parking facilities for cars and bikes at the train station. That is what we should focus on."

Crevits is investing €100 million a year in cycling infrastructure. "Some great cycling paths have dead ends because of highways or waterways. To people who work in places like Zaventem, it was simply impossible to get to work by bike," she explains. "We are creating a huge cycling path network and building a number of cycle bridges to cross major roads and rivers. Our focus is on functional cycling: to and from work or school. Over the last three years, we have made huge progress in this area."

Pay to play
Meanwhile rekeningrijden, or "fee driving" continues to make headlines. The idea of charging for the use of the roads has been a thorny issue for years. "We have reached a turning point," Crevits says. "The Flanders, Brussels and Walloon regions have agreed on the principle of taxing trucks for the use of our roads. Now we are discussing how this will be organised - which roads, what tariff."

The aim of these new taxes, Crevits emphasises, is not to generate new income but to spread out the tax base. "Any extra income will be used for mobility infrastructure anyhow, but the real goal is to make our taxation more fair. Our roads are used heavily by foreign drivers; it is only fair that they should contribute. But again, this will make people think that maybe their transport can be organised with less driving."

From the way she speaks about these issues, in her ultra-fast West Flemish accent, it is obvious that Crevits enjoys her work. "I am very keen to find out how things work, if only to know why lamp posts fall over. But this job is not just technical; there is also a lot of consultation. Although politicians always make the final decisions. I like doing just that."

Crevits not only talks fast, her career is in the fast lane as well. Being elected into parliament only in 2004, she is now a seasoned minister, as well as CD&V's leading lady. "It all happened at such speed that I haven't had the time to look back!" www.hildecrevits.be

Missing links

The Flemish government has plans for the following new highways:

West Flanders: AX, a link between N31 (Bruges) and N49 (Westkapelle)

East Flanders: the R4 ring around Ghent will be completed. A new highway will make Ronse more accessible

Flemish Brabant: the Brussels ring road will be "optimised. In some places this will mean that it will become wider, but extra capacity is not the goal - safety is," says Hilde Crevits

Antwerp: the Oosterweel-link will close the ring road around Antwerp, while the Kempen region gets a new north-south link.

Limburg: a new north-south link is planned