Europe Roads and Highways Infrastructure Construction - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2026-2031)

The europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market size is projected to be USD 394.20 billion in 2025, USD 419.29 billion in 2026, and reach USD 562.77 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.06% from 2026 to 2031. This report is Segmented by Component (Road, Bridges/Overpass, Tunnels, and Others), Construction Type (New Construction and Renovation), Investment Source (Public, Private, and Public-Private Partnership), Type (National, State, and Local), and Geography (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and More). The Market Forecasts are Provided in Terms of Value (USD).

Europe Roads and Highways Infrastructure Construction Market Trends and Insights

Federal and EU Highway Rehabilitation Programs Drive Infrastructure Investment

The Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market is being supported by rehabilitation programs that now sit at the center of transport policy in many countries. Germany planned more than USD 36.3 billion in transport investment for 2026, including USD 11.9 billion allocated to federal trunk roads in the draft budget. At the European Union (EU) level, the final 2026 Connecting Europe Facility transport call made USD 1.2 billion available for infrastructure modernization and connectivity projects. The proposed successor funding framework for 2028 to 2034 also points to continued transport support, with a planned envelope of USD 89.5 billion for the next cycle. This combination of national spending and supranational co-financing makes the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market less exposed to short annual budget shifts. It also gives public agencies more room to launch projects that would be harder to fund on domestic budgets alone.

Bridge and Tunnel Renewal Addresses Aging Infrastructure Backlogs

Bridge and tunnel renewal remains one of the most durable demand drivers in the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market. Germany released USD 1.2 billion for Autobahn rehabilitation in 2025, confirming that structural renewal had become an active federal spending line rather than a deferred-maintenance issue. The Netherlands also published a 2026 to 2030 pipeline for bridge, tunnel, and lock replacements, giving contractors an unusually clear view of upcoming tenders. In Austria, PORR and STRABAG won a USD 238.7 million contract to replace the Luegbrücke, demonstrating that technically complex renewal projects are advancing in core transport corridors. These projects tend to carry longer design periods, more specialized engineering requirements, and stricter traffic continuity rules during execution. That raises the value of experienced civil teams and keeps the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market anchored to long-cycle rehabilitation work.

Skilled Labor Shortages Constrain Heavy Civil Construction Capacity

Labor availability remains one of the clearest constraints on the delivery of the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market. European construction activity employed 13.8 million workers in 2024, yet sector bodies continue to show that millions of additional workers will be needed by 2030 to meet planned investment levels. In Italy alone, the projected requirement tied to planned investment by 2026 pointed to a need for 64,400 additional workers to support a pipeline worth USD 70.8 billion. The pressure is not spread evenly across trades, because specialist roles in civil supervision, concrete repair, tunneling, and digital coordination are harder to fill than general labor positions. This slows execution on the most complex packages, even when project funding has already been approved. As a result, the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market increasingly rewards contractors that have stable in-house skills and formal workforce development systems.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:

• Cross-Border Freight Corridor Upgrades Increase Road Construction Activity
• Public-Private Partnership Projects Expand Highway Infrastructure Pipeline
• Volatile Asphalt, Bitumen, and Aggregate Prices Increase Project Costs

Segment Analysis

Roads accounted for 65.90% of the total value in 2025, making it the largest component of the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market. This leading position reflects the continuous need for resurfacing, widening, lane rehabilitation, drainage improvements, and junction upgrades across Europe’s extensive road network. Recurring road works also absorb larger annual budgets because they cover wide sections of federal, regional, and local systems rather than isolated structures. The Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market, therefore continues to depend on road works as the broadest source of recurring contract volume. Large-scale maintenance pipelines in national systems help sustain this dominance, even when policy attention shifts toward structural renewal. Road works are also more evenly distributed across countries, giving them a wider delivery base than highly specialized bridge and tunnel packages.

Bridges/overpasses are forecast to grow at a 6.80% CAGR through 2031, indicating where the higher-complexity pipeline is building. Structural renewal backlogs have become harder for governments to postpone, especially where bridge condition now affects freight movement, safety, and load restrictions. The Netherlands has already given contractors a structured multi-year view of bridge and tunnel renewals, while Austria has moved ahead with major replacement work on critical motorway infrastructure. Tunnel activity also remains relevant within the component mix, particularly where cross-border routes and safety compliance rules require major interventions. The Karavanke Tunnel renovation in Slovenia, supported by USD 35.4 million in European Union funding for a project valued at USD 126.3 million, shows that tunnel renewal remains tied to strategic corridor policy. In the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market, this means the largest volume still sits in roads, while a growing share of technical intensity and engineering value is shifting toward bridge and tunnel work. That change matters because specialist structure packages often bring longer order visibility and stronger margin support for qualified contractors. It also deepens the divide between large civil groups and smaller firms that lack the balance sheet and engineering depth required for complex transport structures.

New construction retained 58.40% of value in 2025, keeping it the leading construction type across the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market. Greenfield corridors, missing expressway links, and network extensions still play a central role in Eastern and Southern Europe, where some strategic systems remain incomplete. STRABAG secured a USD 213.4 million contract in March 2026 for the final missing section of Slovenia’s 3rd Development Axis, and Webuild won a USD 584.1 million contract in January 2026 for Lot 1 of the SS106 Jonica route in Southern Italy. These projects show that new-build activity continues to generate large, visible awards even as public priorities shift toward rehabilitation. New corridors also create associated demand for viaducts, tunnels, interchanges, and digital traffic systems, which broadens their value beyond simple lane creation. Because of that, new construction still shapes the headline order flow seen across the Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market.

Renovation is forecast to grow at a 6.70% CAGR through 2031, indicating a steady rebalancing of procurement priorities. The United Kingdom committed USD 10.9 billion to renewals under Road Investment Strategy 3, and Germany earmarked USD 2.8 billion for bridge and tunnel rehabilitation in 2025 alone. These programs show that preserving asset condition is moving closer to the center of network planning. Renovation contracts are also becoming more advanced in technical scope, not just larger in budget. Webuild’s Mondovì bypass award in Italy included a permanent Internet of Things (IoT) sensor network for real-time structural monitoring of the main viaduct, turning a standard road package into a data-enabled asset platform. That shift means renovation is no longer limited to patching and repair, as it increasingly includes resilience, monitoring, and whole-life performance. The Europe roads and highways infrastructure construction market is therefore seeing renovation narrow the gap with new build in both value and strategic importance. Over the forecast period, this should strengthen demand for contractors that can combine civil repair capability with systems integration, inspection support, and digital asset management.

Complete Report Scope:

• By Component
  • Road
  • Bridges/Overpass
  • Tunnels
  • Others
• By Construction Type
  • New Construction
  • Renovation
• By Investment Source
  • Public
  • Private
  • Public-Private Partnership
• By Type
  • National
  • State
  • Local
• By Geography
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe

List of Companies Covered in this Report:

• VINCI SA
• ACS Group
• Eiffage SA
• Skanska AB
• Ferrovial SE
• HOCHTIEF AG
• Webuild SpA
• Colas SA
• Balfour Beatty plc
• Strabag SE
• NCC AB
• PORR AG
• Kier Group plc
• Costain Group plc
• Implenia AG
• BAM Group
• Leonhard Weiss GmbH & Co. KG
• Acciona Construction
• Bouygues Travaux Publics
• Sacyr Construcción

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support