NEWSLETTER N°73
July 2018

Dear readers,

The next World Road Congress will be held from 6 to 10 October 2019 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and will be organized around a variety of sessions, which aim to address in the best possible way the whole range of topics and concerns. A session of the ministers will address issues and perspectives at a very high level. Strategic Orientation Sessions, built from the national reports currently being developed by our member countries, will present the state of the art and practices on each of the five strategic themes of the Association. Special Sessions will be designed with partner organizations of the Association to discuss innovative topics from a perspective that will enrich the discussion. Multiple workshops and side meetings are also planned. [...]

>> Further information

Open call for papers for the 26th PIARC World Road Congress! 

Abu Dhabi (UAE), October 6-10, 2019

The 2019 Abu Dhabi World Road Congress will focus on "Connecting cultures - Enabling economies". PIARC has launched a call for papers on 41 topics, specific to the Association's 5 Strategic Themes, in order to contribute to the Congress. The purpose of this call for papers is to enrich and expand the work and reflections of PIARC Technical Committees and Task Forces. All road and transport experts are invited to submit abstracts.

Submission deadline: September 15, 2018

>> Submit your abstract here!

PIARC was present at the 13th International Symposium on Concrete Roads

Berlin (Germany), June 19-22, 2018

Claude Van Rooten, PIARC President and Director of international relations for the Belgian Road Research Centre (BRRC), gave a speech at which he presented PIARC's past and current activities on roads and road transport. The audience of the Symposium was very interested in the work of the PIARC Technical committee on pavements (TC D.2).

Relive the XVth International Winter Road Congress 

The XVth International Winter Road Congress was held in Gda?sk (Poland), from February 20-23, 2018. Check out the video posted on PIARC YouTube channel, which looks back on these four days of activity during which, through papers, technical sessions and poster sessions, the optimization of road infrastructure and the management of mobility in winter conditions were discussed.The XVIth Congress will be held in Calgary, Canada, in February of 2022.

>> Watch the video

PIARC Task Force B.2 kick-off meeting - Automated vehicles 

Quebec, Canada, July 19-20, 2018

This month, PIARC is launching the Task Force B.2 "Automated vehicles: challenges and opportunities for road operators and road authorities". This Task Force will be in charge of topics such as the impact of automated vehicles on traffic management, road safety and optimization of network performance but also how to deal with different time scales and the role played by road authorities.

>> Find out more about the Task Force B.2 - Automated vehicles

Meeting of PIARC Task Force A.2 - Coordination between national and sub-national authorities 

Paris, France, June 27-28, 2018

The Task Force A.2 meeting was held at PIARC headquarters in Paris under the theme "Cooperation strategies between national and local road agencies". Among the objectives of the meeting were the identification of principles and best practices for national and sub-national cooperation, the revision of the Task Force A.2's draft report, as well as the identification of next steps. It also provided a platform to discuss preparations for the 2019 World Road Congress in Abu Dhabi (call for papers, organization of meetings, etc.).

>> Find out more about the Task Force A.2 - Coordination between national and sub-national authorities

Meeting of PIARC Technical Committee E.3 - Disaster Management 

Santiago, Chili, June 13-15, 2018

The fifth Technical Committee E.3 meeting took place in Santiago. Among the 16 experts present were members of the Technical Committee, correspondents and observers. The TC E.3 is currently working on the analysis of the survey conducted in 2017 as well as on PIARC upcoming Disaster Management online manual. The meeting was also an opportunity to conduct an international workshop that, in addition to disaster management, addressed issues such as infrastructure failure, resilience and tsunamis.

>> Find out more about the Technical Committee E.3 - Disaster management

Routes/Roads magazine no. 377 

The latest issue of Routes/Roads magazine of the World Road Association (PIARC) is now available. He looks back at the 15th International Winter Road Congress of Gdansk (Poland), held from February 6 to 10, 2018. It gives a general report, which draws the lessons from this successful congress, and publishes the articles written by PIARC Technical committee B.2 Winter Service.

>> Read Routes/Roads online

Sustainability and Climate Change Considerations in Winter Operations 

This report attempts to summarize the knowledge of Climate Change Considerations in Winter Operations. Literature on climate change and winter maintenance describes "best practices", i.e. the most sustainable and innovative methods used today. This report also lists some new equipment and technologies to help in both the planning and delivery of winter service.[...]

>> Display the technical report

Risks associated with natural disasters, climate change, man-made disasters and security threats 

The report was done by PIARC Technical Committee C.3 Managing operational risk in national and international road operations. It has several objectives. Among these, it proposes a methodological approach for evaluating risks associated with all hazards. It also presents initiatives taken around the world for the development [...]

>> Display the technical report

XXII Road National Meeting 

August 22-25, 2018

Chihuahua (Mexico)

25th ITS World Congress 

September 17-21, 2018

Copenhagen (Denmark)