Adaptation to climate change for bridges

Climate change has now become a global issue of concern and it is for this reason that the World Road Association has incorporated it into the strategic themes for the term 2008-2011. Higher levels of carbon-dioxide as part of greenhouse gas emissions are being released resulting in heat being trapped in the atmosphere, which over time will result in a rise in the earth's air temperature. This rise in temperature will filter into the oceans causing sea water to expand and therefore raise sea levels. [...]

The use of monetised values for socio-environmental impacts of road projects

This report presents the current practice of monetising socio/environmental impacts in road project appraisal methodologies. It presents: a synthesis of the responses from 13 countries to an international survey; an overview of the HEATCO study on road project appraisal techniques across 25 countries of the European Union; and compares the findings of this last study with practice in Japan, Australia/New Zealand and on the American continent. The report shows no consistency among the methodologies [...]

Anticipating the impact of climate change on road earthworks

Climate change and its consequences are one of the main preoccupations of the beginning of the 21 st century. The first part of the report presents, as an example, regional scenarios of the climate evolution for Quebec and Switzerland. The second part focuses on water: lack or excess of water and its state. It deals with the cases of embankments, natural slopes, rise of sea level, modifications of the permafrost, and the increase of the wind force. Various examples are presented in the third part. [...]

Review of the growth and development of recycling in pavement construction

This report presents an overview of the use of recycling techniques in pavement construction in many countries. It highlights the barriers to recycling and describes systems and approaches that assist in overcoming these barriers. The incentives that are discussed are related to client awareness, appropriate technology, the benefits of recycling from an environmental and economic point of view and the implementation of regulatory and legislative measures. The report contains an appendix including [...]

Road tunnels: a guide to optimising the air quality impact upon the environment

Air quality has become a topic of concern in the planning, design and operation process of road tunnels. This is a state-of-the-art report on the knowledge and regulations in the field of road traffic impact on air quality. It also provides a detailed description of air quality optimization at tunnel portals, pollution dispersion from air tunnels, chimneys and openings. A diagnosis is made on the type and performance of the various measures and technologies to reduce the level of pollutant emissions [...]