Preparations Kick Off in Istanbul for the IRF World Congress 2024
The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the International Road Federation (IRF) and the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, has officially kicked-off preparations for the Congress and marked Turkey as the official host country for the IRF World Congress 2024.
The meeting was attended by Yunus Emre Ayözen (Head of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Strategy Development), Mücahit Arman (Turkish Directorate General for Highways), Susanna Zammataro (IRF Director General), and Hamdi Aydin (Member of the IRF Board of Directors and IRF Treasurer) and representatives from the Turkish Road Association and from the Ministry of Transport.
The meeting offered the opportunity to visit the venue and discuss the format of the Congress which is expected to attract approximately 2’000 professionals, researchers, and experts together with a large delegation of Ministers from all over the world. The wide exhibition and the technical visits will also offer unique opportunities to learn about new developments in our industry and to connect with peers.
More information on the IRF World Congress 2024 will be posted on the event page. For any question, please contact IRF at info@irfnet.ch.
The National Motorway Company of Morocco Leads Efforts to Control Water Erosion on Its Highways
The risk of flooding and soil erosion is rising because of the impacts of climate change: period of heat waves and drought are prolonged, and extreme rainfall events are becoming more intense and frequent. This worsening of climate conditions increases the vulnerability of transport infrastructure, the risk of undesirable movements of land and soil and the risk of flooding.
ADM (National Motorway Company of Morocco) is constantly working to combat water erosion and is deploying an important Research & Development programme in order to control the phenomenon via the modeling and mapping of erosion with the integration of prediction models: the aim is to determine the main high risk regions and find appropriate solutions.
With the research project conducted by ADM and carried out with GIZ, INRA and IPROconsult concerning the assessment and modeling of the risk of water erosion on highways in Morocco under the effect of climate change, an overall map of the risk of erosion in Morocco was developed. With this high-resolution modeling, the quantities of displaced materials (erosion / deposition) under the effect of precipitation specific to each region can be evaluated.
The simulations were carried out using the EROSION-3D model, which shows through physical laws the process of runoff formation and erosion for each given precipitation event.
In addition to the erosion risk overview map, medium-scale simulations were carried out in three potential-risk catchments. Consequently, the resilience of the drainage system of highway structures could be assessed, and relevant recommendations could be made.
The aim for the continuation of this project is to set up a monitoring system for a proactive management of the risk of erosion and flooding. In addition, a methodological handbook should be developed and used as a working tool for design engineers. This practical guide is aimed at contributing to a better management of the risk of flooding and water erosion in transport infrastructure projects, and may be extended to other land-use developments that are more vulnerable to this risk.
By strengthening the adaptation of infrastructures to future climatic conditions, this project responds directly to the overall objectives defined by the INDCs for Morocco: minimise the risk of the impacts of climate change and invest in adaptation to climate change. That is why this R&D project is set to continue. For a reproducible evaluation of the risk of erosion, an interdisciplinary approach is needed, with the implementation of integrated water management and the fight against soil degradation and desertification in the catchments along highways. This approach also aims to develop:
- New contributions for strategic environmental planning to predict the potential benefits from the adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) practices that will minimize social and environmental risks to both road infrastructure and affected populations in rural areas.
- The economic evaluation of the feasibility of adaptation measures to climate change (technical construction costs and economic aspects of the impact on affected land in the catchment areas of road sectors).
TRL to Support Bangladesh Drive to Make Their Road Network Safer
TRL’s work will help to improve understanding of the causes of crashes and enable more effective measures of prevention.
TRL is delighted to announce it has won a major project with Bangladesh Roads and Highways Department (RHD) funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB), to help Bangladesh solve its crash data collection and analysis challenge, as part of its commitment to improve road safety for its citizens.
Through the project, TRL will identify the key challenges for RHD and other agencies in Bangladesh, to fulfill a mandate to ensure a safer roads network by identifying safety interventions derived from crash data and an improved road safety audit process. The project aims to achieve the following broader outcomes – an institutional framework for RHD in crash data collection and management; roll out of a crash data collection and management system for RHD; a roadmap to institutionalise road safety audit in RHD’s business process, and an updated road safety audit manual.
As with many countries, Bangladesh faces a challenge collecting crash data. A large number of crashes occur in the country, but the estimates vary between international bodies, local NGO's, the police and the general public about the actual number of deaths and serious injuries happening on the network. TRL will use its expertise, from leading projects throughout the world, to identify opportunities to improve data collection, allowing appropriate evidence to be taken into consideration when planning and designing the road network. Additionally, TRL will support the roll out of a crash data management system to provide evidence-based planning and design of the road network.
"TRL has a long history of researching the causes of crashes and the factors that contribute to them that has saved lives the world over", says TRL’s CEO Paul Campion. “Coupled with our long experience of developing manuals for many countries, taking into consideration the local conditions, our work in Bangladesh will help authorities to identify key risks on the network from the crash data and through an improved audit process support the RHD team on solutions to increase road safety,” he concludes.
“Our work with TRL will improve our understanding of the causes of crashes and enable more effective measures to be put in place to prevent them,” says RHD Project Director Fazlul Karim. “We know the project will make a significant contribution to reducing the number of crashes and casualties on our roads. Amongst other needs, identifying bottlenecks and roadblocks in various areas of road safety in Bangladesh will help us determine the crash rates and their severity, calculate the fatality rate, and as a consequence, design the required safety measures,” he finishes.
Bangladesh has a National Road Safety Strategy Action Plan with the vision of achieving a 50% reduction in road crash fatalities by 2030. Calculating the fatality rate and designing safe roads will bring the country closer to its goal of systematically adding road safety considerations into its network development.
New Edition of the Road Note 31 Pavement Design Manual for Tropical and Sub-tropical Countries
The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has published a revised and updated version of the Road Note 31 Pavement Design Manualfor tropical and sub-tropical countries, with a new focus on climate resilience and sustainability.
The climatic conditions in tropical and sub-tropical areas present particular challenges for pavement design purposes. Road Note 31 was first published in 1962 and revised in 1966, 1977 and 1993 to take account of advances in our understanding of the behaviour of road-building materials and their interactions in pavements.
This 5th revision of the Road Note set out to take advantage of new technologies, methods and materials available to make roads in LICs/LMICs more affordable, more efficient, and more resilient to climate change. The team also wished to automate certain pavement design processes. and extend the design traffic range in ORN 31 to beyond 30 million equivalent standard axles (MESA).
The technical review process was conducted with extensive stakeholder engagement.
Dr. Nazmus Sakib, Assistant Professor at Islamic University of Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh praised the new RN 31: "The previous edition design catalogues had stopped at 30 MESA; for the 5th Edition this is now extended to 80 MESA. This is a welcome step since many roads are now designed to carry heavier traffic. The pavement design catalogues now also include options to make the pavement more climate resilient".
This 4 page guide provides a quick overview of what is new and different in the 5th Edition. The highlights are:
- New interactive tools to take into account the effect of different axle configurations and tyre types (e.g. super-singles/wide-base) in the computation of design equivalent standard axles.
- Accurate determination of subgrade strength
- The use of recycled materials in pavement layers
- Minimising road closures with the use of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS), and Hydraulic Road Binders.
- Options for climate resilient asphalt surfacings
- Detailed advice on surface and sub-surface drainage of pavements
- Two new flexible pavement designs
- Details of the Australian method of rigid pavement design
- New surface rehabilitation options
- Use of tools to calculate and select an economically justifiable design option
A set of 8 training workshops to explore the new and updated content of RN 31 is available on this YouTube playlist.
The research project to update RN 31, led by TRL, was funded by UKAID through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office under the High Volume Transport Applied Research Programme. The HVT programme is managed by DT Global.
RN 31 comes with its own flexible pavement design catalogue but is designed to be used in conjunction with country-specific design manuals.
"I am confident that the new edition will prove to be as popular with practitioners as its predecessors" said Professor Charlotte Watts, PhD CMG FMedSci, Chief Scientific Advisor & Director of Research and Evidence Directorate, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Accelerating Cross-Stakeholder Collaboration with Modern Traffic Management Systems and Strategies
The demand for resilient, equitable, sustainable, and secure mobility solutions is on the rise due to megatrends such as urban demographic growth (the United Nation’s forecasts expect that more than 80% of Europe’s population will live in urban areas by 2050), digitalisation, and climate change.
Congested networks cost hundreds of billions of euros per year to the EU Member States affecting the economic, social, and environmental prosperity of the regions. Additionally, recent surveys have shown that approximately 38% of network and traffic management stakeholders in Europe operate in silos, not interacting with other related parties, and only 31% collaborate with other actors without an official contract agreement and operational strategy. This current pattern of isolated operations with occasional impromptu cooperation leads to slow decision-making processes, duplicated efforts, inefficient allocation of resources, lack of accountability and responsibility, and ultimately, incompetent response plans and increased cost of operations. Overall, the network remains congested and unsafe for commuters.
“Even the most technologically advanced solutions would fall short without prioritizing collaboration among stakeholders at the heart of development and operational efforts”
To address these challenges, the mobility ecosystem requires modern traffic management solutions and strategies that efficiently manage networks, streamline transport links, minimise emissions, support integrated (across-stakeholder) operations, and enhance safety.
In light of this, FRONTIER, an EU-funded project, brings 19 high-profile partners across Europe, including the International Road Federation (IRF), with the goals of 1) accelerating the transition towards resilient multimodal autonomous mobility by providing advanced corridor-wide traffic management solutions, and 2) establishing the processes of collaboration and arbitration among stakeholders.
Arcadis IBI Group, a global leader in planning, design, deployment, and operation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), is leading the development and integration of FRONTIER’s Autonomous Network and Traffic Management Engine (ANTME).
ANTME empowers operators at the corridor level to devise and deploy traffic management response plans through varying levels of automation, facilitating complex decision-making. It offers an array of functionalities, including, event detection, response plan generation and propagation, as well as network monitoring and assessment through an advanced simulation framework.
Stakeholders benefit from increased common situational awareness of corridor conditions and disruptions, seamless communication across entities for better response times, as well as efficient incident response and management, based on actionable intelligence for decision-making. ANTME has been designed to continuously collect and analyse data, allowing the platform to re-adjust the proposed response plans and strategies as they enfold.
For more information, visit FRONTIER's website at www.frontier-project.eu or contact FRONTIER at:
- arichetta@ibigroup.com, Antulio Richetta, Arcadis IBI Group
- stavros.papadimitriou@ibigroup.com, Stavros Papadimitriou, Arcadis IBI Group
IRF Addresses the Italian Association of Toll Highways Concessionaires – AISCAT
The International Road Federation (IRF) was invited - together with the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpilke Association (IBTTA) - to the General Assembly of the Italian Association of Toll Highways Concessionaires (AISCAT). Bill Halkias, IRF Immediate Past President and current First Vice President to IBTTA was present in Rome on 25th January 2023 to speak about the crucial role of tolling in financing, building, maintaining and improving safe and reliable road infrastructure for its users.
Many of the world’s most important roadways would not have been built without a toll concession. This has been demonstrated around the world, especially in Europe, where more than 50,000 km of motorways have been built thanks to the model.
Bill Halkias spoke on the importance of the toll concession model by sharing his 40 years of “Greek Experience” in the road transport sector. Halkias said the Greek State has largely benefited from the concession model—which has been used to develop, operate, and maintain the country’s HELLASTRON network of toll roads, despite the harsh economic crisis hitting the country from 2010 to 2014.
He also provided insights on how the ‘user pays principle’, which road concessions rely upon, is widely accepted as a transparent and fair method of infrastructure financing. “Toll Road Concessionaires do not just offer a journey to their users. As all these people are paying tolls, they demand a safe journey. It is not a secret that Toll Motorways are the safest mode of road transport, as it becomes evident from the road use safety figures and statistics,” he said.
In his closing remarks, Halkias commended the ties built between AISCAT and IRF and expressed the will to see this partnership growing in the future.
World-first Ten Step Project Celebrates Success in Tanzania
Dar es Salaam, 2 March 2023. Capacity to eliminate high-risk roads and curb the more than 16,000 people (WHO 2018) who die on Tanzania’s roads annually has taken a leap thanks to the innovative Tanzania Ten Step Plan Project, celebrated at a completion event in Dar-es-Salaam today.
Jointly funded by the United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) and by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (UKAid), through the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) of the World Bank, the 30-month pilot project has built sustainable institutional capacity for safer roads, as well as impact and partnerships to save lives and reduce serious injuries resulting from road crashes.
Under the guidance of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) the project has been implemented by a consortium led by the International Road Federation (IRF), and including the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), the World Road Association (PIARC) and the Tanzania Roads Association (TARA). The project has brought together the Government of Tanzania through MoWT, TANROADS, TARURA, National Institute of Transport (NIT), and other leading institutions, NGOs and industry stakeholders in Tanzania.
Since its launch in March 2021, the project has helped to embed improvements in how thousands of new and existing kilometres of Tanzania’s road network will be designed, upgraded, and managed for improved road safety now and in the future. Over 500 local stakeholders have been trained and certified on road safety audits, iRAP assessments, and start rating of designs. Thanks to the assessments performed during the project, infrastructure safety data has now been expanded to more than 10,000 km. The project has also delivered recommendations for a National Road Infrastructure Safety Strategy and Action Plan that puts the safety of all road users at its heart.
The establishment of TanRAP, a locally owned and led Road Assessment Programme for Tanzania, the revision of the road geometric design manual, and the development of a dedicated training and accreditation scheme are among the key project achievements being celebrated today at the event.
Represented by Hon. Saad Mtambule, Commissioner Kinondoni District, the Hon. Prof. Makame M. Mbarawa (MP), Minister for Works and Transport, Tanzania said “Road safety is the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years old. We have a moral obligation to act and to reverse this trend and the Ten Step Project has equipped us with the knowledge, skills and tools to do so. We feel proud for this privilege and for the results that these 30 months of collective work have delivered”. The Minister also recognised the dedicated collaboration of many national and international partners, who have made Tanzania the very first country in the world to implement the project.
Project results and ongoing TanRAP activity will support in Tanzania the implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 which provides a road map for how countries can halve road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
For more information:
- To see how safe Tanzania’s roads are, the road attributes that matter and the Business Case for Safer Roads, explore the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer (selecting Tanzania)
- To see how safe Tanzania’s roads are, the road attributes that matter and the Business Case for Safer Roads, explore the iRAP Safety Insights Explorer (selecting Tanzania)
ABOUT MoWT
The Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) is a government ministry of Tanzania. It was created in 2010 and is responsible for promoting a quality, efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective construction industry that facilitates the social and economic development of the country. Among others, MoWT is mandated to administer the safety and security of transport; policies on works, construction, transport and transportation and their implementations; roads, bridges, ferries and mechanical matters; engineering and design works; and transport licensing.
ABOUT IRF
The International Road Federation (IRF) is a global, independent, not-for-profit organisation with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Active since 1948, IRF is a membership-based organisation, representing leading corporate and institutional players drawn from the road and mobility sectors worldwide. Its mission is to promote the development of roads and road networks that enable access and sustainable mobility for all. Its approach is centred on key strategic components of knowledge transfer & information sharing, connecting people, businesses and organisations, and working on policy & advocacy.
IRF Kicks Off 75th Anniversary Celebrations in Geneva
This is a special year for the International Road Federation as it marks the 75th anniversary of its creation.
Connecting people, ideas, and organisations has been at the core of IRF’s work over the past seven decades. The striking feature of this incredible journey is the outstanding picture of service that has exemplified IRF activities over the years. Innovating since the day it was created back in 1948, the Federation has been instrumental in providing leadership for global road sector development and has brought road professionals and people around the world together, and in a common mission, in a way that no other organisation could.
IRF has shared this enriching seven-decade journey with UNECE and the Inland Transport Committee. It is in fact the work of the latter that brought the Federation to move its headquarters to Geneva. The High-Level Segment of the 85th Inland Transport Committee (UNECE ITC) hosted in Geneva on 21st February hence offered the perfect setting to kick off celebrations for this important milestone. The first of a series of international and regional events through which the IRF will mark this anniversary.
Addressing the plenary, IRF President Anouar Benazzouz stressed that “An anniversary is an important moment of lessons from the past, while also representing an open window on the opportunities that the future offers. The destination remains for us unchanged: delivering better mobility systems for all, together.” Benazzouz also thanked UNECE for “the trust, openness, and leadership that have distinguished both its work and of our successful collaboration over the past seven decades.” A message that was echoed during a bilateral meeting by UNECE Secretary General, Olga Algayerova who expressed gratitude to the IRF for its unwavering support and contribution to the sector and to UNECE’s work.
ITC 2023 was also the opportunity to celebrate and reinforce the collaboration with another long-standing partner of IRF who equally celebrates in 2023 its 75th anniversary, the International Road Transport Union (IRU). In an MoU signed on 20 February, both organisations agreed to focus on people, prosperity, and the environment while addressing new challenges and opportunities, including digitalisation and decarbonisation. They will also continue their collaboration in areas such as labour shortages, training, and road safety.
“Partnerships will be crucial to deliver on current and future challenges” said Benazzouz while sharing with the plenary some of the key messages of the “Road Sector Joint Statement for COP27” released by IRF together with other leading organisations in the sector. The Joint Statement is a collective call to all parties to act with pragmatism, ensure a just transition and embrace innovation.
Visit this page for more information on IRF’s 75th celebration activities.
