1. Strategic Theme 1 - Road Administration
2. Strategic Theme 2 - Mobility
3. Strategic Theme 3 - Safety and Sustainability
4. Strategic Theme 4 - Resilient Infrastructure
5. Special Projects
6. PIARC Technical Reports on the COVID-19 crisis

PIARC publishes numerous technical reports, which are reference documents that are widely used in the road and transport sectors. They complement other publications of the Association such as the Routes / Roads magazine, Proceedings of international congresses, Proceedings of international seminars and online Manuals.

These technical reports are the output of the work of over 1,000 experts during a four-year work cycle. Their involvement and professionalism must be underlined. They are mobilized within Technical Comittees or Task Forces as defined by the Strategic Plan, which structures the activities of the Association and aims to meet the expectations and needs of road administrations and operators and all members of the Association. These reports thus constitute a wealth of information, made available to all. They offer state of the art international best practices on roads and road transport in a context of integrated and sustainable development.

These technical reports are available free of charge as part of the knowledge sharing and dissemination mission that guides the Association. All language versions are presented simultaneously here, to take into account the reading preferences of each user.

Strategic Theme 1 - Road Administration

TC 1.1 Performance of Transport Administrations

• Customer Experience - A PIARC Case Study Analysis

  

  Research continues to show that when public agencies offer a better customer experience, they deliver measurable impacts across multiple priorities. To that end this report focusses its research on what approaches are currently happening across the world in respect of delivering an improved experience for all our customers and stakeholders. It is acknowledged that in many industries, the term “user” designates a person who uses a product or service and the term “customer” refers to a person [...]

• The Role of Transport Agencies in Shaping Disruptive Technologies and Service Models - A Private Sector Roundtable

  

  Through its Technical Committee 1.1 Performance of Transport Administrations, PIARC is undertaking an extended investigation of disruptive technologies & service models impacting the roads and transport sector and how transport agencies are responding to the related challenges and opportunities in policy, regulatory, and organisational terms. Key questions being examined by TC 1.1 include: •   Which technologies and service models are having the greatest potential impact, in which ways, and [...]

• The Role of Transport Agencies in Shaping Disruptive Technologies and Service Models - A PIARC Survey Report

  

  Through its Technical Committee 1.1 Performance of Transport Administrations , PIARC is undertaking an extended investigation of disruptive technologies & service models impacting the roads and transport sector and how transport agencies are responding to the related challenges and opportunities in policy, regulatory and organisational terms. Key questions being examined by TC 1.1 include: Which technologies and service models are having the greatest potential impact, in which ways, and [...]

• Diversity and Talent Management in Transport Administrations – The Road to Success?

  

  The World Road Association (PIARC) tasked the Technical Committee 1.1 (Performance of Transport Administrations) to analyze effective approaches for defining and promoting Diversity in opportunity across the roads and transportation sectors, and for attracting new talents into the transport industry and in particular Transport Administrations and Road Owners and Operators. Within the frame of this task, Working Group 3 (Organisation of Staff and Human Resources) is working with the objective to [...]

TC 1.2 Road and Transport Planning for Economic and Social Development

TC 1.3 Finance and Procurement

• Best Practices in Funding and Financing of Road Infrastructure

  

  In the past programs, national and international technical committees focused on financing topics related to the design, build, operation and maintenance of road infrastructure, with emphasis placed on relevant elements that could be implemented across the infrastructure management process. Despite this recent international research, many central themes remain to be improved in order to provide discipline to the different interests of public authorities, lenders, private companies and customers. [...]

TC 1.4 Climate Change and Resilience of Road Networks

TC 1.5 Disaster Management

• The Use of Big Data and Social Networks for Disaster Management

  

  PIARC's Technical Committee 1.5 - Disaster Management, has established a task related to the'Use of Big Data and Social Networks for Disaster Management. This task considers new information evolutions such as big data and social networks. It involves an international literature review, collection and analysis of case studies and engagement with worldwide road administrations to learn from global experience to promote knowledge sharing. As part of this research, an international survey was undertaken [...]

• A Study on Financial Management of Disasters in the International Arena

  

  The threats linked to extreme natural events, compromise not only the safety of human life, but also important activities that can move the economy of a country, regardless of its level of wealth. For this reason, the results of this study may be useful not only for high-income countries, but also for LMICs. International survey results suggest the need, for every road administration, to invest in the development of new warning and monitoring systems for widespread phenomena such as floods, heavy [...]

TF 1.1 Well-prepared Projects

• Well-Prepared Projects

  

  This collection of case studies includes 17 cases from 10 different countries participating in this task force, plus one case dedicated to the use of the SOURCE platform in the preparation of transportation projects. It comes after our first report delivered earlier in 2021 in which we reviewed the overall processes and practices taking place in the 10 countries. The objective of this collection is to provide a variety of highly relevant examples from the real life. Each case outlines good practices [...]

• How Countries Undertake Well-Prepared Projects: A Review on Ten Countries

  

  It is well acknowledged that good project preparation tends to deliver better outcomes (benefits) as well as providing good project management performance (with respect to budget, delays and quality). This report presents processes put in place in 10 countries to deliver well-prepared transport projects. This literature review is the first task force deliverable, and it aims to identify good practices found in countries of different income levels and moreover of different cultures. All ten members [...]

Strategic Theme 2 - Mobility

TC 2.1 Mobility in Urban Areas

TC 2.2 Accessibility and Mobility in Rural Areas

TC 2.3 Freight

• Greening of Freight Transport

  

  As a major contributor to GHG emissions, freight transport also must be a part of the solution. This topic is evolving rapidly through innovations, new solutions, and experiences and will be of the utmost importance for road managers and public authorities. This document presents a number of good practices. The purpose of these fact sheets is to highlight projects, initiatives and policies that have been utilized by PIARC member countries to make freight transport greener with the goal of reducing [...]

• Control and Enforcement Measures to Reduce Truck Overloading and Associated Infrastructure Damage on Road Networks

  

  Overloaded trucks, poor vehicle conditions, driver fatigue and speeding remain big challenges in road freight transport for road authorities all over the world. These issues can cause severe road safety problems, substantial damage to the road infrastructure and environmental impacts. Overloading also leads to unfair competition between transport modes and transport companies. Within the Technical Committee 2.3 Freight working group 2.3.1 had a specific focus on monitoring and regulations to [...]

TC 2.4 Road Network Operation / Intelligent Transportation Systems

• Utilizing Data to Optimize Road Network Operations

  

  Road network operators are increasingly making use of technology and developing digital infrastructure to manage road networks. Road users are making use of technology to efficiently and safely complete trips. Vehicle manufacturers and fleet managers are utilizing an increasing amount of technology to manage fleets, improve safety, and advance toward automated operations. Sensor and data analytics technologies are continuing to increase in capability. All of these trends are increasing the amount [...]

TF 2.1 New Mobility and its Impact on Road infrastructure and Transport

TF 2.2 Electric Road Systems (ERS)

TF B.2 Automated Vehicles – Challenges and Opportunities for Road Operators and Authorities

• Automated Vehicles - Challenges and Opportunities for Road Operators and Road Authorities

  

  Vehicle Automation – at SAE levels 3, 4 and 5 – is still in a testing phase in most countries. Many tests at level 3 have been performed successfully on open roads without any changes to the road infrastructure and without any observed impacts on congestion. There are various situations which necessitate that a driver takes control of the vehicle – a fall-back solution that is still allowed at level 3, but not at level 4 or 5. It is likely that some support from the infrastructure will be [...]

Strategic Theme 3 - Safety and Sustainability

TC 3.1 Road Safety

TC 3.2 Winter Service

• Snow And Ice Databook 2022

  

  Winter service is the fight against snow and ice on roads to ensure accessablity and traffic safety. One needs to get to work from home, children need to get to school and with very tight procution plans, goods need to arrive in time for the whole process to work. Unpassable roads due to snow and ice would have dramatic effets on all of us as we relate on safe roads. No winter is like the other, weather can change rapidly and can´t be forecasted over longer periodes. Consequently, winter maintenance [...]

TC 3.3 Asset Management

TC 3.4 Environmental Sustainability in Road Infrastructure and Transport

TF 3.1 Road Infrastructure and Transport Security

• Documents Relevant to Road Infrastracture and Transportation Security

  

  This document contains a review of literature on road infrastructure and transport security. The review focuses on the following topics: · Legislations and policies; · Standards; · Studies and researches; · PIARC reports; · Other reports; · Manuals and books; · Case studies and best practices; · Events and situations. This document is completed with conclusions and recommendations, a glossary and appendices. This Literature Review is the first step in the development [...]

Strategic Theme 4 - Resilient Infrastructure

TC 4.1 Pavements

• Measures for Improving Resilience of Pavements - A PIARC Collection of Case Studies

  

  This report contains a collection of case studies related to measures to improve the resilience of pavements. Most of the measures address the impacts of climate change, such as increased precipitation and extreme temperatures. However, the case studies also explore how to make pavement more resilient to traffic-related impacts, including through the use of innovative materials. The full report on “Measures for improving resilience of pavements” by TC 4.1 Pavements will refer to these case [...]

• Use Of Recycled Materials In Pavements - Briefing note

  

  Back in 2003, PIARC published a report from Technical Committee C7/8 on “Pavement Recycling”. This report contains guidelines for in-place recycling with cement, emulsion or foamed bitumen and hot mix recycling in a plant. The current briefing note is the final part of a set of three reports on the “Use of Recycled Materials in Pavements”. This briefing note contains the conclusions and recommendations on recycling pavement materials deriving from the previous “Literature Review” and [...]

• Use of Recycled Materials in Pavements - Case studies

  

  This report contains the collection of case studies related to in-place recycling with cement, emulsion or foamed bitumen, hot mix and cement concrete recycling in a plant. The current collection of case studies is part of a set of three publications on the “Use of Recycled Materials in Pavements” expected for the 2020-2023 cycle. This collection reports case studies on: ●   recycling in-place using hydraulic and/or bituminous binders, it also addresses the preliminary investigations of [...]

• Reducing The Life Cycle Carbon Footprint Of Pavements

  

  In 2019 PIARC published the report “Reducing the life cycle Carbon Footprint of pavements” (2019R33), which was a result from the work conducted by the Technical Committee D.2 – Pavements, during the 2012-2015 cycle. This report assessed and synthesized recent innovations leading to the reduction of Carbon Footprint of pavements. It also presented a critical review of the Carbon Footprint reductions achieved by various innovative technologies when compared to standard methods of construction [...]

• Use of Recycled Materials in Pavements - Literature review

  

  Back in 2003, PIARC published a report from Technical Committee C7/8 on “Pavement Recycling”. This report contains guidelines for in-place recycling with cement, emulsion or foamed bitumen and hot mix recycling in a plant. The current literature review is part of a set of three publications on the “Use of Recycled Materials in Pavements” expected for the 2020-2023 cycle. This literature review describes: recycling in-place using hydraulic and/or bituminous binders, it also addresses [...]

TC 4.2 Bridges

• Measures for Increasing the Adaptability of Road Bridges to Climate Change

  

  The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Working Group 2 report states that changes in climate have caused impacts on natural and human systems on all continents and across the oceans. Key risks from climate change are typically defined as warming trend, extreme temperature, precipitation, extreme precipitation, drying trend, and sea level rise. The impacts of climate change will be regional and depend on the level of adaptation and mitigation achievable. Transportation infrastructure [...]

• Road Bridges - New Rehabilitation Materials and Technologies

  

  Every country around the world need to manage and to rehabilitate his bridge stock. The latter may be old (for example about 60 years or more in Europe) or very young (about 15 years for example in new high-income countries but not only). Therefore, the needs for rehabilitation of an aging bridge stock may be different from one country to the other. The aging of bridges is one of the main cause of rehabilitation, but not only. Extreme events related or not to climate change are also an important [...]

• Advancement of Inspection Techniques / Technologies as a Part of Bridge Management Systems - A PIARC Collection of Study Cases

  

  Bridge inspections form an essential basis for the maintenance management of bridges and engineering structures. New technologies such as remote sensing and the use of a variety of sensors have the potential to significantly improve the quality of the results of structural inspections, but due to a lack of experience on the part of owners and operators they are not yet being used comprehensively. In order to make these technologies more readily available, Working Group 2 of the Technical Committee [...]

TC 4.3 Earthworks

• Resilience of Earth Structures

  

  This case study compilation tries to give a deeper insight on the topic “Increasing Resilience of Earth Structures to Natural Hazards” assigned to WG1 of PIARC TC 4.3 as part of the 2020-2023 Work Programme. For the production of this report, relevant case studies related to resilience in earth structures have been requested from all the members of PIARC TC 4.3 and also from non-PIARC experts. The case studies that have been submitted give an idea of what the academic and technical community [...]

• Techniques and Innovations in Earthworks

  

  This report presents the summary of thirty-six cases studies compiled by Working Group 2 of Technical Committee 4.3 under the theme “Techniques and Innovations in Earthworks“. This document will be further developed as part of the 2020-2023 Work Cycle and is expected to be accompanied by one additional document in publication, a full report. The information contained herein provides general insight, innovative techniques, and unique solutions to problems related to earthworks and earth structures [...]

• Increasing Resilience of Earth Structures to Natural Hazards

  

  This report provides preliminary background on the topic of “Increasing Resilience of Earth Structures to Natural Hazards” assigned to WG1 of PIARC TC 4.3 as part of the 2020-2023 Work Program. This topic will be further developed as part of the 2020-2023 Work Cycle and is expected to be completed by two adittional documents for this topic: a Case Studies Report and a Full Report. This Literature Review provides general insight on how the concept of resilience is currently being considered among [...]

TC 4.4 Tunnels

• Maintenance and Traffic Operation of Heavily Trafficked (Urban) Road Tunnels

  

  The aim of the case study collection report is to gather, evaluate and comment on international expertise related to maintenance and traffic management in highly trafficked urban road tunnels. A large number of cases were collected, which were particularly suitable for providing an insight into the implementation of these special requirements for urban road tunnels. It became apparent that it was useful to divide the cases into 3 categories, which pursued similar goals. · Implementation of [...]

• Impact of New Propulsion Technologies on Road Tunnel Operations and Safety - Case Studies

  

  Alternative propulsion technologies, including battery-electric vehicles, are becoming more prevalent. Whilst such vehicles remain a small overall proportion of the vehicle fleet, the combination of impacts of Government policy and technological advances in alternative fuels is expected to accelerate their increase in numbers on the road and in tunnels in coming years. There may also be particular initiatives in certain geographical areas, such as on airport land for example, where higher proportions [...]

• Improving Road Tunnel Resilience, Considering Safety and Availability

  

  This report presents a review of literature on the improvement of road tunnel resilience as well as a collection of case studies that illustrate how this topic is being dealt with in practice. The content of the report is addressed at several target groups involved in the planning, design, implementation, operation, maintenance and refurbishment of road tunnels, such as decision makers, tunnel owners and managers, tunnel operators, emergency response services, designers, tunnel safety experts, safety [...]

• Improving Road Tunnel Resilience, Considering Safety and Availability - PIARC Literature Review

  

  This report contains a review of literature on road tunnel resilience, including more general literature on resilience principles or aspects that could be applied to tunnels. Many definitions for “resilience” were found, but the Working Group decided on the following definition in the context of tunnels: “The ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, or more successfully adapt to actual or potential negative effects of events or developments affecting the availability of a road [...]

TF 4.1 Road Design Standards

• State of the Art in Road Design Standards

  

  This literature review is the first of two planned publications of PIARC Task Force 4.1 “Road Design Standards” in the period 2020 – 2022. PIARC considered importance of comparison international road design standards to check their updated status and the degree of their readiness to face the forthcoming innovations in the road mobility. The report presents a literature review in the field of road design standards based on reviewing reports, guidelines, and research papers on the subject matter. [...]

Special Projects

• Bridge And Tunnel Strikes By Oversized Vehicles

  

  This report details the findings of a study carried out by Roughan & O’Donovan Ltd. (ROD) under the supervision of PIARC, in response to an open call for proposals published by PIARC to conduct the “Bridges and tunnels strikes by oversize vehicles” Special Project. The objective of the study was to examine proven countermeasures, practices, and technologies used to reduce the incidence of oversize vehicles striking bridges and tunnels along with effective processes for accurately reporting [...]

• Overweight Vehicles: Impact On Road Infrastructure And Safety

  

  This report compiled the available information on overweight road freight vehicles around the world, the impacts they have on road infrastructure, road safety and the economic position of road infrastructure managers, and collected global best practices to prevent and mitigate overloading. Global experience Weight limits for road freight vehicles typically cover 2 aspects: gross vehicle weight and axle (set) load. Gross vehicle weights differ greatly between countries and continents, from as low [...]

• Smart Roads Classification

  

  Traditionally, road network classification systems have focused on two fundamentally opposite dimensions: mobility and accessibility. These classification systems have been adapted to the variable circumstances of countries or regions. However, with Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) coming into play, the situation has become quite more challenging than before. Current CAVs consist of diverse Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that assist humans in the driving task. The automotive industry [...]

• Road Related Data and How to Use it

  

  The management of road infrastructure has been experiencing major changes over the past decade, mostly due to the increased demand from road users, the increased deterioration of road infrastructure and from the evolution of user expectations. In addition, new challenges such as climate change and emerging (and potentially disruptive) technologies and service models are changing supply and demand dimensions as well as offering data collection and analytics capability in their own right. This has [...]

• The Contribution of Road Transport to Sustainability and Economic Development

  

  Road transport and road infrastructures are keys to the evolution and prosperity of modern society. Connecting people and places, goods and services in safe, efficient and sustainable way is essential for creating and maintaining sustainable and inclusive growth across society and the economy. This report introduces a constellation of known literature and studies that underline main points, while it refers to a series of interviews with key stakeholders and influencers from the road transport industry. [...]

PIARC Technical Reports on the COVID-19 crisis

• Summary of the Webinar on Post Covid-19: Planning for Economic Recovery

  

  This Bulletin has been prepared by Technical Committee 1.2 on “Planning Road Infrastructure and Transport to Economic and Social Development” of PIARC ( the World Road Association ). The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated key trends that directly affect transportation and is presenting transportation and transportation planners with an unprecedented set of new challenges and possibilities. This event is unique from past economic downturns because of its scope and scale literally touches [...]

• Disaster Management: The Effects And Management Of Covid-19 Whilst Looking To The Future

  

  No matter what the disaster is, no matter what the pandemic is, we as road administrators must minimize the disaster impacts to our transportation infrastructure. To share the experiences of disaster management amid COVID-19, PIARC TC 1.5 “Disaster Management” of PIARC and TRB AMR00(2) “Transportation Emergency Management Practices and Innovations Subcommittee” organized a joint webinar on June 30, 2021. The webinar invited six speakers from all over the world. All the presenters reported [...]

• COVID-19: Survey of Impacts and Responses from the Global Roads and Transport Sector

  

  In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the world, creating massive impacts and challenges for multiple sectors, including roads and transport. PIARC took action rapidly, forming a COVID-19 Response Team and initiating a programme of knowledge-sharing webinars.  The Response Team also launched a global questionnaire survey. The intention was to assess how road and transport agencies, operators and other organizations were coping with COVID-19 pandemic and to identify responses and [...]

• COVID-19: initial impacts and responses to the pandemic from road and transport agencies

  

  The road transport sector, and the organisations and professionals who manage it, is an essential service and PIARC recognized the potential for COVID-19 to cause severe disruption to the road transport sector early on. In mid-March 2020, PIARC moved to establish a formal PIARC COVID-19 Response Team to explore the rapid sharing of knowledge and practice between PIARC members in terms of pandemic impacts, associated economic and social crisis and the relevant responses. Activities were rapidly launched [...]

• COVID-19: Key Lessons for the Road and Transport Community from the Latest PIARC Webinars

  

  PIARC organizes weekly online discussions on the response to the COVID-19 crisis. They are open to experts appointed by their National PIARC First delegate and to PIARC Technical Committee / Task Force members. The objective of the sessions is to share knowledge and current practice between PIARC members urgently in order to support responses to the pandemic in near real-time.

• COVID-19: Key Lessons for the Road Community from the first PIARC Webinars

  

  PIARC organizes weekly online discussions on the response to the COVID-19 crisis. They are open to experts appointed by their National PIARC First delegate and to PIARC Technical Committee / Task Force members. The objective of the sessions is to share knowledge and current practice between PIARC members urgently in order to support responses to the pandemic in near real-time.