In this poster session, authors will present their papers on the topic 5 (also presented during poster session 8), topic 7 (also presented during poster session 8), topic 12 (also presented during poster session 8) and topic 13 (also presented during poster session 8).

Topic 5: Winter maintenance management

Administration of winter service activities involves the planning and organization of many functions of road agencies and requires significant resources. Winter service is part of the operational strategy of Road Administrations. The policies and tools these administrations use in its management are the subject of this topic.

• Strategic planning and organization policies
• Definition and measurement of Levels of Service
• Regulations relating to the use of roads (example: use of winter tires)
• Cost/benefit analysis
• Sustainability considerations in winter service planning
• Professional training
• Outsourcing / Contracting winter service
• Interaction with road users/customers
• Performance management

Topic 7: Winter service in urban areas

Maintenance of the urban network can vary from major highways to dead-end roads where space is very limited. Most people live in cities and many do not use personal transportation. Multimodal transport is common in most cities, snow and ice in winter has an impact on different types of transport and their connections. Due to the intense use of urban areas the environment of these areas is exposed to winter service operations. Papers might include:

• Optimization and minimization of the routes for winter service vehicles
• Treatment methods, materials and vehicles for winter service on different types of bicycle facilities, sidewalks and pedestrian areas or cluttered areas
• Accessibility for those with reduced mobility (e.g. tactile paving) during winter events
• Equipment and layout of urban areas, what to do with the snow, store, remove or thaw?
• Accounting for winter weather during the planning/scoping phase of roads
• Solutions to ploughing different surfaces without disadvantaging any transport mode
• How to manage different responsibilities and regulations
• How to define a standard and best practice in cities also for multimodal transport (public transport, pedestrian, bicycle, bus, car)
• Methods and technologies for environmentally friendly winter service
• Snow falling from roofs/bridges etc.

Topic 12: Bridge resilience considering natural hazards

With regard to road bridges, concerns associated with climate change are the extreme variation of air temperatures, extreme wind due to hurricanes and typhoons, sea level rise, frequency and intensity of rainfall and associated flooding, and so on. In addition, seismic events have caused severe damage to road bridges in seismic areas that have resulted in closing of road networks.

For this topic, papers are invited which describe the following aspects:

• Bridge recovery after the occurrence of natural hazards
• Mitigation to accommodate effects due to natural hazards for road bridges
• Measures for increasing resilience to climate change
• Effects of climate change on bridge design and maintenance
• Mitigation to accommodate climate change effects
• Climate change resilient bridges
• Road Bridges damage-resilience in seismic areas
• Seismic retrofit techniques to enhance resilience of road bridges

Topic 13: Resilience of Earth Structures to natural hazards

It is essential to study the effect of natural hazards on existing earth structures and the measures used for their remediation. Specific measures are sought in design and construction of earth structures to prevent the effect of natural hazards on their performance over their design life.

Natural hazards include, but are not limited to:

• Heavy rainfall events and flooding
• Wind erosion
• The action of snow and frost penetration
• Rock falls
• Soil moisture deficit
• Earthquakes, and
• Any other effect of global climate change

Papers are invited from any geographical location and involving any techniques that have been utilised in the past to improve earth structure performance irrespective of the complexity of the method employed.

Papers may eventually be included in a PIARC report about the resilience of earth structures.