Skip to main content

ERIC2016 in Leeds, UK: asset management rethink

From 18th October to 20th October 2016, the European Union Road Federation (ERF), in partnership with the Road Safety markings Association (RSMA) will present the 1st European Road Infrastructure Congress (ERIC2016) in the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, UK
November 9, 2016 Read time: 3 mins

From 18th October to 20th October 2016, the European Union Road Federation (ERF), in partnership with the Road Safety markings Association (RSMA) will present the 1st European Road Infrastructure Congress (ERIC2016) in the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, UK

The City of Leeds, at the heart of the UK’s Northern Powerhouse Corridor has been chosen as the host for the 1st European Road Infrastructure Congress.

The 5149 Road Safety Markings Association (RSMA), an active member of the ERF for more than 10 years, has invited the 7575 ERF to jointly organise the first European Road Infrastructure Congress, together with the celebration of its 40th anniversary.

There is nowadays an overwhelming consensus that delivery and procurement models for road and its related equipment suffer from several shortcomings. To get true value for money there is a need to explore new concepts and models for the delivery of a safe and sustainable infrastructure that will look, among other things at key concepts.

The general theme of ERIC2016 is ‘Driving the road to European Prosperity’. The focus is on how to improve the products, solutions, services and delivery of Europe’s road system.

Attendees will hear policymakers, road authorities, academics, research laboratories and industry representatives from across Europe and other countries exchange good practices and present new research findings.

ERIC2016 will focus on existing legal frameworks across Europe concerning public procurement for roads and identification of good practices. It will also cover opportunities offered by the new legal and policy tools, such as the revision of the Directive for Public Procurement and voluntary Green Public Procurement Criteria.

And it will investigate how European standards can provide authorities and industry with common methodologies for assessing life-cycle of different road products. It will also investigate how authorities can make use of existing tools to provide industry with the right incentives in order to stimulate innovation. Other topics in focus will be lengthening the maintenance cycle for road projects as well as road user charging schemes and acceptability.

The programme will be structured around three major topics, the delivery of road infrastructure, safe road infrastructure and technology and adaptation.

In addition to public and private infrastructure managers, other actors are also concerned such as the academic sector. Universities will have the opportunity to openly discuss topics of R&D during four sessions specifically dedicated to them, as will industrial and professional organisations, and, of course, the members of RSMA and ERF.

Venue: Leeds, Royal Armouries Museum
Dates: 18th – 20th October 2016


A message from the Director General of the ERF

Most of us use roads every day and we all tend to take them for granted. Considerable investments have been made during the past 50 years in order to provide citizens with modern road infrastructures. However, the aspect of preservation and maintenance of the road asset has not followed the same pace.

Our roads are in danger and many surveys indicate that the backlog of outstanding road maintenance has caused irreversible deterioration of the road network, with related consequences on road safety, impact on the environment and a reduced services for the road user.

Most asset managers across the world agree that the only way to manage our roads so that they meet both needs and aspirations is to carry out regular surveys and undertake regular planned maintenance.

Let us all gather in Leeds, in the United Kingdom, from 18th to 20th October 2016 for the European Road Infrastructure Congress (%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal www.eric2016.eu Visit www.eric2016.eu false http://www.eric2016.eu/ false false%>) to share our common concern regarding the management of the road asset, exchange our experiences, knowledge and best practices, but also look together to the future efficient management of our major community asset: roads.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Paul Verrico of Eversheds will be headline speaker at ERIC 2016
    August 9, 2016
    Despite Europe being a global leader in road safety, around 25,000 road users (working, walking, driving or riding a bicycle) did not make it home in 2015 and more than 200,000 others sustained life-changing or serious injuries. Leading Safety Lawyer Paul Verrico, a Partner of European law firm Eversheds will present the ERICLeeds16 ROAD SAFETY DEBATE. He will argue that organisations in the UK face ever increasing sanctions through new sentencing guidelines for health and safety and corporate manslaugh
  • The ERF fully supports the PPRS Nice 2018
    May 16, 2017
    The first Pavement Preservation and Recycling Summit (PPRS) took place in Paris in February 2015. This event, with more than 1,000 participants, represented an essential milestone for the road community in Europe and beyond. With its impressive programme, it highlighted the necessity to better preserve and maintain road infrastructure and urban road networks, as fundamental support towards the mobility of people and goods. This event gave public and private stakeholders the opportunity to present a variety
  • The European Road Infrastructure Congress 2016: innovative thinking
    October 18, 2016
    ERIC 2016, the first European Road Infrastructure Congress, has called on the region’s governments to come together and work more imaginatively with the private sector to bring about a safer and more effective highway network. Speaking at the congress’ opening ceremony, FIA president Jean Todt said that if the EU is serious about improving its road safety record, it is essential to develop a high quality highway infrastructure as quickly as possible. Todt (who is also the United Nations special envoy
  • ERF sets out plans for 2014 symposium
    May 19, 2014
    The road infrastructure sector, in its strive to deliver better products for its customers, such as road authorities, has worked hard to develop innovative solutions. These are intended to be more durable, making them more cost-effective in the long-run, and also more environmentally friendly. In its efforts, however, it has often been frustrated by a rigid legal framework that leaves little room for manoeuvre to its customers. Until last year, existing rules for public procurement at EU level gave almost u