11th International Symposium on Concrete Roads 2010

The 11th International Symposium on Concrete Roads, took place in Seville from 13 to 15 October 2010. This edition welcomed more than 500 people from the cement and concrete industry, representing 35 countries. Next to the plenary sessions and technical visits to Marchena, Huelva and Cádiz, the attendees enjoyed equally a social programme. This edition has strengthened its character as an international forum to exchange experiences and innovations. 112 papers from 27 countries were received. Interestingly, some of them dealt with the results obtained when applying a certain technique in different countries on both sides of the Atlantic. A remarkable development of concrete pavements in certain Latin American countries has also been reported.

Further to the papers presented, the following general conclusions were drawn:

• concrete pavements, when properly designed and constructed, have a long service life as well as a minimum maintenance.
• it is possible to obtain reduced noise levels in concrete pavements without sacrificing their antiskidding characteristics.
• conversion of a dark pavement into a brighter one has a number of benefits. There is a growing trend towards the use in cities of light reflective surfaces both in roofs and pavements to reduce the amount of energy needed to cool urban environments associated with the urban heat island effect. In this respect, the high solar reflectance or albedo that concrete pavement can provide is advantageous.
• road widening is one of the main options to improve mobility.
• a long-life pavement requires to be uniformly supported by a non-erodible subbase.
• concrete barriers are a sustainable and reliable option to improve occupants’ safety. Different types, either precast or in situ slipformed, are available.

It is clear that concrete has a positive contribution which justifies the motto of the Symposium: “the answer to the new challenges”.

Anyone interested in the presentations delivered during the technical sessions, is kindly requested to visit the directory:

“SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATIONS” at ftp://ftp.fortea.be 
(user name: eupave, password: ftp2010). All presentations remain available until November 30^th.