Feature
The ITA committee on operational safety of underground facilities (COSUF): five years of activity and cooperation with PIARC
Didier Lacroix former President of the PIARC Technical Committee devoted to road tunnel operations, Vice President of the ITA-AITES COSUF Committee
In 1957, PIARC assembled a technical committee to study road tunnels; the committee was composed of representatives from six European countries. At present, committee membership extends to some 30 countries with all continents represented. The body's current title of "Road Tunnel Operations" Technical Committee (C.4) indicates a focus away from the actual building of underground facilities, and instead on all aspects related to the use of tunnels as part of road networks, namely: geometry, equipment, operations, environmental impacts, and one of today's chief concerns safety.