Roads as a key local development focus of the XVII Vyodeal

Spanish and European experts will gather in Seville between the 24 and 28 next March

This is one of the key appointments in the national road sector for this year

The Spanish Road Association organized the meeting under the sponsorship of the Provincial Council of Seville and the cooperation of the Government of Andalusia and the City of Seville

Madrid, March 20 2003.- The impact of roads on local development and regional planning; skills, legal framework and financing of provincial roads; the technical aspects that affect their design, construction and maintenance, and the situation of this type of road in other European countries are some of the major issues to be addressed in the context of the seventeenth edition of the National Symposium Roads and Works Local administration (Vyodeal), 4º National Congress of Local Roads.

The meeting will be held in Seville, the next 24 to 28 March, organized by the Spanish Road Association (AEC) under the sponsorship of the Provincial Council of Seville, the collaboration of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of the Board Andalusia and Seville City Council, promotion of the Professional Association of Civil Engineers, Channels and Ports, provincial officials, and the support of the Directorate General of Traffic of the Ministry of Interior, the General Directorate of Roads of the Ministry of Development, the center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works of the Ministry of Public Works (CEDEX), the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), the College of Civil Engineering, Channels and Ports, and the College of Engineers of Public Works.

After passing through Lion in May 2001 where management needs of local roads were addressed, the new edition of this congress aims to study in depth the most pressing issues currently affecting the road network, which depends the livelihood of about 8.000 Spanish municipalities. Some roads although from a technical point of view are far from requiring the design standards that are designed and constructed the main lines of communication, require, however, a primary care with a view to a proper development, structuring and management territorial.

Tight working schedule

The General Rapporteur of the present edition of Vyodeal, José María de Ureña French, Director of the School of Civil Engineering, Channels and Ports of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, has prepared a comprehensive work plan and comprehensive articulated around eight sessions. They, more than 50 speakers made a complete tour of all the dimensions that make up the present and the near future of local roads.

In short, they framed within eight working sessions, 19 papers and 7 technical papers will be presented, to which must be added the holding of a round table will focus on the Institutional Framework of Local Roads, a panel and a technical visit to move delegates to a stretch of highway that runs Plate by lands Seville. Also, 12 free communications will be presented. Naturally, and as held in Seville, the 4º National Congress of Local Roads pay particular attention to the Sevillian and Andalusian roads.

On Monday March 24, after two separate official opening of the conference and exhibition to be held in parallel, will be given the go-ahead for the start of the technical sessions. In the First Session of Labour, which will focus on "Local development and roads", the speakers will address issues such as "endogenous development", "Accessibility and communications for local development" and "Local roads and Agenda XXI".

The Working Session II, focused entirely on "Competency framework, legal and funding of local roads" will be structured around a round table composed of six speakers who will discuss the institutional framework of local roads.

On Tuesday, March 25 is another day of intense activity, with two sessions scheduled work. The third working session devoted to the analysis of "Local roads and land use" bring it up issues such as "Local roads and consideration in spatial planning", "Integration of local networks with routes of great capacity, "" public transport, accessibility and mobility in sparsely populated areas, "" the layout of local roads and landscape "and" the role of engineers provincial local government in local development planning. "

During the afternoon of the same day, the Working Session IV will be devoted to analyzing specific cases of local road projects relevant for its final impetus to the development of the areas through which they travel. Thus, the speakers will review cases as Jacetania, in Huesca, The Hurd Extremadura and the coastal region.

After this intense beginning of Congress, March 26 just in Ecuador the same, those attending the XVII edition of the Symposium will have the opportunity to visit the traditional technique that has never been lacking in the program of activities of this congress. In this case, congressmen and speakers may take a little breather and analyze in situ the progress of the works of La Plata highway passing through Seville, specifically in the section that runs from Sale of Upper and Gerena link.

"Technical aspects of design, construction, and maintenance of local roads" is the title under which the papers of the Sixth Session of Labour are included. Throughout this thematic subjects such as "bicycle routes", "Recycling firm in way low traffic intensity", "Recommendations for use of emulsions in way low traffic intensity" and "Recommendations for improvement will be addressed road safety on cruises. "

The Seventh Session will provide a dose of labor internationalism Symposium. Under the heading "The local road in Europe" came speakers from our European environment (Belgium, Finland, Portugal and Germany) will discuss the peculiarities of local roads in the Old Continent.

With 16 editions held over 30 years, the Symposium Vyodeal stays true to tradition. Therefore, one of the highlights of this veteran congress will be the presentation of the Technical Papers usually expressly developed to make them public during the meeting.

For this edition, will be seven technical documents to be submitted to the study of experts meeting in Seville, most of which will be presented along Eighth and final working session. "The institutional framework of local roads", "Recommendations for improving road safety on cruises", "Criteria for the realization of a provincial catalog of roads. Their application in the province of Seville", "Local roads in Europe" "Management of road safety in industrial estates", "recommendations on containment systems on local roads" and "100 recommendations for improving road safety" will be the 'Documents Vyodeal that will be common along the this year's Symposium.

Andalusian local roads

The Andalusian region has about 25.000 km of roads; near 3.300 are managed by the Central Administration (Ministry of Development), more than 10.700 are in charge of the Autonomous Government and about 10.500 competence of the various provincial councils. The 15 25.000% of those kilometers runs through the province of Seville, whose council manages a total of 1.525 kilometers (the largest network of eight provinces, after Cordoba and Jaen -2.427 miles-miles--1.655). The Board is responsible 10.799 kilometers (1.895 in Seville) and the 3.229 State (Sevilla 405).

In 2000, the Provincial de Sevilla invested in roads 6,16 million euros (1.025 million pesetas), which ranks as the third largest investor in the region corporation. The Andalusian also made in the year 2000 to Seville from their budget priorities for roads, allocating a total of 42,59 million euros (7.087 million pesetas) to Seville autonomic network.

As for the central government, it invested 29,59 million euros (4.923 million pesetas) on roads in the province of Seville in 2000.

A Little History

The National Symposium Way and Works of Local Administration was first held in 1972. Torremolinos hosted that first edition and, after thirty years, the only Congress in Spain dedicated to addressing the problems of local roads has accumulated many experiences.

Over sixteen editions, the Vyodeal brought together about four thousand delegates, both from government (central, regional and provincial), and companies linked to national and international road. This has consolidated its position as one of the meetings on road infrastructure more veterans of our country and essential forum for discussion of the various aspects of provincial roads, both from an economic and social perspective, and from other points of view, including which include management of the road network, planning, construction, design and maintenance, environmental impact and road safety.

From the hand of the Spanish Road Association since 1974 (year of the second Symposium), the real protagonists of Vyodeal have been more than 68.000 kilometers of our territory that configure the secondary network, which are the only means of communication for approximately half of Spanish municipalities, whose total number is around the 8.000.

The Vyodeal to be held in Seville in 2003 is a young Vyodeal renovated, but on par with more experience than ever, which seeks to reaffirm the role of the Provincial Councils recognized-little-so important in the world of road infrastructure, and emphasize again the work of technicians who have to deal with maintaining a network in good condition, for many citizens, means the only link with the rest of the territory.