The World Tunneling Congress 2019 opened officially on Monday May 6th, with the Opening Ceremony, but thematic courses and international teams started to work May 3rd. From May 6th to 8th, a series of lectures, seminars and workshops focused on the world of design and construction, in relation to works involving tunnels.
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association held its forty-fifth general assembly in Naples, sunday 5th and wednesday 9th, in conjunction with the World Tunnel Congress 2019, and was organized by ITA and the Italian tunnel society. 77 of the 78 Member Nations participated and represented at the General Assembly.
On Tuesday 7th May, an ITA COSUF – Operational Safety of Underground Transportation Facilities session, was held. A report from the two-day international Workshop on NEC in Road Tunnels, that took place in Utrecht earlier this year, was presented.
Other topics in the ITA COSUF session:
- Operational Safety from First Responders perspectives
- New IT Systems for Traffic Safety in Road Tunnels
- Risk diagnostic & monitoring tools in road tunnels
- Ventilation of tunnels and cross-passages of the Ceneri Base Tunnel and similar projects
- Reducing the monotonous design in the word ́s deepest and longest sub-sea road tunnel Ogfast
- Ventilation applied to fire safety in Metro Tunnels, Naples Line 1 Project
- How to Refurbish a tunnel: Shop open or closed?
- Civil engineering constraints on tunnel ventilation and safety
The congress itselves had an overall strong focus on engineering and construction topics, and the event is considered the most important congress on these topics.
It was no coincidence that the city of Naples has been chosen to host the Congress. The city offers many historic examples of tunnels from as far back as Greek-Roman Antiquity and in recent years has demonstrated a significant capacity for using and enhancing underground spaces, adopting innovative solutions for excavation, and successfully combining archaeology, architecture and art in the award-winning Art Stations of the Neapolitan subway system. Toledo, Università and Garibaldi are just some of the most highly appreciated stations, glowing examples of how the combination of the Italian industry's construction know-how, the creative genius of international artists and architects, and the visionary capacity of a client such as the Metropolitana di Napoli, can guarantee a new and sophisticated reappraisal of the underground.
I really enjoyed this event, and had the opportunity to expand my business network.
Our contribution: Presentation on general assembly (About PIARC), meetings in the steeringboard (ITA-COSUF), meeting in activity-/workgroups and delegate at the congress.