Board of Directors Deputy Chairman of TRA Dr. Yücel ERDEM attended to “ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2009 and the 35th ITA-AITES General Assembly - Safe Tunnelling for the City and for the Environment", which was held in Budapest on May 23-28, 2009 and presented the "Country Report".
www.ita-aites.org

41) "OPERATIONAL SAFETY IN UNDERGROUND FACILITIES" MEETING 
(October 06-07, 2009)

At present, tunnels and underground facilities are gaining more importance in the road transportation system with the ever-increasing traffic load.
COSUF, established on the basis of a resolution voted at the ITA World Congress convened in Istanbul in 2005 in order to work towards operational safety in underground facilities and, in particular, in tunnels, has assumed an important role in ensuring the cooperation of activities at the European level and internationally and offering for use the results of research, innovation and best practice.
The meeting, organised on "Operational Safety in Underground Facilities" in Istanbul, the capital of civilisations that unites the traditional and the modern, was attended by around 160 participants, among which were, in addition to the foreign and local invited experts, representatives of the central and local organisation of the Directorate General of Highways, officials of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, representatives of other organisations, and members of the press.
The purpose of the meeting was to raise awarenes concerning the issue at the national and international levels and help relevant institutions take required measures.

42) 5th NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BITUMEN AND EXHIBITION 
(November 18-19, 2009)

“5th National  Symposium  on  Bitumen  and  Exhibition”  was  organized  in 
Ankara on November 18-19, 2009 by General Directorate of Highways, Turkish Road
Association and TRA member Asphalt Contractors Association. 
The Openning Speeches were done by Mr. A. Tuncer ERTAN, President of Asphalt Contractors Association, Mr. M. Cahit TURHAN, General Director of Highways and Mr. M. Habib SOLUK, Undersecretary of Ministry of Transportation.
Prof.Dr. Erol TUTUMLUER from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA), Assoc.Prof. Yetkin YILDIRIM from University of Texas at Austin (USA) and Dipl.-Ing. Reha ÇETİNKAYA from Ruhr Universitat Bochum (Germany) were the invited speakers of the Symposium.
750 people followed the Symposium and Exhibition with great interest.