World Road Association (WRA)

Founded in 1909, as the Permanent International Association of Road Congresses (PIARC), the World Road Association is an international forum in the road sector whose goal is to enhance a better global road community in order to promote economic growth and social welfare. It brings together the road administrations of 118 governments and has members in over 140 countries.

The United States is a member of the WRA and is represented by delegates from the U.S. Department of Transportation, FHWA, and representatives from the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials. United States WRA participation gives the United States insight into some of the most recent technical and policy road developments originating abroad. It is also a good channel for communicating innovations to the rest of the world. Participation affords the United States the ability to contribute to guidance and reference documents that are used by road practitioners worldwide.

The WRA operates on a four-year cycle with a strategic plan comprised of up to four theme areas. These themes embrace the work of several technical committees, which have the task of carrying out studies in defined subject areas on technical topics. The themes for the current cycle (2011-2015) are:

• Strategic Theme 1: Management and Performance
• Strategic Theme 2: Access and Mobility
• Strategic Theme 3: Safety
• Strategic Theme 4: Infrastructures

Every four years, the World Road Association (WRA) sponsors two types of congresses: the World Road Congress and the International Winter Road Congress. Both meet in a member country to enable members to share techniques and experiences in the field of road transportation and to showcase the key accomplishments and findings of its technical committees. The 2015 World Congress will be hosted November 2-6, 2015, in Seoul, South Korea. For full programming details, please visit http://piarcseoul2015.org/eng/

The next International Winter Road Congress will take place in Gdansk, Poland, in February 2018.

In January 2015, the Office of International Programs coordinated a meeting led by FHWA’s executive director to review efforts by U.S. representatives to WRA technical committees. It was a discussion of the progress achieved from its participation in the committees and included a report by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on expected 2015 activities and efforts to enhance U.S. input into the technical and management-level deliberations of the WRA.

The meeting also focused on how to increase the U.S. imprint on WRA products, how to better share U.S. perspectives with low- and middle-income countries, and how to integrate learned international perspectives into the U.S. mainstream. Attendees also discussed opportunities to further U.S. priorities in the WRA’s strategic plan for the 2016-2019 cycle.

In July 2014, FHWA’s executive director traveled to Vienna, Austria, to attend the World Road Association’s (WRA) Mid-Cycle and Strategic Planning Commission (SPC) meetings. In his role as the U.S. first delegate to the WRA, he led discussions on the next strategic plan. The trip enabled the United States to participate in the association’s mid-cycle meeting of leaders from all 17 technical committees and two task forces to discuss the state of their efforts and obtain insights to improve WRA operations. The meetings were also critical in setting the direction for the next four-year strategic plan.