The third workshop of COST Action TU1406 “Quality specifications for roadway bridges, standardization at a European level” will be held in Delft, the Netherlands, at TNO Institute on 20th and 21st of October 2016, after IALCCE conference http://www.ialcce2016.org/.

TNO is an independent research organisation that joints the creation of economic and social value. The focus is on transitions or changes in five social themes:

• Industry: from economic stagnation to growth in high-technology industry
• Healthy Living: from illness and treatment to health and behaviour
• Defence, Safety & Security: from a wide range of threats to controllable risks
• Urbanisation: from urbanisation bottlenecks to urban vitality
• Energy: from conventional sources to sustainable energy systems.

TNO LOCATION DELFT – STIELTJESWEG

Stieltjesweg 1

NL-2628 CK Delft

Postal address

P.O. Box 155

NL-2600 AD Delft

+31 88 866 20 00

The exact meeting rooms will be announced later.

From Delft train station, the following busses will take you close to the TNO building:

• Veolia bus 69 (direction Technopolis) to stop ‘Delft – TU-Mekelpark’
• Veolia bus 55 (direction Zoetermeer) to stop ‘Delft – Schoemakerstraat’
• RET bus 40 (direction Rotterdam Centraal ) or 174 (direction Rotterdam Noord) to stop ‘Delft – Mekelpark)’

Delft is located centrally in the heart of Holland known as the Randstad region, between Rotterdam and The Hague. Delft represents Europe at its best, with fast connections to anywhere in the world. Both physically, boasting Amsterdam and Rotterdam The Hague airports in close proximity and countless international railway connections available, as well as in terms of its role in many international knowledge networks, alliances and businesses.

Delft’s fine infrastructure makes it easily accessible by car and public transport. It is a compact city and all the main locations inside its historic centre are well within walking distance.

For more information on getting to and from Delft including local transportation options, please visit the IALCCE 2016 conferences website: http://www.ialcce2016.org/accessibility/.

• Amsterdam Schiphol – Delft

The Netherlands is easily accessible by airplane from all parts of the World. Schiphol International Airport (www.schiphol.nl) is one of central hubs for intercontinental as well as for European flights. From Schiphol International Airport, Delft is easy to reach via public transport or by special taxi, the so-called Schiphol Travel Taxi. Furthermore there are nine trains per hour that make the 45 minute journey between the airport and Delft. For more information, please visit www.ns.nl

• Rotterdam The Hague Airport – Delft

Except for Schiphol International Airport, Delft has a second airport in its surroundings: Rotterdam The Hague Airport (www.rotterdamairport.nl). This airport is aiming at the European destinations.
Rotterdam The Hague airport is the area’s regional airport at just five kilometers from Delft. It offers fast and convenient services to many European destinations. For more information, please visit www.rotterdamthehagueairport.nl

• By road

Delft is connected to an excellent network of Dutch and European motorways, such as the A12, linking the region with Germany and the A16 – A4 which connects it to Belgium.

• Public transport

Delft is centrally located within the European railway network, connecting it to Paris, for example. There are many local transport facilities to move delegates during a conference, such as tram, bus, taxi and water taxi. Within Delft you can take busses, taxi’s or you can walk of course. The city centre is very compact. For public transport information, please visit http://9292.nl/en#.

In the first year of the COST Action TU1406 the main focus was on the screening process of existing European documents and establishing a database for PIs. The next step in the project is to focus on technical and non-technical bridge performance goals, followed by the establishment of quality control plans. Therefore, the workshop will be dedicated on following topics:

• Evaluation of bridge performance (criteria, requirements, goals, thresholds);
• Technical, sustainability and economic aspects of bridge performance;
• Life-cycle Assessment;
• Quality control plans;
• Reliability of testing/investigation techniques and methods;
• Qualification criteria for inspectors.

The programme includes presentations and invited speakers related to WG2 and WG3.

The detailed programme is provided in the meeting booklet.

The workshop is mainly dedicated to WG2 and WG3 members of COST Action TU1406. However it will be kept open to interested participants who wish to share their experience on discussed topics.

A city tour and Networking dinner will be organized on 20th of October. The expected cost is around 40 EUR per person.

Details about the meeting point and dinner location will follow.

All participants that intend to participate in the events are kindly asked to use an online Registration Form in order to book accordingly. The registration should be performed by September 30, 2016. However, early registration is highly appreciated.

COST organization provides a certain amount of financial means for organizing such meetings and to reimburse participants. This includes for example accommodation costs, meals, transport expenses, etc. For more information about travel reimbursement request please visit the following webpage.

Please book your flight and hotel as soon as possible in order to find cheap solutions.

Participants are kindly asked to use the TU1406 templates which can be downloaded here and here.

Delft and the direct surroundings offers more than 1,100 hotel rooms, to give your delegates their wellearned night’s sleep and much more.

There are many 3 and 4 star hotels in the city centre and along the A13 motorway as well as in our neighbouring cities, both small scale accommodations in historic premises as well as modern luxury hotels.

The following hotels have been selected for the IALCCE2016 conference and are also suggested for COST TU 1406 meeting. The hotels are listed in order of distance to the event.

1. WestCord Delft – from € 109.00
2. Royal Bridges Delft – from € 114.50
3. Hampshire Delft Centre – from € 89.50
4. Campanile Delft – from € 75.00
5. Shanghai Hotel Holland – from € 85.00
6. Van der Valk Hotel Den Haag – Nootdorp – from € 115.00
7. Hampshire Babylon The Hague – from € 149.00
8. Holiday Inn Express The Hague Parliament – from € 129.00

Please book your hotel following this link to make use of the special rates for the IALCCE2016 conference. Please make sure to make your booking as soon as possible (preferably before August 19) as the number of available rooms for the IALCCE2016 conference are limited.