Road tunnel operations and safety on the agenda in Tromsø, Norway.
- Arild Søvik
- for 7 døgn siden
- 2 min lesing
In April 2026, the International Tunnel Association’s Committee on Operational Safety of Underground Facilities (ITA COSUF) joined forces with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s annual Norwegian tunnelforum. This joint event took place in the beautiful Tromsø from April 13 to 15. We organized a joint day to exchange insights, share perspectives, and enhance international collaboration. Additionally, ITA COSUF hosted the 8th Tunnel Safety Officers forum, while the Public Roads Administration held its annual Norwegian tunnelforum.
By uniting two strong communities, we brougth together the best of both worlds — national depth and international breadth. 240 industry experts with diverse backgrounds participated in discussions on the main theme «Adapting Tunnels for Tomorrow».
On the first day, we organized activity group meetings where tunnel safety officers from across Europe participated in a detailed technical session, discussing advanced topics, case studies, and exchanging expertise.
On the second day, we were greeted by Bjørn Laksforsmo, the Divisional Director for Operations and Maintenance at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and Eric Prémat, the Chair of ITA COSUF.
Bjørn Laksforsmo gave a keynote and an insight into the current reality of tunnel safety in daily operation in Norway. Karin de Haas from COB - Netherlands delivered a keynote on the European outlook for upcoming challenges, followed by Götz Vollman from Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, who delivered a forward-looking keynote on long-term developments and resilience. Together, the keynotes provide insight and inspiration and create a shared frame of reference for the rest of the program.
Claire Depré, Head of Unit for Road Safety at DG MOVE (European Commission) gave a presentation on major road safety trends across Europe, their implications for tunnel safety, and how current policies address these challenges. The presentation also covered the European Directive for Road Tunnels and the efforts of the Committee on Road Tunnel Safety, offering important context for ongoing discussions in the field.
Next, a panel discussion shifted reflection into actionable steps. Experienced tunnel safety experts discussed how the day’s themes relate to real-world decisions.
This was followed by table discussions on fires involving electric vehicles in road tunnels, efforts to improve road user behavior through communication and PR campaigns, and new geopolitical situations, cybersecurity, and resilience.
Svenn Finden gave us an insight into Norwegian tunnelling, and how things are done in Norway.
The final day featured two separate events: the Tunnel Safety Officer Forum and the Norwegian Tunnel Forum.
In the Tunnel Safety Officer Forum, tunnel operators and experts exchanged lessons learned from real-world tunnel operations.
This took place in an open setting under Chatham House Rules, where participants reflected on practical experiences, challenges, and insights from across Europe. Interactive workshops were also structured into three rounds, for a total of five, covering a wide array of practical and future-oriented topics.
At the Norwegian Tunnelforum, Norwegian participants discussed upcoming road tunnel projects, safety regulations, technological innovations, practical risk management, ITS and international standards, tunnel commissioning, among other topics.
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