Evaluation and Development of Road Networks

Toulouse Regional Laboratory of Bridges and Roads (1966 2001)

Published online: 29 April 2026

Abstract

After the war, the national road network was no longer suited to heavy goods vehicle traffic conditions. As a result, the Roads Directorate defined a 33.000 km national network in 1973, on which the State would make the necessary improvements. During the same period, the Central Laboratory of Bridges and Roads (LCPC) worked on the creation of more resistant, more durable, and economical bitumen road structures. This last point proved all the more crucial during the 1974 oil crisis. The creation of 17 Regional Laboratories (LRPC) made it possible to experiment, control, and disseminate new techniques. Thus, in about fifteen years, 22,000 km of national roads were rehabilitated. At the same time, the State was preparing to build more than 10,000 km of 0highways. In the I980s, the technologies developed by the Laboratory network were widely disseminated throughout the world. For around twenty years, on all continents, many states, often assisted by the World Bank, have relied on studies by SERI (International Studies and Research Service of the LCPC) to prepare and sometimes carry out the restoration of their networks.