The initial findings of a research project currently being carried out for Spain's Ministry of Public Works with a view to analysing the effects both on the environment and on accessibility, of an increased permeabilisation of the Pyrenees are presented.A rational and environment-friendly permeabilisation of the Pyrenees is seen by both the Spanish government and theEuropean Union as a key factor to ensure the harmonious socio-economic development of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as to limit the detrimental effects of the region's peripheral location within the European Union, a situation that was exacerbated when several Eastern European countries recently became new EU members.The present study was carried out using an accessibility model and an environmental model which, together with a traffic model, have been validated on a nationwide scale.These models enable us to quantify the effects on accessibility and the environment of the construction of new infrastructure in the Pyrenean region.The cross-border scope of the research project underway, which analyses the eight regions making up the Working Community of the Pyrenees, makes it of particular interest, both from a methodology standpoint and as regards the results obtained and the difficulties encountered.For the covering entry of this conference please see ITRD E132365.
Abstract