Auburn leads upcoming 62nd Annual Alabama Transportation Conference
Published: Feb 10, 2019 8:00 PM
By Austin Phillips
As an institutional leader of transportation research and workforce development, Auburn University’s Department of Civil Engineering has taken the lead to organize and develop the 62nd Annual Alabama Transportation Conference.
The conference, which takes place Feb. 12-13 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel at the Convention Center, will welcome nearly 1,000 federal and state highway personnel, road building contractors, general contractors, heavy construction contractors, utility contractors, county engineers, consulting engineers, construction material vendors, researchers, professional society representatives and university faculty members.
This event will provide an opportunity for these individuals to share innovative advances in transportation planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance.
“For more than six decades, Auburn University has been proud to work alongside our state and federal transportation agencies and professional associations to create this annual conference,” said Christopher B. Roberts, dean of the Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “This is a must-attend event for those in the transportation, highway, construction, design and associated industries, and we’re excited for the innovative and game-changing ideas that will grow from this gathering of the best and brightest minds from across the state.”
Technical sessions and sit-down luncheons will be provided to create a forum for the exchange of ideas between transportation engineering and construction professions. The conference will also include trade exhibits available to enhance learning and provide additional networking opportunities for all participants.
Tuesday’s session will begin at 10:30 a.m. with a welcome from Anton Schindler, the Mountain Spirit Professor of civil engineering and director of the Auburn University Highway Research Center, followed by a presentation titled “The State of Play: How State DOTs Are Transforming Transportation” given by Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Auburn alumnus Perry Hand, ’69 civil engineering and Volkert chairman of the board, will then deliver a presentation titled “Challenges and Opportunities: Setting the Stage for Transportation Investment.”
Steve Taylor, associate dean for research, will preside over the luncheon and introduce Gov. Kay Ivey.
The afternoon concurrent technical sessions will focus on roadway design, asphalt technologies and construction. Civil engineering associate professor Jeff LaMondia will present “Vulnerable Road Users Guidebook” during the roadway design session, while civil engineering assistant professor Ben Bowers will present “Cold Recycling — A National Perspective on Research and Implementation” during the asphalt technologies session. Buzz Powell, assistant director of Auburn’s National Center for Asphalt Technology, will present “NCAT Test Track 2015 Cycle Benefits for the Paving Community” following Bowers’ presentation.
Wednesday’s agenda begins with concurrent technical sessions on highway safety, pavement preservation and bridges. NCAT assistant research professor Adriana Vargas will present “Best Practices for Pavement Preservation Quality,” while civil engineering associate professors Brian Anderson and Justin Marshall will present “Lateral Testing and Analysis of Steel Pile Bent Bridges.”
Rod Turochy, the James Madison Hunnicutt Professor of traffic engineering and director of the Alabama Transportation Assistance Program, will preside over the luncheon, with Transportation Director John Cooper closing out the conference.
The complete program and more information can be found here.
Media Contact: , austinp@auburn.edu, 334-844-2444
62nd Annual Alabama Transportation Conference
