Auburn prepares to host 68th Annual Alabama Transportation Conference
Published: Jan 31, 2025 12:00 AM
By Dustin Duncan
Auburn University is once again shaping Alabama’s transportation future by hosting the 68th Annual Alabama Transportation Conference (ATC).
The conference focuses on advancing innovations in transportation planning, design, construction, operations and maintenance.Set for Feb. 11-12 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, the conference will bring together nearly 900 attendees, including federal and state highway personnel, contractors, engineers, researchers and university faculty.
The conference will feature a range of technical sessions covering construction, traffic operations, roadway design and transportation innovations. Trade exhibits will offer additional learning and networking opportunities for participants.
In addition to technical programming, the conference will include keynote speeches and networking luncheons. Gov. Kay Ivey is scheduled to speak at the governor’s luncheon on Feb. 11, which will be presided over by Laurence Rilett, Ginn Distinguished Professor and Auburn University Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) director. ALDOT Director John Cooper will speak at the Director’s luncheon on Feb. 12, which will be presided over by David Timm, Auburn University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering chair.
Throughout the two days, technical sessions will cover a range of topics, from construction and roadway design to maintenance and multimodal transportation.
Following the governor’s luncheon, the conference will launch its technical sessions with concurrent programs on construction, traffic operations, roadway design and asphalt innovations that strengthen Alabama roads. Late afternoon sessions will focus on bridges, road safety, environmental policy, training and technology.
Technical sessions resume at 8:30 a.m. the next day, covering innovations in maintenance, geo-assessment, performance and repair, and investments in transportation infrastructure. Late-morning sessions will focus on city and county engineering, concrete solutions and multimodal transportation.
Several Auburn Engineering faculty members will present research findings aimed at advancing transportation in Alabama. In addition, the 40-person ATC Program Committee is chaired by Anton Schindler, the Mountain Spirit Professor of Civil and Environmental engineering and director of the Auburn University Highway Research Center, and includes nine faculty within the Auburn civil and environmental engineering department.
AUTRI’s Alabama Transportation Assistance Program, which houses Alabama’s Local Technical Assistance Program, manages the financial and organizational aspects of the ATC. The conference is funded primarily through registration, sponsor and exhibitor fees and it serves as a key component of Alabama’s LTAP annual outreach activities.
The complete program and more information can be found here. Media Contact: , dzd0065@auburn.edu, 334-844-2326
Laurence Rilett, AUTRI director and Ginn Distinguished Professor, presided over the governor’s luncheon at the 67th annual Alabama Transportation Conference in Birmingham.
