Auburn hosts 68th annual Alabama Transportation Conference
Published: Feb 14, 2025 1:45 PM
By Dustin Duncan
According to Gov. Kay Ivey, the state’s investment in infrastructure such as roads and bridges has been key to recruiting talented employees and creating jobs.
The governor made this statement Feb. 11 at the 68th annual Alabama Transportation Conference (ATC), hosted by Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
More than 1,000 private and public transportation professionals attended the two-day conference, bringing together federal and state highway personnel, contractors, engineers, researchers and university faculty. As the host of event, Auburn Engineering faculty opened the conference, presided over the luncheons, gave presentations and closed the program.
“We are extremely grateful for Gov. Ivey’s continued support of the ATC and Auburn University,” said Mario Eden, dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. “She has had a positive and profound effect on the state’s transportation system and, of course, we are very proud that she is an illustrious Auburn alumna.”
Ivey said since she took office in 2017, more than $55 billion has been invested in Alabama businesses to create more than 93,000 jobs.
"This wouldn't be possible without a united effort to modernize and elevate Alabama's transportation infrastructure and the quality of education," Ivey said.
The governor was introduced by John Cooper, director of the Alabama Department of Transportation. Ivey reiterated her statement from the previous year’s ATC, calling all transportation professionals in the room “the chief architects of Alabama's progress.”
“The foundation of Alabama's future is laid upon the first-class system of highways of bridges," she said. "We're making history, and each of you is playing a part. Thank you for your role in developing Alabama's roadmap to prosperity."
The 2025 conference was held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex for just the second year and featured a range of technical sessions covering construction, traffic operations, roadway design and transportation innovations.
Larry Rilett, director of the Auburn University Transportation Research Institute (AUTRI) and a Ginn Distinguished Professor, presided over the governor's luncheon and said Auburn is proud to continue shaping the state’s transportation future.
"Auburn University's 68-year commitment to hosting this conference underscores our profound impact on Alabama's transportation profession," Rilett said. "Very few universities across the nation hold a statewide transportation conference as influential as the ATC. Its contributions to the industry — and the state's transportation system as a whole — are substantial. We take great pride in continuing this tradition and look forward to many more years of success."
The ATC Planning 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 it consists of 10 Auburn faculty members who put together the slate of technical presentations.
Auburn faculty presenting were:
- Andy Nowak, the Brasfield and Gorrie Professor of civil and environmental engineering, on the impact of vessel collision on bridges
- Wes Donald, research fellow of civil and environmental engineering, on construction stormwater training efforts
- Ben Bowers, McCartney-Chase Highway Engineering Distinguished Associate Professor of civil and environmental engineering, on recycling and reclamation
- Schindler on long-term creep and shrinkage of the Interstate 59 and Interstate 29 segmental bridge in Birmingham. Schindler also presided over the opening general session of the meeting on Feb. 11.
- Rod Turochy, associate director of outreach for AUTRI and James Madison Hunnicutt Professor of civil and environmental engineering, on improving pedestrian facilities in 11 Black Belt towns through the Step-Up Alabama RAISE grant.
- Kadir Sener, assistant professor of structural engineering in civil and environmental engineering, on the use of titanium bars as external reinforcement to strengthen bridge girders
- Rilett on measuring the measuring the efficacy of actuated advanced warning systems and advanced queue detection systems which are designed to improve driver safety.
AUTRI's Alabama Transportation Assistance Program, which houses Alabama's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), manages all financial, logistical and organizational aspects of the ATC. The conference is funded primarily through registration, sponsor and exhibitor fees.
“The ATC is a key component of LTAP’s annual workplan” said Rilett, who is also the LTAP director. “The LTAP Advisory Committee was very complimentary regarding the success of this year’s conference, and we are looking forward to hosting it in Huntsville in February 2026.”
Media Contact: , dzd0065@auburn.edu, 334-844-2326
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey address attendees at the 68th annual Alabama Transportation Conference on Feb. 11-12 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex hosted by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
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