2023 Conference Tracks

Pavement Preservation Track

Monday

10:00am: Cool Findings on Hot Topics from the NCAT Pavement Test

Track Speaker: Dr. R. Buzz Powell, P.E. | Associate Director & Research Professor National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University

11:00am: Cement-Based Pavement Solutions – Working With What You’ve Got

Speaker: Stan Bland, PE, Pavement Applications Director, NC/SC, Southeast Cement Promotion Association Andy Johnson, PhD, PE, Pavement Design Engineer, Southeast Cement Promotion Association

1:30pm: Combination Treatments for Pavement Preservation

Speakers: Chris Sneddon, Deputy Director of Transportation, Santa Barbara County’s Public Works Department Bruce Wehr, Technical Marketing Representative, Asphalt Materials We will be talking about methods/techniques available and local agency experience with multilayer systems. Some or all of these: Cape Seals, Cape Seals over recycled pavements, double chip seals, double chip seals over recycled pavement, chip on fabric, rubber chip, and microgrind/cape seal combos.

2:30pm: Bio Oils Use in HMA Pavements

Speaker: Dan Staebell, Asphalt Solutions Business Development Manager North America, Cargill Bioindustrial This presentation really works to explain the many areas Bio oils are used in HMA pavements, from Maintenance to Construction. And really hits on the, “why” sustainable and renewable bio products, are important for the future of asphalt pavements.

3:30pm : Scrub seal & micro surfacing

Speakers; Dan Dahlke, St. Clair County (AL); Luke McGinty, Chief Engineer, Elmore County (AL)

What is it? When to use it and possible problems.

Wednesday

10:00am: Where Does Pavement Recycling Fit Into Your Road Program?

Speakers: Jeff Blue, PE, Champaign County, IL Stephanie Drain, P.E., S Drain Engineering of IL, LLC Where Does Pavement Recycling Fit Into Your Road Program? Case Studies of Full Depth Recycling, Cold in Place Recycling and Hot in Place Recycling in Champaign County, Illinois.

11:00am: Filling in the Gaps on Crack Sealing at the NCAT Pavement Test

Track Speaker: Dr. R. Buzz Powell, P.E. | Associate Director & Research Professor National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University

Crack sealing is an integral part of preservation research at the NCAT Pavement Test Track as well as on off-Track low versus high traffic test sections in both Alabama and Minnesota. This session will provide an overview of lessons learned in climate and traffic extremes with a focus on practical implementation.

Safety & Technology Track sponsored by Dynamic Infrastructure

Monday

10:00am: Updating Google Street Views

Speaker: Nathan F. Schwartz, P.E.|DeKalb County Engineer

Google Street View has become an invaluable tool for planning, inspection, estimating, and permitting. Unfortunately, most secondary and tertiary roads & streets are not updated regularly by Google Maps. This presentation will provide the information needed to update Google Street View when desired. This presentation includes how-to information, insightful stories, and details on technology.

11:00am Digitizing 100 assets in 14 days – a use case overview

Speaker: Daniel Granatshtein, Chief Technology Officer, Dynamic Infrastructure

Dynamic Infrastructure provides advanced digital twin solutions (AI SaaS) for engineers and asset managers across the US, Europe, and Australia. Our platform supports an inventory of hundreds of assets and thousands of defects, enabling us to prioritize repair needs by combining severity and deterioration rate and taking into account the needs of County engineers. By doing so, we enhance safety, optimize budgets, and establish objective and consistent references for hundreds of assets simultaneously.

2:30pm: Safe Streets and Roads for All

Speaker: Jessica G. Rich, Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program Manager|Federal Highway Administration | Office of Safety A look into this new program of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and what projects were awarded in the first round of grant awards.

3:30pm: Safe Speeds

Speaker: Rosemarie Anderson, Local and Rural Roads Manager in the Office of Safety at Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

Setting safe speed limits and traffic calming on local roads

Wednesday

10:00am: Local Safety Projects

Speaker: Mark Acreman, City Engineer, Gulf Shores, AL Luke McGinty, Chief Engineer, Elmore Country Installing a roundabout to improve the safety of an intersection; Gain traffic flow improvements from connected signals.

11:00am: Electric Vehicles

Speaker: Dr. Xinwu Qian, University of Alabama; Dr. Renu Dalal, Talent Management Professional, Alabama Mobility & Power Center (University of Alabama)

Structures and Environment sponsored by National Steel Bridge Alliance 

Monday

10:00am: Section 404 impacts from County Transportation Projects

Speakers: Kevin M. Griggs, PWS, CWB, EOR Trevor Popkin, Chief, Regulatory Division, Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Trevor Popkin, Chief, Regulatory Division, Mobile District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will provide an overview of the Section 404 (Wetlands/Waters of the US) Permitting requirements for county transportation projects followed by Kevin Griggs, Senior Environmental Scientist, and the Iowa Operations Manager for EOR will highlight several specific case studies involving environmental impact challenges for county engineers.

11:00am: Culvert Rehabilitation Without Excavation

Speakers: Todde Folkerts, County Engineer, Lucas County (IA) Mark Nahra, County Engineer, Woodbury County (IA) The presenters will share culvert repair techniques to restore flow, plug leaking joints, and renew structural integrity without excavating the road embankment.

1:30pm: Bridge Bundling with Steel PBTGs: Speed, Flexibility and Low Cost

Speaker: Guy Nelson, PE, SE, Product Development Engineer, Valmont Structures:

In pursuit of reporting zero critical bridges in Michigan, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) launched the Rebuilding Our Bridges pilot program in early 2021. The pilot program aims to eliminate the number of closed, serious, or critical bridges throughout the state. Nineteen bridges were identified for the program. MDOT constructed each bridge with fewer than 60 or 90 days road closure, depending on site-specific conditions. Press-brake-formed steel tub girders were selected for use due to their competitive price, quick installation times and long service life. Press-brake-formed steel tub girders are lighter, easier to install, and require less maintenance than traditional methods, all while increasing service life. Valmont produced these beams quickly and efficiently in their Jasper, TN Bridge Facility. These beams allow for accelerated bridge construction so all 19 bridges in the program were opened to traffic in less than 60 or 90 days of road closure. By bundling all 19 bridge projects together, MDOT was able to streamline coordination and permitting, improving planning and delivery efficiencies. MDOT hopes to develop Michigan’s larger Rebuilding Our Bridges program in a scalable and repeatable process using this pilot project. The program is reimagining bridge replacement. All individual bridges were completed on time and the entire project was complete 1 year ahead of schedule.

2:30pm: So You Want to Build a Bridge (and Save Money) DIY County Bridges in 6 Steps? (2 Hours)

Speaker: Michael G. Barker, PE, Civil & Architectural Engineering, University of Wyoming Our nation is facing an infrastructure crisis. More than 220,000 bridges in the United States need major repair work or should be replaced. Nationwide, counties own and maintain 40 percent of the nation’s bridges, making them the single largest stakeholder in local road and bridge construction, rehabilitation, expansion and maintenance. This situation presents a significant challenge for cash-strapped state and local governments. To responsibly fix our nation’s county bridges, cost-effective and sustainable solutions are needed – one option is to use county crews to assist with steel bridge installations. For example, Whitman County, Washington officials saved over $30,000 by using local crews to install a prefabricated steel bridge. Audrain County, Missouri officials saved nearly 20 percent in the total cost of the structure using county crews to install a short span steel beam bridge. To assist counties in saving time and money by using local crews, the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) developed an educational workshop to explain and simplify the process. Input from Whitman County officials and several other counties was collected to develop the workshop, “So You Want to Build a Bridge? DIY County Bridges in 6 Steps.”

Wednesday

10:00am: How Local Agencies can be Successful with Bridge Preservation

Speakers: Todd Shields, P.E. National Center for Pavement Preservation This session will introduce what resources the National Center for Pavement Preservation has available for local agencies to successfully implement a bridge preservation program. We will discuss the basics of bridge components and ratings, how they tie into the MAP 21 Transportation Performance Measures, and the FHWA Guide to Bridge Preservation. 11:00am: Practical Approaches & Tools for the Design of Steel Bridges: Availability, Constructability, Resources Speaker: John Hastings, P.E., Bridge Steel Specialist, National Steel Bridge Alliance

Unpaved Roads sponsored by [Midwest logo]

Monday 10:00am: Motor Grader Setup/Operation Training

Speaker: Brian Jackson, Owner, Jackson’s Heavy Equipment Training

Equipment type, setup, training for operators. Mobile grader operator training, equipment cost comparison, grader blades (steel vs carbide), cost effectiveness.

11:00am: Dust Control Beyond the Brine

Speaker: Frank Elswick, Founder, Midwest Industrial Supply This session will cover the best dust oil products, including chemicals, beet juice, corn, etc. as well as the practices for application.

1:30pm: Gravel, The Surfacing of Choice

Speaker: Dale C. Heglund, PE/PLS ND LTAP Greg Vavra, South Dakota LTAP Various materials properties for gravel roads, discussion of gradations, thicknesses, proper gravel mixes that maintain themselves, current best practices, what it takes to maintain a smooth ride, etc, "the gravel quality saga".

3:30pm: Base Stabilization with waste plastics and other various methods and products

Speaker: Dr. Halil Ceylan, Ph.D, Dist.M.ASCE, Iowa State University. Comparison of various types of base stabilization including waste plastics, including the benefits of the various products.

Wednesday

11:00am: An Unpaved Granular Asset Management Tool using Continuous Modulud Measurement

Speaker: David J. White, President & CEO, ingios GEOTECHNICS Measurements of subgrade modulus using a standard steel drum roller. Iowa has developed a good algorythm for converting data to modulus. A new federal grant to rate 1800 miles in Iowa is planned for this coming year.