University of Illinois Announced as Co-Host of 4th Annual APT Conference

The University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC) and the ICT will jointly host the 4th International Conference on Accelerated Pavement Testing (APT) in Davis, CA, in early September 2012.

The UCPRC, like the ICT, has one of the most active APT programs in the world, with two HVSs that have applied a combined 3 billion ESALs over the last 13 years. With close ties to the California Department of Transportation, who are a major sponsor of the research, the center has published a large number of reports and papers and is a leader in the practical implementation of APT results and, in particular, linking those results to mechanistic-empirical pavement design. The UCPRC is currently constructing a new APT facility on the UC Davis campus, which will be fully operational by 2009.

In a similar manner, the ICT has grown to be the largest center within the highly ranked College of Engineering at UIUC. Its unique APT facility, the Accelerated Transportation Loading ASsembly (ATLAS), which is currently the world's largest movable APT, complements the recognized pavement engineering excellence at ICT, and results from it have been implemented by both IDOT and industry.

Located in Northern California's Central Valley, Davis is an ideal site for such a conference. It is a university oriented city of 60,000, and is noted for its small-town style, dedication to energy conservation and environmental programs, abundant trees, parks, red double-decker London buses, and bicycles. The city has a pedestrian and bicycle friendly downtown, with many diverse restaurants. In September, attendees will likely be greeted with moderately warm temperatures, almost no chance of rain, and low humidity. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting conference.