Senger named IDOT Bureau Chief of Research

Illinois Department of Transportation named John Senger its new Bureau Chief of Research in June.

Senger worked as a civil engineer before joining IDOT in 2015, where he held roles as the agency’s pavement management and analysis engineer as well as engineer of pavement technology.

While at IDOT, Senger worked with the agency’s pavement preservation program, where he and other colleagues aimed to increase the performance of IDOT’s pavement treatments.

Senger also assisted IDOT with the transition from using the profile index to the international roughness index for quality assurance during construction.

Key to his efforts at IDOT was his work managing the development of the Illinois Certification and Research Track, a one-mile test track in Clinton County.

The first-of-its-kind facility in the Midwest offers various pavement types and textures to support research on pavement surfaces, assess nondestructive testing equipment, evaluate materials for highway construction and certify construction equipment.

“This is a unique facility that will be the center of pavement surface characteristics research and certifications for years to come,” Senger said.

As Bureau Chief of Research, Senger oversees three units.

The first unit, technical research, oversees federal funding for IDOT’s state and national research efforts.

This unit includes IDOT’s partnership with the Illinois Center for Transportation, where the two agencies explore eight research areas to improve the transportation network in Illinois and beyond.

“IDOT and ICT have developed a great partnership over the past two decades,” said Imad Al-Qadi, ICT director and University of Illinois Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering. “John has led several technical research panels and developed many innovative research ideas to enhance mobility in Illinois through the IDOT-ICT partnership.”

“John has displayed extraordinary leadership within IDOT,” he added. “He is a forward thinker and always thinks outside the box.”

IDOT and ICT have completed 275 joint projects to date, with over 50 expected to be in progress this fall.

“I would like to continue building on the success of the Technical Research Program,” Senger said. “Our partnership with the Illinois Center for Transportation has been a great one so far, and I think there are even better things ahead.”

The second unit, pavement technology, works with pavement design, rehabilitation methods and preservation strategies to maintain and improve specifications and policies.

The unit also manages day-to-day operations of the Illinois Certification and Research Track as well as statewide nondestructive testing of pavement.

“I would like to continue adding quality engineers to the pavement technology section so that we can conduct more pavement-related research, provide support to the districts and participate nationally in conferences to showcase the innovative things we are doing in Illinois,” Senger said.

The last unit, the Policy and Research Center Library, is responsible for library services as well as data and document management and is an area where Senger hopes to build off the momentum that his predecessor, LaDonna Rowden, started.

“I have some big shoes to fill with LaDonna’s retirement, and I hope to accomplish that and more,” Senger said. “She is a great mentor and good friend. We wish her the best in her retirement.”