Illinois 54th Bituminous Conference convenes in Champaign

The 54th Annual Illinois Bituminous Paving Conference was held December 11, 2013, at the I Hotel and Conference Center in Champaign. This year’s conference had record registrations of nearly 300 attendees. A reception was held the night before the conference to give participants the chance to gather socially. The compact, one-day program included the latest state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice information in the area of bituminous development and practice.

Presenters from across the country spoke on a wide variety of engaging topics such as what the future holds for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and national transportation agencies, how the practice of fracking impacts Illinois highways, and why integrating more sustainable practices into pavement research and design is crucial. John Harvey, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California–Davis, gave the keynote address, “Life-Cycle Assessment for Flexible Pavements: Overview, Recent Results, Possible Future Directions.”  ICT director Imad Al-Qadi was the chair and organizer of the conference.

Several awards were presented to individuals for their contributions, including:

• Marvin Traylor, Illinois Asphalt Paving Association—Lifetime Achievement Award
• David Lippert, IDOT—Lifetime Achievement Award
• William Frey, IDOT—Appreciation Award
• Hal Wakefield, FHWA—Leadership in Bituminous Engineering Award
• Patrick Koester, Howell Asphalt Company—Bituminous Engineering Award
• Brian Hill, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—Annual Student Research Award

The date for the 55th Annual Illinois Bituminous Paving Conference will be announced shortly. Please check the website for details in early 2014.