USDOT Region V Regional University Transportation Center

The Eighth International Conference on the Bearing Capacity of Roads, Railways, and Airfields (BCR2A) convened at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) from June 29 - July 2, 2009. NEXTRANS faculty members from UIUC presented numerous papers and workshops throughout the 4-day event.

The conference was chaired by NEXTRANS Investigator Erol Tutumluer, and Co-Chaired by Executive Committee Member Imad Al-Qadi. Investigator Christopher Barkan served as Railroad Area Coordinator. William Buttlar (Investigator) and Jeffrey Roesler (Faculty Affiliate) chaired conference sessions, and Riley Edwards (Investigator) served on the organizing committee (with Buttlar and Roesler).

Attracting 250 academics, researchers, and practitioners from 32 countries, this conference aimed to address the bearing capacity problems of roads, railways, and airfields. Bearing capacity issues are changing because of ever-increasing traffic volumes and weights, which require stronger and more durable pavements, railroad track structures, and superstructures.

BCR2A provided international experts in this field with an opportunity to exchange experiences and views, as well as identify the needs for further research and development. This conference is the eighth in the series that began in Trondheim, Norway in 1982 and occurs at four-year intervals .