Governor to give keynote at Purdue Road School

March 7, 2014  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —Gov. Mike Pence will give the keynote address during the 100th annual Purdue Road School.



The 2014 Road School, designed for Indiana local and state transportation officials, will be Tuesday through Thursday (March 11-13). Pence will speak during a luncheon on Wednesday (March 12).

About 2,400 transportation officials from throughout Indiana will participate in Road School, which is sponsored by the Joint Transportation Research Program and the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program, both housed at Purdue; the Purdue School of Civil Engineering; and the Indiana Department of Transportation.

Speaking at the opening session will be Karl Browning, Indiana Department of Transportation commissioner, and Delphi Mayor Randy Strasser.





Road School will offer 160 technical sessions on topics ranging from road construction, maintenance and safety to bike trails and ports.

"Who would have imagined 100 years ago that this group would be discussing an Indianapolis intermodal railroad yard that could move goods to and from Asia in 20 days?" said Darcy M. Bullock, Road School co-chairman and a civil engineering professor.

Purdue Road School traces its origin to January 1913, when W.K. Hatt, head of Purdue's School of Civil Engineering, initiated a conference to help county surveyors and city engineers develop and maintain Indiana's roads and streets. At the 1914 conference, a resolution was passed calling for a yearly school for county road superintendents. In 1915 the conference officially became known as Purdue Road School.

Among the topics being discussed this year:

* Lessons learned from the closure of the Interstate 65-Interstate 70 south split in Indianapolis.

* Bicycle and pedestrian safety.

* Bridge design, construction and inspection.

* Urban and rural traffic safety, event traffic management, and emergency response planning. 

"Road School covers a wide variety of issues that help Indiana's transportation officials at all levels," said John Haddock, Road School co-chairman and an associate professor of civil engineering. "We bring them the latest technology and innovations."


More information on Road School, including the full schedule, is available online at http://www.purdue.edu/jtrp


Purdue University's Libraries and Special Collections is commemorating 100 years of Purdue Road School with a special exhibit focusing on Indiana transportation.

"The Crossroads of America: Indiana Transportation in the Early 20th Century," is on display through Thursday (March 13) in the Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections Research Center on the fourth floor of the Humanities, Social Science and Education Library in Stewart Center.

Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu

Sources: Darcy Bullock, 765-494-2226, darcy@purdue.edu

John Haddock, 765-496-3996, jhaddock@purdue.edu

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