All Roads Lead to Cedar Rapids for the 13th International Low Volume Road Conference

This Conference will provide a global forum to examine new technologies and new techniques in the planning, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and administration of low volume roads. There will be an emphasis on case studies and practical solutions to common problems related to all aspects of low volume roads with a focus on implementable take-aways.

Low volume roads (LVR) impact all aspects of life both locally, nationally and throughout the world, including the first and last mile of the roads where trips by people, produce, and resources start and end. The 2023 Low Volume Roads conference continues the long tradition of holding this conference every four years since 1975. The second conference in this series was held in Ames, IA in 1979. “We try to have the conference in different parts of the country, but after 44 years, we are happy to have the conference back in Iowa where about 75% of all roads and bridges are owned and maintained by local agencies and are a part of a LVR network,” says Paul Mackie, Director of Communications and Media of the Transportation Research Board.

The 4-day conference is packed with workshops and 24 sessions containing over 100 technical presentations. Presenters are from local, regional, national agencies, businesses, and research institutions as well as several speakers from other countries. Tuesday afternoon is dedicated to a field trip where attendees will visit several nearby sites that will highlight unique designs, repairs, and solutions to common challenges facing low volume bridges and roads.

“We are thrilled to welcome TRB back to Iowa after 44 years,” says Julie Stow, Associate Executive Director of the Cedar Rapids Tourism Office. “The conference will bring approximately 300 attendees from 20 countries into downtown Cedar Rapids including the Iowa Highway Research Board which was established in 1949.”

Learn more about TRB, which is a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the 13th International Low Volume Road Conference at https://trb.secure-platform.com/a/page/lowvolumeroads.