University Transportation Center to open in April

Progress continues toward the goal of opening the new University Transportation Center this spring. CEE Professor and Center Director Jeffrey Russell says a team is preparing the center's strategic plan and hopes to be done by the end of January. If approved in March, Russell says the center will be up and running April 1.

Professor Jeffrey Russell (25K JPG)

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded UW-Madison $890,000 per year over five years to support the center. That funding will in turn be matched by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), other state DOT's, and private industry, bringing the total budget of the project to nearly $9 million over five years. The combined effort will help steer transportation priorities for Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Russell says the center will help build a smarter, more integrated strategy for future transportation needs. The effort includes research on improving highway maintenance, alternative transportation modes, and measuring the performance of transportation systems.

"We are creating an integrated approach to how we go about designing, constructing and maintaining our transportation system," says Russell. "We plan to bring a consortium of people together, with different experience, to holistically look at how we spend transportation dollars."

The partnership separated the Wisconsin project from a highly competitive field, says Russell. UW-Madison will work with the Wisconsin DOT, neighboring state DOT's and private industry to set the research agenda.

"Wisconsin and the nation as a whole will be well-served by this important new research facility," says state DOT Secretary Charles H. Thompson. "It enables the transportation community to take greater advantage of UW-Madison's high-caliber program and faculty."

The Wisconsin center is one of 10 regional centers in the country run by the U.S. DOT.