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2021 Virtual Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference:
With Emphasis on International Experiences
Dec 8-10, 2021

2022 International ABC Conference
(Face-to-Face)
Dec 7-9, 2022
Miami, Florida

Call for Abstracts

2021 Virtual Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference: With Emphasis on International Experiences

December, 8-10, 2021

Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

Deadline to Submit Abstract: July 23, 2021

About the Conference

2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) Conferences were held in Miami, Florida, during December of each year. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and limitations, the 2021 ABC Conference will be held fully virtual, with emphasis on international ABC experiences.

Select presentations by U.S. speakers will be made by invitation only to capture the most updated information in Accelerated Bridge Construction. The Call for Abstracts is aimed at identifying the presentations with an international scope. While the December 2021 conference will be held fully virtual, the U.S. and international speakers will have the option to travel to Miami, Florida and give their virtual presentations in Miami, in a setting that will meet all COVID-19 safety protocols. Participants will be attending the conference online.

The 2021 virtual conference will be held Wednesday, December 8 through Friday, December 10. On each day, the conference will start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Standard Time (EST, (UTC−05:00)), to allow both U.S. and international audiences to attend the conference, while not being impacted greatly by time differences.

The conference will also include U.S. and international keynote speakers. The conference program will be finalized by the Conference Planning Committee consisting of more than 30 U.S. state Department of Transportation engineers, each responsible for maintaining bridges in their state, and representatives of the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. The conference will include exhibitors, virtual social events, and virtual entertainment.

Previous Conferences (2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019)

Please use the following link to view short video clips capturing the highlights of the 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 ABC Conferences.

https://abc-utc.fiu.edu/conference/archives/

The 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 ABC Conferences were each attended by more than 700 bridge professionals, including more than 150 state DOT bridge engineers, bridge engineers from the Federal Highway Administration, and various consultants and other bridge professionals. During the 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2019 ABC Conferences, a total of 305 technical presentations were made, 25 four- or eight-hour workshops were conducted, and 147 companies exhibited their services. Mr. Gregory G. Nadeau, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, was the keynote speaker during the 2014 and 2015 conferences. In 2017, Mr. James Ray, USDOT Senior Advisor on Infrastructure was the keynote speaker. The 2019 conference included several keynote speakers from the U.S. and abroad.

Who Should Attend the Conference?

Bridge design engineers; consultants; fabricators; erectors; precasters; construction professionals; maintenance engineers; transportation officials; policy makers; marketing professionals; International, U.S. federal, U.S. state, and U.S. local agencies; city, county, and regional officials; industry suppliers; academicians; and bridge professionals with any aspect of bridge design, construction, or maintenance.

The focus of the conference will be on international experiences in the fields affecting accelerated bridge construction in general, including international case studies and projects; prefabricated bridge elements, systems, and technologies; use of advanced materials such as ultra-high-performance materials, innovative construction methods and techniques; policies; contracting methods; and marketing strategies that will facilitate accelerated construction of bridges using various materials and techniques. ABC projects successfully completed outside the U.S. will be presented. The 2021 conference will be different from previous conferences: a) it is fully virtual and b) it focuses on international experiences.

How to Submit Abstract

Abstracts are welcome from bridge design engineers in the U.S. and outside the U.S., with projects carried out outside the U.S.

Abstracts are welcome from academia and other bridge stakeholders outside the U.S. on their experiences, research results, and lessons learned that impact ABC. In particular, fabricators, erectors, precasters, construction professionals, maintenance engineers, transportation officials, policy makers, marketing professionals, and industry suppliers are encouraged to submit abstracts online. See below for conference topics.

Those interested in presenting at the conference should submit a one-page abstract by July 23, 2021. Individuals will be notified of their abstract acceptance by August 13, 2021. Abstracts must be submitted online at https://abc-utc.fiu.edu/conference/abstract-submission/.

The authors of abstracts selected for presentation will have the option of submitting an extended abstract (minimum of 3 pages) or a full paper (maximum of 10 pages) for inclusion in the conference proceeding.

Conference Topics

The conference topics will include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

Design considerations	Substructure	Short- and long-term monitoring
Ultra High Performance Concrete	Automation and robotic construction	Nondestructive testing
Seismic issues	Foundations	Maintenance
Service life design	Innovative materials	Inspection
Accelerating retrofitting processes	International experiences	State ABC initiatives
Construction considerations	Research results	Contracting
Fabrication considerations	Lessons learned	Policy, planning, and procurement
Erection considerations	Cost comparison	Specifications
Constructability	Insurance issues	Budget and financing
Heavy moves	Analysis software	Public outreach
Traffic management	Visualization tools	Proprietary systems and technologies
Prefabricated elements and systems	Decision-making tools

Exhibitors

Exhibitors from the U.S. and abroad are encouraged to have a virtual exhibit at the conference. Dedicated times will be allocated to showcase participating exhibitors. For more information please contact Ms. Saremi at msare001@fiu.edu or call 954-895-7728.

Contact Information

For more information, please send an email to msare001@fiu.edu or aazizina@fiu.edu, or call 954-895-7728.

Co-Sponsors

State Departments of Transportation and non-profit and bridge-related organizations and agencies will be co-sponsoring the 2021 Virtual ABC Conference. Following is the current list of Conference Co-Sponsors:

Federal Highway Administration
Alabama Dept. of Transportation
Alaska DOT&PF
Arizona Dept. of Transportation
California Dept. of Transportation
Colorado Dept. of Transportation
Connecticut Dept. of Transportation
Delaware Dept. of Transportation
Florida Dept. of Transportation
Georgia Dept. of Transportation
Illinois Dept. of Transportation
Indiana Dept. of Transportation
Iowa Dept. of Transportation
Louisiana Dept. of Transp. & Dev.
Maine Dept. of Transportation
Michigan Dept. of Transportation
Missouri Dept. of Transportation
Minnesota Dept. of Transportation
Mississippi Dept. of Transportation
Nebraska Dept. of Transportation
Nevada Dept. of Transportation
Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation
Oregon Dept. of Transportation
Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation
Tennessee Dept. of Transportation
Texas Dept. of Transportation
Utah Dept. of Transportation
Vermont Agency of Transportation
Washington State DOT
West Virginia Dept. of Transportation
Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation
Wyoming Dept. of Transportation

International Co-Sponsors

www.iabse.org

To become a co-sponsor, please contact Atorod Azizinamini (aazizina@fiu.edu, 305-348-3821).

Accelerated Bridge Construction

University Transportation Center

Call for Abstracts

Co-Sponsors

International Co-Sponsors

Sponsored and Organized by

Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (ABC-UTC)