At a snowy 2025 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, our team had the privilege of diving deep into the latest breakthroughs in transportation, engaging with top experts, researchers, and industry leaders. The event was a hub of innovation, offering thought-provoking discussions, cutting-edge research, and forward-thinking strategies.

From emerging trends to transformative technologies, the insights we gained will play a crucial role in shaping how people approach the future of transportation engineering. In this post, we’re sharing key takeaways, pivotal trends, and market shifts that will drive the next phase of transportation.

1. The Return to “Traditional Road Infrastructure Projects:" Recent years of TRB and mobility research have prioritized non-motorized transportation and de-emphasized personal vehicle ownership. During the meeting, it was predicted that, in the final years of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the new administration would likely shift Federal funding toward roads and bridges, reducing support for transit, bicycle infrastructure, urban community redevelopment, and other non-highway investments. As a result, states and local governments would need to fill the funding gap.
2. ITS “System of Systems” (ITSS): The FHWA remains focused on integrating ITS, management, and information systems across nationwide Interstate corridors to establish a National Roadway Digital Infrastructure, serving as the backbone for ITSS. The most significant announcement was the National Operations Data Environment launch, designed to support data sharing and interoperability. GIS standardization for ITS assets is also gaining traction as a key initiative. Meanwhile, USDOT continues efforts to articulate "The National Vision." Moving forward, a critical question will be the extent of private sector involvement under the new administration and the scope of any accompanying regulations or guidance.
3. AI and Digital Twins: Applications focused on decision support for real-time operations—such as adaptive and predictive operations—along with project alternatives, design, and operational analysis using virtual reality tools are becoming increasingly central to the industry. These innovations are also driving significant private-sector R&D efforts. A critical question moving forward is how these emerging applications will influence engineering staff roles, workflows, and skill requirements.
4. V2X:  With the FCC's recent approval of a dedicated—albeit smaller—bandwidth for V2X within the 5.9 GHz range, data sharing for real-time mobility information, including applications like work zones, signal timing, and congestion management, has become a central focus of USDOT's V2X Strategic Plan. While some funding is available through FHWA to support these efforts, the success of such systems will largely depend on states’ interest and willingness to invest. This is particularly relevant given the hesitancy of some states to adopt the older DSRC standard a decade ago.
5. Automation:  The trend toward vehicle automation has scaled back toward more targeted activities:
   • Level 2 Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), rather than full driverless technology, are now standard in most new vehicles. Additionally, NHTSA mandates automatic emergency braking in all new cars starting in 2029.
   • Robotaxis Waymo, a Google spinoff, has primarily deployed Level 4 robotaxis on arterial streets in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin, with some freeway testing in Phoenix and limited trials in Washington, D.C. While occasional issues have arisen in roundabouts, work zones, and congestion, Waymo’s safety record—measured by miles traveled—has generally surpassed that of conventional vehicles. Meanwhile, GM shut down its Cruise operation following several high-profile crashes in San Francisco. In contrast, robotaxi services have seen broader adoption in China.
   • Automated transit and shuttle services, primarily shuttles, have been deployed on a small scale as circulators in planned communities, private developments, and campuses with limited traffic. After years of testing automation systems, May Mobility has partnered to develop a smaller transit bus, while two Maryland firms offer retrofitting for transit vehicles. Additionally, the Automated Bus Consortium, led by a team of 12 partners—most notably New Jersey Transit, MARTA in Atlanta, and several Michigan systems—is working to develop a standardized automated full-size transit bus.
   • Self-driving trucks have been tested for years in short platoons of 2–3 vehicles, but full deployment is expected in Texas as early as this year, with 20 trucks operating along I-45. Key benefits include enhanced safety over human-driven trucks and continuous operation without mandatory driver breaks. Notably, while California was an early adopter of driverless robotaxis for revenue service, it does not permit driverless trucks.
6. Risk and Resilience in Maintenance Management – This year, there was a strong focus on Risk and Resilience, not just as a broad asset management topic but as a critical component of Maintenance Management strategies and planning. Discussions and sessions highlight its growing role in optimizing infrastructure sustainability and reliability.
7. Economic Justice - Beyond roadway location, the focus is on who uses it. Several discussions highlight how agencies and cities link traditional pavement data to road users and their demographics rather than just the geographic zones where roads are located.
8. Several states utilize the AASHTO TAM Assessment Framework to evaluate their programs' maturity and data. This presents a potential opportunity for us to collaborate with states in applying the framework to enhance their asset management strategies.
9. There was ongoing discussion around BIM and data models, but little action was taken.
10. Redefining Resilience in Delaware DOT
    • The literature review for this effort covered tools and metrics such as resilience indices, performance metrics, and vulnerability assessments, along with DelDOT’s state of practice, interviews, and other states' TAMP and resilience strategies.
    • DelDOT aims to establish resilience-specific funding, link climate impacts to infrastructure performance, and use existing resources for investment decision support. They are working to integrate a resilience assessment into their flooding analysis matrix to better evaluate disaster vulnerability in project planning and prioritization.
    • To support this, DelDOT developed a proposed framework incorporating vulnerability, criticality, and resilience (VCR), along with a VCR dashboard that assigns weighted scores based on these combined factors.
    • This framework is also tied to TAMP/RIP goals, incorporating factors such as pavement condition, bridge management, and other infrastructure performance metrics.
11. Overview of the Triennial Strategic Plan (TSP):

    • Timeline & Goals: Between January and April 2025, the focus is on ratifying the TSP, identifying volunteers for implementation, and making necessary revisions. The plan will take effect on April 15, 2025.

    • Scope & Objectives of the TSP aim to advance asset management throughout the asset lifecycle in a safe, equitable, cost-effective, sustainable, and resilient manner. The committee fosters TAM knowledge and implementation by:

      • Exchanging ideas among practitioners

      • Exploring innovations

      • Developing guidance and research

    • The committee seeks to expand TAM across all transportation modes through diverse membership, joint activities with stakeholders, and collaboration with the private sector and academia.
    • Key Focus Areas:

      • Data-informed modeling and budget-constrained tradeoff analysis

      • Building competencies and securing stakeholder buy-in

      • Integrating risk, resilience, sustainability, and equity into TAM

      • Promoting best practices in TAM

12. 15th National Conference on TAM will be held in Chicago from August 25-28, 2025.
13. New Subcommittee and Asset Management (AP010)
    • Key areas of focus include:

      • Methodologies for developing asset and lifecycle management plans

      • Stakeholder engagement and education

      • Standardized methodologies and processes

    • The subcommittee is still refining its scope and plans for the year, relying on committee members and contributors to drive progress.
14. The Leveraging Tools and Technology in Asset Management Decision-Making Session explored how different agencies manage their assets using various tools. Practitioners shared current practices, lessons learned, and implementation strategies, highlighting the role of technology in improving decision-making processes. The session provided insights into how agencies are optimizing asset management through innovative tools and methodologies.
15. Education for Asset Management Practitioners
    • Education remains a major focus, aligning with discussions from the IAM Conference in October. While many universities allow students to specialize in asset management as part of a graduate degree, there are no standalone degree programs yet. Instead, asset management education is integrated into research opportunities, university courses, or transfer credits from institutions offering specialization courses.
    • Efforts are ongoing to expand asset management education beyond elective courses and research, aiming to establish it as an official part of undergraduate and graduate curricula. Additionally, discussions emphasized incorporating asset management into trade schools and high schools to:
      • Generate early interest in asset management careers
      • Educate future professionals who will handle manual asset management work for agencies
      • Bridge the gap between technical expertise and practical fieldwork
    • The goal is to create a structured educational pathway supporting theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills for the next generation of asset management professionals.
16. Shared Micromobility Parking
    • Cities implementing shared micromobility parking must balance safety, curb management efficiency, and cost considerations. These factors influence corral siting and design elements, such as bollards and curb stop placements.
    • Key considerations for corral placement include:
      • Daily shared micromobility trip volumes
      • Traffic speeds of nearby vehicles
      • Presence of bike lanes
      • Proximity to key destinations (e.g., transit stops, businesses, parks, and community centers)
    • The discussion highlighted the need for increased parking capacity along the edges of geofenced zones (e.g., "no-park" or "no-ride" areas), as users frequently abandon vehicles just outside these restricted areas. Addressing this issue can improve parking compliance and overall system efficiency.
17. Freight Data Insights
    • The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) and Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) are widely used freight flow datasets, collected every five years for planning and analysis. 
    • Key Findings: Commodity Value & Weight Changes

      • High-Change Commodities by Value

        1. Energy sector products showed large fluctuations in both CFS and FAF.

        2. Machinery, vehicles, and transportation equipment exhibited significant changes but only in CFS.

        3. Most commodities increased in value over time.

      • High-Change Commodities by Weight

        1. Energy, agricultural, and mining sector products were high change in both CFS and FAF.

        2. Energy sector products generally increased in weight, except 2012-2017, which saw decreases.

        3. Agricultural and mining commodities showed inconsistent trends.

      • Economic Drivers of ChangeChanges in commodity flows appear linked to economic factors, including:

        1. Energy production and consumption trends

        2. Fluctuations in the housing market

        3. Construction activity reflected in the movement of natural sands, gravel, machinery, electronics, and equipment