Marshall University’s Dr. Wael Zatar, dean of the College of Information Technology and Engineering, served as chair of the Technical Session on Bridge Loads and Fatigue Analysis at the 10th Annual New York Bridge Conference in New York City. He also presented a paper titled “Application of heat straightening repair of impacted highway steel bridge girder” in the Technical Session on Asset Management of Bridges.

Zatar’s presentation addressed best protocols for asset management of West Virginia bridges. His presentation was in correlation to the Road to Prosperity Project that was established in 2017 in West Virginia. The Road to Prosperity Project funds more than 700 improvement projects, totaling some $2.97 billion, creating 48,000 estimated jobs and constructing or renovating an estimated 1,200 miles of West Virginia roads and bridges.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to chair technical sessions and present to hundreds of highly recognized experts in the field of asset management of transportation infrastructure, who have traveled from across the globe to share the latest knowledge and practice in the field,” Zatar said. “It was an absolute joy to see the reaction to the maintenance and asset management protocols that we are establishing in West Virginia.”

The New York Bridge Conference is organized by the Bridge Engineering Association to bring together experts from all over the United States and the world. These experts promote advancements in quality and state-of-the-art bridge engineering and share their knowledge related to transportation asset management.