BATON ROUGE - The 2004 Louisiana Transportation Engineering Conference will be held February 15-18 at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Baton Rouge. The conference will be hosted by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Louisiana Transportation Research Center.    

            The event is held on a biennial basis to foster a better relationship and understanding among DOTD, the FHWA, and the transportation industry (contractors, consultants, universities, suppliers, parish/local agencies, etc.) by providing a forum for interchange between the public and private sectors relative to transportation policy, practice, and problems.

            The conference also provides for the educational enhancement of the transportation engineering community by relating the engineering activities, progress, and special projects of the department, as well as presenting information on innovative technologies, and offering professional development opportunities. Attendees can receive credit for up to 16 Professional Development Hours (PDH), including the biennially required hour in Professional Ethics.

            Governor Kathleen Blanco will speak at the opening session on Monday. There will also be two featured speakers included in this year’s conference - M. Dale Henry, Ph. D, and Mike Tidwell, author of the book, Bayou Farewell. Henry will give a presentation entitled, “Ethics and the Transportation Professional,” which will satisfy the Louisiana State Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Surveyors ethics requirement. Tidwell, whose book was selected by The Advocate as the best nonfiction book of the year, will speak on the diminishing wetlands of Louisiana.

            Forty-one technical sessions are scheduled, including over 123 technical presentations and eight "How to Clinics" on varying transportation disciplines and interests. Several short alternate sessions, which are designed to enhance management and communication skills, will run concurrently with the technical sessions.         

            For more information, please visit the 2004 Louisiana Transportation Engineering Conference Web site at www.ltrc.lsu.edu/tec/index.html or call LTRC at (225) 767-9139.