Welcome, Spring! I’m personally excited for warmer weather and longer days.
As engineers, our work exists to serve people and communities. I want to first take a moment to acknowledge the growing uncertainty many of our members and the communities we serve are navigating, whether from global conflicts or immigration enforcement policies affecting families and workers here at home. ASCE has been clear: we stand with our members and the communities they serve, and will continue advocating for policies that protect public safety while honoring U.S. constitutional rights. T&DI shares that commitment.
On the T&DI front, I'm excited to share that our 2026 T&DI Transportation Conferences in Detroit, Michigan (June 28 – July 1) are shaping up to be an outstanding gathering of our community. We have received over 1,000 combined abstract submissions across our three conferences, a remarkable show of engagement from our community. A heartfelt thank you to the conference steering committee for their dedication in making this possible.
The conference program features our annual State DOT CEOs Panel with an outstanding group of transportation leaders: Secretary Mike Carroll of PennDOT, Commissioner Nancy Daubenberger of MnDOT, Director Tracy Larkin Thomason of Nevada DOT, Secretary Calvin Reed of KDOT, and host Director Brad Wieferich of Michigan DOT. We are also honored to welcome Executive Director Edwin Sniffen of Hawaii DOT and Miguel Torres-Díaz, Vice President of Federal Programs at WSP and former Secretary of the Puerto Rico DOT, who will be joining the Pavements plenary focused on resilience. We are also equally excited that two distinguished former state DOT heads will be in attendance: Eileen Velez Vega, former Secretary of Puerto Rico DOT and current T&DI Governor, and Roger Millar, former Secretary of Washington State DOT and past T&DI President, who will lead a breakout session on AI and safety, an important and timely conversation for our profession. I would hate to be the person who missed T&DI 2026 Conferences, so we hope to see you there!
Lastly, there has been some movement on the transportation funding landscape. President Trump signed the $1.2 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, funding federal transportation programs through September 30, the same day the IIJA expires. This makes the months ahead a critical window for engagement. I encourage every T&DI member to make their voice heard as reauthorization discussions begin by leveraging ASCE and other professional networks. Also worth watching: USDOT's new request for information on a National Strategy for Transportation Digital Infrastructure, which could shape our field for years to come.
With excitement for the season ahead,
— Diniece Mendes
President, Transportation & Development Institute (T&DI)
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
