Digital Commons Network^™

Early In Career Panel: The Value Of Industry Involvement, Stephanie Ferzli, Calvin Rizzo, David Musoke

Purdue Road School

A panel of early-career professionals shares the importance and benefits of participating in industry organizations. Learn how involvement can shape careers and foster professional growth.

Innovative Intersections And Interchanges:​ How, Where, And Why, Nathaniel Shellhamer, David Reamer

Purdue Road School

This presentation will cover the basics of innovative intersections, including how to identify good candidate sites, deciding between intersection alternatives, reviewing preliminary design and impact considerations, and more. We will also review updated case studies for several innovative intersections that INDOT has recently completed.

Public Speaking: Tips, Tricks, And Overcoming The Fear, Richard Gilyeat, Alex Schwinghamer, Mindy Peterson

Purdue Road School

Does the thought of public speaking make you break out into a cold sweat? You’re not alone! This interactive session will help you find your confidence. The focus is on practical tips, tricks, and guidelines to help you conquer your public speaking fears or grow the experience you already have. Strong communication matters and can help you in daily tasks, in growing your career, and in successful project delivery.

Professionalism And Ethics In The Practice Of Engineering, Tim Jensen

Purdue Road School

This presentation will provide an overview of ethics, including how they are formed and how professional engineers use them to make decisions in every situation.

Are You Listening? Communicating Effectively With Elected Officials, Keith Pugh, Craig Roach

Purdue Road School

In this presentation, attendees will gain practical insights on communicating infrastructure priorities and budget realities to elected officials. We will explore how to craft compelling messages, navigate council dynamics, and use data and storytelling to foster understanding and support. Additional topics include strategies for delivering difficult news; maintaining productive relationships; and becoming confident, influential advocates for Public Works departments.

A Review Of Airport Fencing And Wildlife Hazards, Robert Sliwinski

Purdue Road School

This presentation will review the strengths and weaknesses of airport fences in restricting wildlife access to Airport Operations Areas at Indiana airports. Additional topics will include FAA-approved wildlife exclusion fencing designs and general guidelines on fence gap evaluation and maintenance. Airport fence evaluations can be key to obtaining airport improvement project funding in the cases of inadequate fencing.

Asphalt "Mix" Busters, Elizabeth Pastuszka, Jason Wielinski

Purdue Road School

Get ready to challenge assumptions and uncover the science beneath the surface. In the asphalt world, long-held beliefs often go unquestioned. Drawing from Mixbusters in Asphalt Magazine, this session will examine topics such as design thickness, reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), and construction best practices and their impact on pavement durability and performance. It is time to challenge the norm, build with confidence, and engineer for the future.

Indot’S Post-Construction Stormwater Management: Program Updates And Evolving Practices, Jessica Eichhorst, Sandy Bowman

Purdue Road School

This session will highlight key changes in INDOT’s post-construction stormwater program over the past year. The presentation will focus on recent updates, evolving requirements, and practical implications for project teams. Attendees will gain insight into what is new, what is changing, and how to ensure their projects remain compliant with INDOT’s program standards.

I-64 Atl: Stage 3 Design-Bid-Build (Dbb) To Design-Build-Low-Bid (Dblb), Dan Thatcher, Kyanna Wheeler, Bob Tally

Purdue Road School

This presentation will share how I-64 ATL, an added travel lanes project, went from a traditional design-bid-build project at Stage 3 to an alternative procurement design-build-low-bid. We will explain the reasons behind the shift and how it was executed.

Test Drive Innovative Intersections—No Car Needed: Public Involvement That Works, Brad Vannoy, Nicole Minton, Trevor Wieseke, Michael Macneill

Purdue Road School

Step into innovative intersection design through immersive, hands-on experiences and real-world public involvement lessons. Get a first-person point-of-view as we show you what it’s like to walk through our 30x50 ft tarps demonstrating a Displaced Left Turn and a Diverging Diamond. Come explore tabletop models of a Reduced Conflict Intersection (RCI), as well as a roundabout, and learn how these experiential tools help drivers and professionals understand how to navigate complex designs. The session will share wins and lessons learned from a proposed rural RCI, highlighting how hyper-local involvement, early grassroots communication, and creative outreach reduced anxiety, built public confidence, …

Let’S Walk And Talk: Building Trust (And Better Projects) Using Community Walk Audits, Ashlyn Devine, Taylor Firestine

Purdue Road School

This session introduces participants to the benefits gained from engaging in community-centered walking audits as practical tools for advancing quality active transportation projects and building trust with the public. Drawing from Health by Design’s Indiana Road to Zero Academy, participants will join a facilitated walking audit near the Purdue campus to discuss common concerns and questions that these exercises address while demonstrating how collaborative notetaking can translate into better planning, engineering, and policy decisions that reflect the unique needs of the community.

Slides On Slides: Multidisciplinary Approach To Landslide Solutions, Joey Franzino, Malek Smadi, Rick Perry, Ryan Whelchel

Purdue Road School

Landslides pose unique technical and logistical challenges for asset managers, engineers, and project managers. Along SR 156 in Switzerland County, landslide corrections were implemented by a team of project managers, geotechnical experts, and structural engineers. This presentation will walk attendees through a multidisciplinary approach to the development of landslide corrections in this real-world example, including the design of a drilled pier retaining wall with tiebacks, working around existing landslide corrections, and risk management.

Indiana Statutes And Rules For Professional Engineering Licensure, Tim Jensen

Purdue Road School

This session will explain the differences between the Indiana Code and the Indiana Administrative Code, selected statutes and rules applied to the practice of engineering, registration by comity, registrant’s seal, computer-based testing for FE and PE exams, rules for continuing education, audits, board structure, and threats to professional licensure.

Draining Fountain Square With Alternate Delivery, Jason Koch, Mark St. John, Natalie Stephen

Purdue Road School

Indianapolis DPW has started construction on major drainage improvements in one of its oldest neighborhoods, Fountain Square. Building on lessons learned from similar projects in built-up, commercial areas, DPW decided to use an alternate delivery method to procure construction services. This session will provide a high level review of Indiana’s Public-Private Agreement statue (I.C. 5-23), how DPW applied it to the Fountain Square project, lessons learned, and how DPW plans to use this innovative delivery method for future projects.

Should I Approve This? Utility Work Plan Mistakes, Deborah Porter, Katherine Kreienkamp

Purdue Road School

This presentation will highlight common issues with utility work plans and relocation drawings. Mistakes and missed information can result in project delivery delays, design re-work, constructability issues, hit utility lines, and construction delays. Attendees will hear perspectives from INDOT, Indianapolis DPW, and utilities.

Telling Your Infrastructure Story Through Lifecycle Planning, Keith Pugh, Craig Roach

Purdue Road School

Local governments face increasing pressure to maintain service levels amid aging infrastructure and limited funding. Lifecycle Planning and Modeling provide a data-driven framework to quantify asset condi tion, criticality, and performance while optimizing long-term reinvestment strategies. This presentation will demonstrate how integrating engineering and financial data enables prioritization of maintenance and capital projects, improves cost-efficiency, and supports transparent communication of service level tradeoffs to decision-makers through visual storytelling and scenario modeling.

Surge Modeling For Stormwater Management, Robert Page

Purdue Road School

With more congestion near the surface, there is a need to convey and store stormwater in tunnels. There is also increasing need for tunnels due to larger and more intense storm events. This presentation will focus on mitigating risks through hydraulic modeling, ground conditions, and walk through real-world examples.

The Messy Middle Of Alternative Fuels For Trucks, Dave A. Schaller

Purdue Road School

In September 2025, NACFE conducted a demonstration of 15 tractor-trailers using a wide variety of alternative fuels including ULSD diesel, Renewable DIesel (RD), pure biodiesel (B99/B100), CNG/RNG, battery electric (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell (HFC). Some of the results are shared in this presentation and a report is linked that was published on 3/15/2025. Alternative fuels work in the right duty cycles and other constraints, although there are still numerous challenges. Freight transportation and logistics can become more sustainable..

Construction Specifications And Special Provisions, Scott Trammell

Purdue Road School

This presentation will assist project managers and designers in preparing the necessary information required for Department contracts involving Standard Specifications and Special Provisions. Attendees will be exposed to examples of both the right way and the wrong way to present a Unique Special Provision, helpful tips on how to navigate the new Sharepoint review process, and questions to ask to help the author to adhere to legal, moral, and ethical construction standards.

Pel Stories, Tim Miller, Cameron Schuh, Sandra Flum, Blake Dollier

Purdue Road School

PEL Stories: Bridging Planning and Environmental Review: This presentation will highlight stories from planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) projects, demonstrating how early planning can streamline environmental review and improve project outcomes.

IndyPEL: Advancing Planning through Environmental Linkages: This session explores the IndyPEL project, highlighting how Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) studies are shaping transportation decisions in Indiana. Attendees will learn about stakeholder engagement, data-driven planning, and lessons learned.

Future 3: Regional Safety Collaboration To Vision Zero, Cheryl Franks, Kate Múspell

Purdue Road School

This presentation will explore how the City of Rushville spearheaded a multicounty collaboration to develop a corridor-wide safety plan for State Route 3. Attendees will learn how SS4A grant funding, Vision Zero principles, and bypass alternatives shaped a data-driven strategy—despite the absence of an MPO or shared regional planning framework. This session will highlight how local leadership, safety and operational analysis, and stakeholder coordination converged to address high-injury corridors and deliver actionable safety priorities across disconnected communities.

Railroad Coordination 101, Deborah Porter, Kip Bunch, David Farmer, Gregory Fitzsimons

Purdue Road School

This presentation will detail the railroad coordination process to include agreements, review process, schedule, RRA , Railroad Certification, special provisions, and close out. Attendees will hear perspectives from both INDOT and railroad owners.

Analysis Of General Aviation Accidents In United States, Timothy Tanui, Mary Johnson

Purdue Road School

General aviation (GA) has a greater accident rate than commercial aviation and comprises 94% of US civil aviation fatalities—an annual average of 765 GA US fatalities. This presentation will analyze themes such as frequencies, proportions, co-occurrence, and accident.

Tirami-Sue: A Recipe For Using Subsurface Utility Engineering (Sue) Data Successfully, Natalie Parks, Ken Slaninka, Rhett Sloan

Purdue Road School

Leveraging Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) data as a design tool for conflict management helps to mitigate risk to a project during design. However, SUE data should be utilized from design through construction. Leveraging SUE data during construction can serve as a valuable damage prevention tool. This session will discuss how to share SUE data from design team to contractor, and how SUE data are leveraged by the utility coordinator, designer, contractor, inspector, and project owner.

Aircraft Misfuelling Awareness After Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Saf) Integration, Jiahao Yu, Sooyon Jin, Mary Johnson

Purdue Road School

Misfuelling or delivering the wrong type of fuel to an aircraft can cause serious economic losses and catastrophic safety risks if not detected before fueling or aircraft departure. Using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) alongside existing fuel infrastructure (Jet Fuel, Avgas, among others) can create potential issues and operational hazards. This presentation will cover different types of aviation fuel, risks linked to incorrect fuel or additives, preventive measures, and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF).

Young Professionals As Catalysts: Driving Innovation And Organizational Growth, Dolan Mcmillan, Kusai Contractor, Ryan Delves

Purdue Road School

Today’s young professionals (YPs) enter the workforce fluent in AI and digital tools, bringing fresh insight that reshapes how organizations make decisions and deliver projects. This session will explore how YPs apply classroom-taught technologies to real-world challenges—leading pilots, influencing business strategy, and fostering inclusive cultures. Through the lens of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, we’ll examine how YPs’ voluntary efforts—rooted in community, collaboration, and curiosity—are redefining innovation, leadership, and organizational growth across the transportation industry.

We Need To Talk: Transforming Dreaded Feedback Conversations, Karen Wood, Jennifer Sharkey

Purdue Road School

Feedback can inspire growth—or shut it down. This session will debunk the myths that feedback is a one-time event and always negative. We will explore practi cal methods, conversation strategies, and mindsets that make giving and receiving feedback more effective. Whether you are a supervisor or not, you will walk away with tools you can use immediately to turn feedback into a meaningful, ongoing dialogue while fostering trust, encouraging curiosity, and building a culture of continuous improvement.

Enhancing Bicycle And Pedestrian Safety: Leveraging Near-Miss With Indygo, Christian Cambron, Steven Hollenkamp, Patrick Weitlauf

Purdue Road School

Safety remains a core priority for transportation professionals, yet traditional crash data often do not capture the full picture, particularly for vulnerable road users like bicyclists and pedestrians. To address this gap, the transit agency for Indianapolis, IndyGo, integrated near miss conflict data into a transit-oriented safety project at 33 bus stops and intersection across Indianapolis. In this presentation, learn how IndyGo is using these data to inform operational and infrastructure improvements in coordination with the Indianapolis Department of Public Works.

Diverging Diamond Interchanges Lessons Learned: Design Refinements And Performance, Nathaniel Shellhamer, Daniel Mccoy, Jack Gallagher

Purdue Road School

This presentation will share an overview of INDOT’s experience with the design of diverging diamond interchanges (DDIs). Specific discussion will focus on design refinements being made in the most recent DDIs in Indiana, as well as lessons learned from existing DDIs in the areas of geometrics, operations and performance, and human factors/driver behavior. We will also review case studies and before-and-after analyses of existing DDIs.

From Feedback To Innovation: Next-Gen Asphalt Preservation, Andrew Eicher, Tim Zahrn, Curt Higginbotham

Purdue Road School

Spray-applied rejuvenators are increasingly used as a proactive pavement preservation tool. This presentation will explore their benefits, recent research findings, and key product attributes valued by road owners. We will discuss limitations and challenges facing current rejuvenator technologies and explore how recent innovations improve user value. An agency representative will provide firsthand insights into the practical use and performance of rejuvenators in network-level pavement management, offering a real-world perspective on their role in extending pavement life and improving asset condition.