Key Sessions Detailed for 2026 AASHTO Annual Meeting

September 25, 2026

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will offer sessions that delve into a wide variety of critical transportation topics during its 2026 Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY, November 15-18.

[Above photo of Louisville by Charles Delano, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers]

The 2026 Annual Meeting will feature several roundtables and knowledge sessions focused on key transportation topics:

  • A Metrics of Success for Workforce Development knowledge session, present by McKinsey, will examine “best practices” for workforce development in the transportation sector.
  • A Leadership in Speed Management for Safety knowledge session, presented by WSP, will share state DOT experiences with planning and delivering data-driven technology-based speed management strategies that contribute to safe mobility goals. This session will provide the panel and participants with an opportunity to discuss successes and lessons learned while exploring emerging data sources and artificial intelligence for use in managing speeds in corridors, work zones, and other projects.
  • A Public-Private Sector Mega Project Collaboration knowledge session, presented by HNTB, will focus on the “deliberate focus” on program-level governance, risk management, and integration across planning, design, construction, and communications. That focus is critical as state DOTs move into coordinated corridor programs, where they need to sequence investments, manage multiple delivery packages, and maintain alignment with funding realities, stakeholder expectations, and environmental commitments over long-time horizons.
  • An Automated Vehicle and AI knowledge session, presented by Bentley Systems, will explore how those technologies are reshaping how transportation agencies manage operations, safety, and infrastructure – highlighting practical state DOT experiences in applying AI to support AV integration, traffic management, incident detection, predictive analytics, and connected vehicle environments.
  • A Multimodal Director Roundtable will share best practices on artificial intelligence or AI use cases within divisions of the state DOTs. In addition, the roundtable will delve into the Federal Aviation Administration’s electric vertical takeoff and landing or “eVTOL” Integration Pilot Program or eIPP and some of the projects within that program being advanced by state DOTs and selected partners in various parts of the country.

AASHTO will hand out its President’s Transportation Awards and the AASHTO Awards of Excellence – which includes the Alfred E. Johnson Achievement Award, Thomas H. MacDonald Memorial Award, and Francis B. Francois Award for Innovation – at its annual meeting, which will also serve as the forum for the announcement of the two top winners of the 2026 America’s Transportation Awards competition. [Click here to view the winners of the 2025 competition.]

All of the 20026 AASHTO Annual Meeting concurrent sessions and meals will take place at the Kentucky International Convention Center except for Wednesday, November 18, when all meetings and meals will be held at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, which is connected to the convention center.

Representatives from key federal modal administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation will also speak at the 2026 Annual Meeting, while AASHTO’s Board of Directors will elect new leadership at this annual gathering

To register for the 2026 Annual Meeting, click here.

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