AASHTO Journal - Winner Named for 2025 Transportation Technology Tournament

A team of University of Michigan students (above) took home top honors in the 2025 Transportation Technology Tournament; a contest hosted by the National Operations Center of Excellence or NOCoE.

[Above photo by NOCoE]

NOCoE – a partnership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE), and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, with support from the Federal Highway Administration – said that the 2025 tournament focused on the transportation planning needs for special events.

The University of Michigan team developed a solution that integrated a digital twin model for real-time system monitoring and forecasting, dynamic multimodal resource management for agencies, and an artificial intelligence-powered traveler guidance and reservation app for visitors. This coordinated approach is designed to spread demand, respond to crowd surges, and give travelers personalized, up-to-date routing, and parking recommendations, NOCoE noted.

[Editor’s note: More information on the winning team can be found here: https://transportationops.org/transportation-technology-tournament.]

The 2025 Transportation Technology Tournament – held at the ITE Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, on August 11 – featured teams from South Carolina State University, University of Utah, and the University of Michigan. Each had 15 minutes to present their solutions for real-world planned special events, including the 2034 Salt Lake City Olympics, the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup, and the 2026 National Football League Draft, to a panel of judges.

Those three finalists were flown to Orlando to compete after being chosen from among the 11 teams who joined the tournament back in March 2025.

The annual Transportation Technology Tournament, now in its eighth year, featured a record number of participating teams focused on how to develop transportation systems management and operations or TSMO solutions and improve their problem solving, teamwork, and communications skills.

Teams were provided with training and resources to assist with their solutions and support was provided by local, regional and state agencies, NOCoE said.