Our editorial mission is to cover every aspect of how roads and bridges are built and maintained in North America.
That mission contains many subcategories, which is why we have issue themes like concrete, asphalt, safety and road and bridge renovation.
This is the technology issue, and to be honest, it feels redundant. We published technology stories in each of the previous issues this year.
Our title might be Roads & Bridges, but we’re low key a tech mag.
(Notice how I wrote “low key” like a cool Gen Z’er? I’m so hip.)
Look, I’m not making a bold proclamation. It’s 2024. Every trade magazine is a low key tech mag, especially now with the age of artificial intelligence (AI) upon us.
However, given our editorial mission, more has to be done to keep our audience informed about the ways technology has revolutionized the roads and bridges construction industry.
That’s why, in a couple months, Roads & Bridges will launch a podcast that covers the technology side of the industry.
The Infrastructure Technology Podcast, ITP for short, is a collaboration with Mass Transit magazine, one of our sister publications here at Endeavor Business Media.
The ITP will feature interviews with experts and industry thought leaders, as well as roundtable discussions.
The podcast will examine the leading software, changes to construction equipment, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, emerging data sets, connected and automated vehicle corridors and how technology impacts safety, the supply chain, congestion and asset management.
We recorded interviews for the podcast throughout the summer. Our goal is to launch the ITP at year’s end.
I will host the ITP, and my cohosts include Brandon Lewis, associate editor of Mass Transit, and Harlee Hewitt, the Roads & Bridges associate editor who came up with the idea for the podcast and pushed us to start the project. Ryan Curtiss, our digital editor, will produce.
We are looking for experts to help us examine the following topics on the show:
• Building Information Modeling (BIM).
• Digital twins.
• AI and machine learning.
• Automation and robotics (including drones and 3D printing).
• Smart materials.
• Smart construction sites (wearables and Internet of Things).
• Exoskeletons.
And that is just off the top of my head.
If there are any technology topics that you would like to learn more about, or if you have any experts you want to suggest we book for an interview, please reach out. I would love to hear from you.
You are allowed to reach out and suggest yourself as a podcast guest.
We have more surprises in store for 2025. But first: our Top 10 Awards issue. Then Christmas. I’d say time flies, but young, hip people like me don’t complain about how fast time moves. RB
