About the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT)

Where Excellence and Transportation Meet

The Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) is a premier transportation research center that builds on the experience of renowned experts in transportation and related fields at the University of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and other universities in Illinois and across the country by providing the appropriate tools and support required for objective research.

ICT facilitates the development and timely implementation of cost-effective technologies that improve safety and reliability, reduce congestion and impact on the environment, optimize the utilization of the state transportation infrastructure, and maximize the return from taxpayers’ dollars.

ICT serves the needs of IDOT, the State of Illinois, and the nation through research, education, and outreach.

ICT is headquartered at the Advanced Transportation Research and Engineering Laboratory (ATREL), one of the top transportation research facilities in the nation located on 47 acres of the former Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. The facility has 67,000 square feet of laboratories and three major buildings for testing pavement materials and transportation operations. The large land area at the ATREL complex houses a full-scale pavement testing facility that uses an Accelerated Transportation Loading Assembly (ATLAS), which is capable of evaluating multiple transportation support systems under real environmental and vehicular loading conditions.

Vision

Innovations and new technologies should impact IDOT and our national transportation system in a timely manner. ICT promotes the timely implementation of cost-effective technologies that improve safety and reliability, reduce congestion, increase utilization of the state transportation infrastructure, and optimize the limited resources of IDOT. It is the vision of ICT to serve the needs of IDOT, the State of Illinois, and the nation through research, education, and outreach.

Mission

ICT’s mission promotes innovation and progress in transportation through interdisciplinary research in an objective setting. Utilizing the flexible organization of the ICT, the state and the nation can benefit from a more rapid response to future scientific challenges in transportation and can adapt more readily to changing needs.