Office of Policy & Governmental Affairs

Successful Participation in the Prague World Road Congress

Hari Kalla, Associate Administrator for Infrastructure, was among the delegation members actively engaged throughout the Congress. Mr. Kalla was recently elected as PIARC’s Strategic Theme Coordinator for Theme 4 - Resilient Infrastructure in the Association’s 2024-2027 work cycle, which was announced during the Congress. Infrastructure resilience is becoming an increasingly critical consideration for highway and transportation organizations in the United States and globally. In addition, Mr. Kalla delivered presentations on topics related to electric vehicles, cycling infrastructure, effective use of data, and connected vehicles.

Other officials from FHWA in attendance included those who hold leadership positions in PIARC’s Technical Committees on pavements, bridges, freight, and performance of road administrations. In this capacity, Gina Ahlstrom, Joseph Hartmann, Tiffany Julien, and Karen Bobo delivered presentations in their areas of expertise, moderated sessions, and facilitated discussions in workshops and meetings covered by their technical committees. In addition, on behalf of Jeffrey Zaharewicz, Leslie Wright, Director of the Office of International Programs, presented about Accelerating Deployment of Transportation Innovations in the U.S.

As in the past, FHWA, AASHTO, and TRB worked together in designing, setting up, and staffing the U.S. Pavilion at the World Road Congress’ exhibition hall. The Congress’ state-of-art exhibition provided an ideal space for the United States to present achievements, innovative technologies, and solutions to an international audience in an informal setting. This setting also allowed the U.S. delegation members to hone in on discussions specifically related to FHWA’s strategic priorities and objectives.

Presentations and other material delivered at the Congress by U.S. officials are posted in the Congress' proceedings available here: https://proceedings-prague2023.piarc.org/en/.