Alabama universities receive transportation-research grant

The University Transportation Center for Alabama (UTCA) will receive $860,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to advance the nation's transportation system through education, research and technology transfer, the Birmingham Business Journal reported.

Based at the University of Alabama, the center was selected as one of only 20 programs nationwide to receive funding administered through the DOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

The UTCA conducts transportation education, research and technology transfer activities using faculty and students from the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

"We are delighted to receive this grant, which meant that the combined expertise of faculty members at the University of Alabama, UAB and UAH will be directed toward the most important transportation opportunities and challenges facing our state," Dan Turner, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the UTCA, said in a written statement.