From December 19 to 21, the Second Academic Conference on High-Quality Construction, Maintenance, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Transportation Infrastructure in Extreme Environments and the Eighth Academic Annual Meeting of the Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Branch of the China Highway and Transportation Society were held in Changsha, Hunan. Numerous renowned scholars and industry elites from related fields across the country gathered to conduct in-depth discussions on research hotspots and frontier directions such as green materials, long-life structures, intelligent construction, smart operation and maintenance, safety and resilience, and disaster prevention and mitigation for transportation infrastructure in extreme environments.

     With the theme of "Green, Resilient, Safe, Intelligent: Sustainable Development of Transportation Infrastructure in Extreme Environments," the conference was initiated by the State Key Laboratory of Green and Long-Life Road Engineering in Extreme Environments. Under the guidance of the Department of Civil, Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the China Highway and Transportation Society, and China Communications Construction Company Limited, it was jointly organized by Changsha University of Science and Technology, CCCC First Highway Consultants Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen University. The opening ceremony was chaired by Wang Shuangjie, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Green and Long-Life Road Engineering in Extreme Environments and Chief Expert of China Communications Construction Company Limited.

      In his address, Zheng Jianlong, Chairman of the Conference, Executive Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Green and Long-Life Road Engineering in Extreme Environments, and Professor at Changsha University of Science and Technology, stated that the theme of this conference is highly consistent with the strategic deployment of promoting the "intelligent, green, and integrated" development of industries and building a modern infrastructure system proposed at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The conference aims to jointly explore pathways for driving the transformation and upgrading of transportation infrastructure through scientific and technological innovation and serving the building of a transportation powerhouse through cutting-edge academic exchange and the collision of ideas. He expressed the expectation that this conference would serve as an opportunity to deepen collaborative cooperation with all sectors and jointly contribute greater strength to the high-quality development of China's transportation infrastructure.

      In recent years, with the in-depth implementation of the national "Belt and Road" Initiative and the continuous advancement of regional development strategies, major transportation projects have increasingly extended into regions with complex terrain, high altitudes, and perennial hot and humid conditions and other extreme environments. "Ensuring the safety, greenness, resilience, and longevity of these 'lifeline' projects throughout their full life cycle is a major issue that must be addressed at present," said Nie Jianguo, Director of the Department of Civil, Hydraulic and Architectural Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor at Tsinghua University, in his address. He expressed the hope that participating experts would further strengthen interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaborative innovation and provide technical support for the construction of transportation infrastructure in extreme environments in China and around the world.

     "The future development of highway transportation technology urgently requires systematic breakthroughs in green and low-carbon development, long-life design, intelligent perception, resilience enhancement, and other aspects, so as to drive the transformation and upgrading of highway transportation infrastructure toward greater safety, greater intelligence, and greater greenness," said Weng Mengyong, Chairman of the China Highway and Transportation Society. He called on participating experts and scholars to explore new theories and new methods around core issues such as long-life design, intelligent construction, smart operation and maintenance, and disaster early warning, to promote the deep integration of new technologies such as green materials, digital twins, and artificial intelligence with transportation infrastructure, and to accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into real productive forces.