Infrastructure Technology Podcast

In this special "intervention" episode of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, Brandon Lewis, Jessica Parks and Noah Kolenda team up to challenge Gavin Jenkins' long-standing skepticism toward infrastructure in the Southwest. The group highlights the region's investments in public transportation and how Southwestern states are leading the way in climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure and technological innovation. 

In Episode 19 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, the hosts recap the biggest themes and innovations they encountered during the first half of the 2026 conference season, reflecting on how industry events are shaping the future of transportation. Drawing from conferences across the public transit and roads and bridges sectors, the discussion highlights the technologies, policy conversations and operational challenges that gen...

In Episode 18 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, Mass Transit magazine Associate Editor Brandon Lewis and Roads and Bridges Staff Writer Jessica Parks play a true or false game based on questions from Mass Transit’s weekly news quiz. Parks then interviews FYLD CEO and Co-founder Shelley Copsey to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping emergency response and infrastructu...

In episode 17 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, Gavin, Brandon, Jessica and Noah examine the proposed Build America 250 Act, the bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bill that would replace the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act when it expires later this year.

The discussion explores how the legislation seeks to continue federal...

In Episode 16 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, Brandon Lewis, Jessica Parks and Noah Kolenda take a deep dive into Mass Transit's newly launched transit ballot measure tracker, which is tracking public transit-related ballot measures across the U.S. during the 2026 election cycle.

The discussion focuses on several of the most significant measures being considered around the country, including major fun...

In episode 15, Mass Transit magazine Associate Editor Brandon Lewis interviews Linus Adler and Tate Coleman, two recent graduates from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Both guests share their personal journeys into the transit industry and discuss why public transportation remains an essential part of creating connected, accessible communities. Throughout the episode, the guests discuss the importance of hands-on ...

Part II of the World Cup infrastructure series shifts from physical transportation systems to the technology that will help manage them. Gavin Jenkins, Brandon Lewis, Jessica Parks and Noah Kolenda explore how artificial intelligence (AI), smart-city technology and connected infrastructure could shape the fan experience during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The discussion focuses heavily on the growing use of AI in transportation, inclu...

Episode 13 kicks off is the first of two parts examining the infrastructure implications of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Gavin Jenkins, Brandon Lewis and Jessica Parks are joined by Noah Kolenda discuss how host cities across the United States are preparing for one of the largest sporting events in the world.

The conversation centers on stadium access, public transit capacity, crowd movement, security and the challenges of moving larg...

Episode 12 of the Infrastructure Technology features Roads and Bridges Staff Writer Jessica Parks interviewing Dr. Tyler Ley, a structural engineering professor at Oklahoma State University. A self-described “concrete freak”, Ley discusses why concrete matters so deeply to infrastructure, how better concrete design can create structures that last generations and how innovation is transforming the field.&n...

Episode 11 of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast focuses on the future of urban transportation, the next generation of transit professionals and the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in public transportation systems.

University of Illinois Chicago Professor Kate Lowe joined graduate students Noah Arroyo and Maisie Westerfield to discuss transportation policy, transit equity, mobility justice and emerging technology. ...

On this episode of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast, Roads and Bridges Staff Writer Jessica Parks interviews Doug Kraus and Josh Zhou from North Highland about how artificial intelligence is transforming transportation infrastructure, workforce development and public sector operations. The discussion focuses on North Highland’s partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to deploy AI-driven analy...

This episode of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast explores how GIS technology, data analytics and emerging artificial intelligence tools are transforming public transit planning and accessibility.

Featuring an interview with University of New Orleans graduate Jackie Strohmeyer, the episode highlights how data-driven methods are being used to improve mobility equity, optimize transit routes and support smarter infrastructu...

In this episode of the ITP, Roads & Bridges Staff Writer Jessica Parks interviews Scott Peterson, an associate professor of geomatics engineering at California State University, Fresno and program coordinator for the Trimble Technology lab, and Shaaden Salem, the education program manager of field systems at Trimble, where she focuses on building the next generation of geomatic professionals.

The discussion highlights how...

This episode of the Infrastructure Technology Podcast focuses on National Work Zone Awareness Week and the programs the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is offering to help introduce the next generation to a career in public transit.

Throughout the episode, Roads and Bridges Head of Content Gavin Jenkins hosts a discussion on the top 10 innovations that are transforming safety in the roads and bridges co...

Mass Transit Associate Editor Noah Kolenda kicks off this episode of the ITP with a deep dive into bus fare data from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Roads and Bridges Head of Content Gavin Jenkins interviews Susan Baillargeon, director of the Highway Maintenance Program at Front Range Community College in Colorado, and Don Strange, streets superintendent for Highland Village, Texas. As the program&rsqu...

On this episode of the ITP, Mass Transit magazine Associate Editor Brandon Lewis sits down with Dan McNichol, Bill Goodrich and Joe Stanford to discuss their new book, "Second Avenue Subway: Building New York City's Most Famous Thing Never Built" — a 350-page hardcover featuring over 256 mostly unpublished photographs on Phase 1 of the project. 

A hundred years of planning. A decade of const...

The ITP team opens this episode by responding to a listener question about whether artificial intelligence is being pushed too quickly — and what the surge of AI marketing says about regulation, responsibility and public trust. 

Later in the episode, Gavin sits down with UC Berkeley civil engineering students Michael Yamaguchi and Sarah Saadeh from the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter to explore how di...

Co-hosts Brandon Lewis and Jessica Parks lead this episode of the ITP, joined by Mass Transit's Noah Kolenda. They examine one year of congestion pricing and its impact on traffic patterns and urban mobility in New York City and beyond. 

Brandon also sits down with Penn State student Jorge Diaz to explore the future of transit through the lens of an emerging professional — from data analytics and machine learni...

The ITP team returns to dive into post-pandemic transit and the evolving forces shaping infrastructure today. Mass Transit’s Noah Kolenda joins Gavin, Brandon, and Jessica to break down five years of ridership recovery across the New York MTA system — revealing how commuter rail, buses, subways and paratransit have each rebounded differently as travel habits shift.

Later in the episode, Gavin speaks with Keith Plokhoy o...