By the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge of the main principles, materials, technologies and quality control procedures used in the construction of roads, railways, and airports. In terms of knowledge and understanding, students will be able to: 1. describe the main components and construction processes of roads, airports and railways; 2. explain the engineering principles governing earthworks, pavement layers, surface characteristics, railway track components and maintenance interventions; 3. identify the main properties of soils, aggregates, bituminous binders, bituminous mixtures, cementitious materials and recycled materials used in civil infrastructures; 4. understand the role of laboratory and field testing in material characterisation, construction control and quality assurance; 5. recognise the main distress mechanisms affecting road and airport pavements and relate them to materials, traffic, the environment and construction quality. In terms of their ability to apply their knowledge and understanding, students will be able to: 1. classify and interpret the properties of construction materials used in transportation infrastructures; 2. select suitable materials and construction techniques for earthworks, pavements and railway tracks according to functional and structural requirements; 3. apply basic calculation procedures for compaction, material characterisation, pavement response and quality control; 4. interpret technical specifications, standards, test results and design documents used in infrastructure construction; 5. analyse practical problems related to the construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructures, proposing technically sound solutions. These learning outcomes are relevant to professional activities involving the design, construction, testing, maintenance and management of transportation infrastructures, including engineering consultancy, contracting, public administration, infrastructure management, and third-party testing laboratories.

Students are expected to have a solid background in mathematics, physics, structural mechanics, and geotechnics. Basic knowledge of mechanics of materials, soil mechanics, and structural behaviour is useful for understanding the construction and performance of transportation infrastructures.

The course is organised into the following main topics. The number of hours allocated to each topic is adjusted according to the class's progress: 1. General overview of transportation infrastructures (role of roads, railways and airports; design, construction, maintenance and management processes); 2. Quality assurance and quality control (technical specifications, laboratory and field testing, acceptance criteria, and construction control procedures); 3. Soils and earthworks (soil classification, compaction, mechanical properties, embankment construction, construction equipment, field control, soil stabilisation, advanced testing and modelling approaches); 4. Materials for transportation infrastructures: - aggregates: classification, physical and mechanical properties; - granular mixtures: unbound and cement-stabilised mixtures; - bituminous binders: classification, empirical tests, rational tests, viscoelastic behaviour, bituminous emulsions; - bituminous and cementitious mixtures: volumetrics, compaction, mixture types, mix design - recycled and innovative materials for transportation infrastructures; 5. Road and airport pavements (pavement types, structural response, design principles, distress phenomena, surface characteristics, construction techniques, field tests, maintenance and rehabilitation strategies); 6. Railway tracks: track components, construction materials, equipment, and construction and maintenance processes; 7. Practical exercises (numerical applications and practical problems related to material characterisation, construction control, pavement design principles, testing procedures and maintenance decisions).

The course includes 54 hours of lectures and 26 hours of practical/numerical exercises. The lectures provide the necessary theoretical and technical background to understand the construction, testing and maintenance of transportation infrastructures. The practical exercises aim to apply the concepts presented in the lectures to engineering problems related to earthworks, material selection and characterisation, pavement construction, quality control and maintenance decisions. These exercises are carried out under the guidance of the instructor. Students are also required to prepare an Exercise Booklet, collecting all the exercises developed during the course. This booklet is intended to support the progressive acquisition of practical skills, and must be submitted before the exam in accordance with the deadlines communicated by the instructor.

The lecture and exercise slides, along with any other teaching materials, will be made available on the course webpage.

Lecture slides; Exercises; Exercise with solutions ;

Exam: Written test; Compulsory oral exam;

The exam is designed to assess whether students have achieved the course's expected learning outcomes, particularly with regard to: 1. their knowledge and understanding of materials, construction techniques, testing methods and quality control procedures for transportation infrastructure; 2. the ability to apply theoretical concepts to practical engineering problems; 3. the ability to interpret test results, technical specifications, design documents and construction requirements; 4. the ability to use appropriate technical terminology and critically discuss construction and maintenance choices. The assessment consists of: Written test + compulsory oral exam Students must submit an Exercise Booklet individually before taking the exam. This step is mandatory for admission to the exam. The Exercise Booklet is not graded and does not contribute to the final mark. Students who do not submit the Exercise Booklet by the required deadline will not be admitted to the written test and will have to wait for the next call. The written test covers all topics presented during lectures and exercises. Its purpose is to evaluate both theoretical knowledge and the ability to solve practical problems related to the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructures. The written test includes: - five multiple-choice questions aimed at verifying basic theoretical knowledge and terminology; - three short exercises aimed at assessing the ability to apply standard calculation and interpretation procedures; - one extended exercise is designed to evaluate the ability to solve a more comprehensive engineering problem involving construction materials, testing, pavement-related issues or earthworks. During the written test, students are not permitted to consult notes, books, lecture slides, manuals or other reference materials. A scientific calculator is permitted. Electronic devices with internet access, including smartphones, smartwatches, tablets and laptops, are not permitted. The written test is graded out of 30. To be admitted to the oral examination, students must obtain a mark of at least 18/30. Students who obtain at least 18/30 in the written test are admitted to the compulsory oral exam. The oral exam usually takes place a few days after the written test, according to the schedule communicated by the instructor. The oral exam lasts approximately 20 minutes per student and consists of: - a discussion of the written test; - two to three questions covering the theoretical and practical topics of the course; - a possible discussion of selected content from the Exercise Booklet. The oral exam assesses students' ability to: - explain concepts clearly and with correct technical terminology - connect theoretical principles with practical construction and maintenance problems - justify material selection and quality control choices - demonstrate a complete understanding of the course topics The final grade is expressed out of 30 and is calculated as the average of the marks for the written test and the oral exam. Honours may be awarded to students who achieve an excellent final mark and demonstrate a thorough and critical understanding of the course content in both written and oral exams. The same assessment structure and grading rules apply to all exam sessions.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.