The Center for Transportation Research and Education (CTRE) is administered by Iowa State University's Institute for Transportation. The CTRE performs transportation-related research, outreach, and educational activities in four major areas: safety, asset management, operations, and planning. In 2009, the CTRE was renamed the Institute for Transportation.



The CTRE began in 1983 with a Federal Highway Administration grant to provide training and technical assistance to the state’s city and county road agencies. In 1988, that initial program—Iowa’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP)—was joined by the U.S. DOT-funded University Transportation Center (UTC) regional programs. In 1990, the LTAP and UTC were merged to form the Iowa Transportation Center with Tom Maze as the director. The Iowa Transportation Center was renamed the CTRE in 1996 and the first Mid-Continent Transportation Research Symposium was held that year.