Theme: Jointless bridges, sustainable development, innovative materials, jointless retrofitting, and environmental impact assessment. 

The increasing number and age of in-service bridges worldwide, the accelerating environmental and climate changes, extreme traffic and accidental loads, and natural disasters such as earthquakes and windstorms result in accelerated degradation of bridge structures and their functions. There is also a need to meet the ever increasing social demands for transportation capacity and speed. Addressing the safety and sustainability issues such as long-term strength, reliability, durability, resilience, and service quality over the entire life cycle are essential considerations.

To promote the application and development of jointless bridges, the International Association of Jointless Bridges (IAJB) initiated and established the "International Symposium on Jointless and Sustainable Bridges" (ISJSB). Fuzhou University, Northeast Forestry University, and Fujian University of Technology successfully hosted the first three international symposium (ISJSB 2016, ISJSB 2019, and ISJSB 2022) in 2016, 2019, and 2022, respectively. The fourth international symposium (ISJSB 2026) will be held in June 12-13 2026 by the University of Wisconsin; Toronto Metropolitan University; and Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.

Before the occasion of the ISJSB 2026 conference, to systematically showcase the latest research achievements and engineering practical experiences in this field, the Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development (English Edition) (HTRD), ISSN 2095-6215, has partnered with the IAJB Association to plan a special issue on "Jointless and Sustainable Development Bridges" in 2026. We sincerely invite high-quality English papers from scholars worldwide.

Objective

The purpose of this special issue is to highlight advancements in bridge engineering, emphasizing durability, maintenance reduction, and eco-friendly designs. We hope to jointly promote the development of transportation systems in a more secure, intelligent and resilient direction! 

Scope:

We welcome submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

1. Review of research and application of jointless bridge;
2. Soil-structural interaction in integral abutment bridge;
3. Seismic response and rehabilitation of jointless bridge;
4. Design and calculation theory of jointless bridge;
5. Jontless retrofitting of existing joint bridges;
6. Application of high-performance and novel material for jointless bridge;
7. Health monitoring of jointless bridge;
8. Sustainable development technology of bridge;
9. Bridge durability and life-cycle cost;
10. Impact of climate change on bridge engineering;
11. New technology of intelligent construction of jointless bridge.

Submission Guidelines:

Manuscripts should be original and not previously published elsewhere.

• All submissions will undergo rigorous peer review based on research merit and quality.
• Papers should be submitted through the journal's online submission system selecting the "Special Issue on Jointless and Sustainable Bridges". This is to ensure that your submission will be considered for this special issue instead of being handled as a regular paper.
• Your paper can be submitted via https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/htrd.
• Author Guidelines: https://www.sciopen.com/journal/join_journal/submission_guidelines?id=1810149294156099586&issn=2095-6215
• HTRD Manuscript Template: https://www.sciopen.com/journal/join_journal/submission_guidelines?id=1810149294156099586&issn=2095-6215#a1

Special Submission Requirements:            

An article processing charge (APC) of CNY 6,000.00 applies to papers accepted after peer review.

Submission Deadline: 15 April 2026

Expected Publication Date: 5 June 2026

Guest Editors:

Prof. Baochun Chen, Professor, Fujian University of Technology, China, E-mail: baochunchen@fzu.edu.cn

Prof. Bruno Briseghella, Professor, Fuzhou University, China, E-mail: bruno@fzu.edu.cn

Prof. Habib Tabatabai, Professor, University of Wisconsin, USA, E-mail: ht@uwm.edu

Prof. Murat Dicleli, Professor, Middle East Technical University, Turkey, E-mail: mdicleli@metu.edu.tr

Prof. Fuyun Huang, Professor, Fuzhou University, China, E-mail: huangfuyun@fzu.edu.cn