Expertise that connects
since 1985
The Society for Transport Infrastructure Maribor, formerly the Society for Roads of North-East Slovenia, brings together experts in infrastructure planning and construction from the Koroška, Podravje and Pomurje regions. Our mission is to strengthen engineering expertise and to highlight the challenges that lie ahead.
Purpose and objectives of the society
The Society for Transport Infrastructure Maribor is a professional, non-profit, voluntary and independent association of both natural and legal persons. It brings together experts in infrastructure planning and construction whose mission is to strengthen engineering expertise and to highlight the challenges that lie ahead.
The purpose of the society is
- connecting infrastructure professionals and companies,
- contributing to the development and advancement of the Slovenian infrastructure profession,
- advocating for the maintenance of the road network,
- participating in measures to improve road safety and environmental protection,
- promoting the Code of Road Professionals,
- providing professional training for members and fostering connections among experts,
- equal participation in the work of international professional institutions and international projects,
- contributing to the development of science and technology.
The society carries out in particular the following activities
- organising congresses, conferences, seminars, professional excursions and other professional gatherings,
- encouraging and developing the creative initiative of members,
- monitoring contemporary developments in science and technology worldwide,
- transferring achievements into practical application,
- providing expert opinions on design solutions,
- cooperating with related professional organisations at home and abroad,
- communicating with the public and the media.
History
Four decades — the age of the society — is a relatively short yet highly turbulent period marked by many changes. During this time we gained a new country, the social order was transformed, we weathered several severe crises and witnessed remarkable upswings. The society has remained active throughout, while the organisation of road activities, legislation and funding have all evolved. Via vita still holds: roads are life, and without roads there is no life. New projects, new challenges and room for new members lie on the horizon.
Four decades in the service of transport infrastructure
Four decades, the age of the society, is a short yet remarkably eventful period. In this time Slovenia became an independent state, the social order changed, and the society weathered several deep crises as well as extraordinary upswings. The society remained active throughout, while the organisation of road activity, legislation and financing kept changing.
For its 35th anniversary the society chose, instead of a ceremony, to publish a volume that gives a clear account of its work from its founding to the present day and describes the most important engineering projects in the field of transport in north-east Slovenia. Our members are not only road builders, among us are also traffic engineers, industrial engineers, architects, landscape architects, economists and engineers of other disciplines, since the planning and construction of transport infrastructure demand the most interdisciplinary work of all building activities.
From the Society for Roads of Maribor to today
The foundations of professional association among Slovenian road and traffic experts reach back to the mid-1960s, when the Society for Roads of SR Slovenia was founded in 1965. Maribor experts, gathered around the faculty of civil engineering, the municipality and the Maribor Road Company, first raised the initiative in 1982, and the society was founded in 1985 as the Society for Roads of Maribor. In 1991 it was among the co-founders of the Road and Transport Research Association (DRC), and in 2008 it was renamed the Society for Roads of North-East Slovenia, uniting members from Celje, Koroška, Maribor, Podravje, Pomurje and Posavje.
Transport that connects disciplines
With Slovenia's independence the volume of work grew rapidly, first with the construction of the motorway cross and later with major railway and cycling projects. Over the years the society has organised numerous professional conferences and symposia, among them the widely noted conferences on the 3rd Development Axis, as well as professional excursions at home and abroad, where members studied modern transport solutions and strengthened ties with foreign experts. The motto still holds, Via vita, roads are life, and on the horizon are new projects and room for new members.
The pioneering years of Maribor's road engineering
The society's roots reach back to a time when most of the road network was still gravel and modern construction machinery was almost nonexistent. Modern development had to wait for a new generation of experts who began introducing new approaches in Maribor.
In the late 1950s all transit traffic from Western Europe ran straight through the centre of Maribor. The first relief came with the Tito Bridge, which on its completion in 1963 ranked among the notable free-cantilever bridges of its time, designed by engineer Boltežar Hvastja.
In the mid-1970s, faced with a complete standstill of traffic, the then president of the municipal assembly, engineer Vitja Rode, gathered all of Maribor's road engineers, regardless of where each of them worked. In 1976, in little more than a month, this group prepared a ten-year programme for the development and construction of roads, which set in motion the building of the expressway through Maribor, the largest construction undertaking in the city's history.
A range of professions took part, from designers, surveyors and geotechnical engineers to the lawyers who handled land acquisition, and, for the first time in Slovenia, an architect on road projects. Among the pioneers who marked this period were engineer Franc Krajnčič, long-standing technical director of the Maribor Road Company, geotechnical engineer Filip Kerec, and the designers Stanko Tominc and Milan Bartol.
Glimpses from these years are gathered in full in the 35th anniversary volume, from which this account is drawn.
Four decades in milestones
Tito Bridge across the Drava
Designed by engineer Boltežar Hvastja, the bridge ranked among the world's largest free-cantilever bridges on its completion in 1963. It gave the city its first relief from transit traffic, which had until then run straight through the centre of Maribor.
Ten-year road development programme
An expert group convened by municipal assembly president Vitja Rode prepared a ten-year programme for the development and construction of roads in little more than a month. It set in motion the building of the expressway through Maribor, the largest construction undertaking in the city's history.
Society for Roads Maribor founded
The founding assembly was held on 12 June 1985, chaired by Vlado Breščak, and the society was entered in the register of societies that December. It brought together road and traffic professionals from Maribor and the wider region.
First international colloquium
The international colloquium on Traffic Management, held in Maribor from 22 to 23 April 1997, addressed five thematic modules. A volume of papers was published and the event was supported by twenty sponsors.
Transport, Traffic, Logistics congress
The first international congress, held in Maribor from 23 to 25 September 1998, covered six thematic strands. It was accompanied by art exhibitions, a museum train excursion and a theatre performance.
The society re-established
A second founding assembly on 8 December 1998 elected Angel Polajnko as president and gave the society fresh momentum. Its seat was hosted by the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Smetanova ulica 17.
Velo-city 99 international congress
The eleventh international cycling congress took place in Graz and Maribor from 13 to 16 April 1999. It brought around 300 participants from every continent to the city.
Second congress in Portorož
The second international congress Transport, Traffic, Logistics, held in Portorož from 2 to 3 October 2000, addressed four thematic strands. The congress was supported by 34 sponsors.
Stanislav Tominc as president
Stanislav Tominc took over as president and led the society until 2011.
Third development axis symposium
The first expert symposium, held in Maribor on 21 March 2006, named the third development axis Slovenia's project of the third millennium. It was attended by every transport minister since the country's independence.
A new name for the region
At its annual assembly in December 2008 the Society for Roads Maribor was renamed the Society for Roads of North-East Slovenia. The new name symbolically united members from the Celje, Koroška, Maribor, Podravje, Pomurje and Posavje areas.
Urban roads symposium
Held at the Technical Faculties in Maribor on 28 May 2010, the expert symposium examined urban roads through twenty papers. It drew more than 120 participants.
Boris Stergar as president
Boris Stergar assumed the presidency and led the society until 2023.
35th anniversary volume published
With the anniversary conference prevented by the epidemic, the society published a commemorative volume in July 2021 covering its work from 1985 to 2020. Across more than two hundred pages it traces the society's history and the key transport projects of north-east Slovenia.
Uroš Rozman as president
Uroš Rozman took over the leadership of the society.
Renamed DPI Maribor
The Society for Roads of North-East Slovenia became the Society for Transport Infrastructure Maribor. The new name reflects a broader remit embracing railways, cycling routes and other transport infrastructure alongside roads.
Maribor Airport conference
The expert conference Development of Maribor Airport and the Wider Area, held on 29 May 2025, opened a debate on the future of the airport and its hinterland.
Sustainable green mobility
In 2026 the society organised a study excursion to the Netherlands and, on 21 May, the Sustainable Green Mobility conference. Both events turn the profession's attention to sustainable forms of transport.
Membership in the association is free of charge. Its members are not only civil engineers but also traffic engineers, architects, landscape architects, economists, and engineers from other fields.
Anniversary volume marking the society's 35th year
On the occasion of its 35th anniversary, the society published this volume in 2021. Spanning more than two hundred pages, it summarises the history, key milestones and professional work of the society over the decades. The publication is a record of the development of road activities in north-east Slovenia and of the people who shaped it.
Anniversary volume 1985–2020PDF, 209 pages
Uroš Rozman
The president is accountable to the managing board and the general assembly for the operation of the society. In addition to chairing all governing bodies, the president acts as the society's ambassador. The term of office is four years.
Uroš Rozman graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture at the University of Maribor, earning the degree of Graduate Civil Engineer. He went on to postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, where he obtained the degree of Master of Spatial Planning. His master's thesis on integrating the Drava Cycling Route into the landscape earned him the University Prešeren Award.
He began his career at the Municipality of Slovenj Gradec, where he carried out strategic tasks in the areas of European projects and sustainable mobility. He then joined the Regional Development Agency for Koroška, coordinating the Drava Cycling Route project and the entire cycling network in the region. He participated in the preparation of comprehensive mobility strategies, the planning of the 3rd Development Axis and the management of the CTN project for Slovenj Gradec. Between 2016 and 2019 he was an active member of the society's managing board.
In 2019 he took over the leadership of the Regional Development Agency for Podravje Maribor, where he carried out an extensive reorganisation, the merger of the Štajerski Technology Park and the Wcycle Institute, and the implementation of more than 50 projects across the Podravje, Pohorje and Drava River area in 53 municipalities. In 2023 he returned to RRA Koroška and was appointed president of the society for the term 2024 to 2027; in 2024 he also assumed leadership of the agency.
Society bodies
Members manage the society directly and through the governing bodies they elect at the general assembly.
Managing Board
The managing board is the executive body responsible for organisational, technical and administrative work, and for directing the society's activities between two general assemblies. Its members are elected by the general assembly for a four-year term. It consists of the president of the society and between five and ten members.
Who we work with
In its work and events, the society brings together leading institutions, companies and professional organisations in the field of transport infrastructure.
Society logo
The DPI Maribor logo is available to download. Please use it in line with the society's purpose and preserve its proportions and clear space.
