Marketing Transportation E-news is a monthly news brief from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), highlighting efforts to build support for improving the nation's transportation system. Part of the Are We There Yet? We Can Be! campaign, each issue includes news briefs, upcoming events, critical information, and columns from advocates and supporters of transportation. |
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 The Buzz – News You Can Use
Acrophobics Beware
The construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass - also known as the Colorado River Bridge - is a remarkable engineering feat. When completed next year, this signature 2,000 foot-long bridge will span the Black Canyon, connecting the Arizona and Nevada approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River. Jamey Stillings' breathtaking photographs of construction on the bridge were recently portrayed in the New York Times Magazine. For more information and a webcam of construction, go to www.hooverdambypass.org.
Good Communications Start at the Beginning
The value of transportation research can be a tough sell. Technical research reports offer important information but can often be complex and not easily understood by decision makers. Communicating the Value of Transportation Research is a new guidebook produced by the Transportation Research Board that offers practical advice, quick tips, and detailed how-to descriptions on how best to communicate the results of research to diverse audiences, including Congress, state lawmakers and other target audiences. One key is to integrate communications at the onset of research.
Opinion Survey Seeks Your Views on Improving Pedestrian Access
With walking becoming increasingly fashionable (and so healthy!), designers and planners are looking for suggestions on how to improve pedestrian facilities along streets and highways. A new opinion survey offers you the opportunity to weigh in on any new topics or changes to the next edition of the AASHTO Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities. A link to the survey can be found at http://tinyurl.com/AASHTO-Ped-Guide. For more information on the project, contact Jennifer Toole at jtoole@tooledesign.com.
For Any Transportation Expert's Bookshelf
Want to know the right recipe for mineral filler for bituminous paving mixes? Or the specs for punching bolt holes for foundations? AASHTO has the publication for you: the newly revised two-volume Materials Book (also known as the Standard Specifications for Transportation Materials and Methods of Sampling and Testing). More than 420 specifications and test methods commonly used in the construction of highway facilities are included, with 77 updates and eight new specs and test methods. To order a copy, contact 1-800-231-3475 or online at https://bookstore.transportation.org ** Search HM-29.
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Industry Insights
American Trucking Associations Advance New Safety Agenda
The trucking industry is now the safest it has been since the U.S. Department of Transportation began keeping crash statistics in 1975, but we must continue to further the trend. Earlier this month, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) unveiled a bold new highway safety agenda. "Our 18 progressive safety policies will advance highway safety for all highway users by improving driver performance, creating safer vehicles and improving motor carrier performance," says ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. Read the full article. |
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Stateside
Great Transportation Projects Honored in the Northeastern States
The widening of I-95 at a key East Coast bottleneck, replacement of a major Pittsburgh artery, and the upgrade of a portion of I-70 in Maryland, one of the country's oldest east-west roadways, have been named regional winners of the America's Transportation Awards competition. They, along with a new interchange in the Three Rivers Valley near Corning, NY, and another Maryland project that widened a dangerous commuter route, were honored this month at the Northeastern Association of Transportation Officials (NASTO) meeting in Boston. For the 2009 national competition, 50 projects were submitted by 33 states in three categories: on time, on budget, and innovative management. NASTO states nominated 14 projects. The awards are co-sponsored by AAA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AASHTO. Details on all the winners and nominees are at www.AmericasTransportationAward.org.
New Transportation Degree at University of Southern Mississippi
The Mississippi Department of Transportation has given a $50,000 grant to the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Construction and the Department of Economic and Workforce Development to help develop a master's program in logistics, trade and transportation. According to MDOT, the program will teach the advanced skills needed to address the challenges and opportunities created by global trade. Contact Carrie Adams, MDOT public affairs, at 601-359-7017.
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