LANHAM, MD. — The Asphalt Pavement Alliance (APA) announced the winners of its 2011 Perpetual Pavement Awards program. These national awards are given to road-owning agencies for asphalt pavements that are at least 35 years old and have never had a structural failure. The average interval between resurfacing of each winning pavement must be no less than 13 years, and the road must demonstrate excellence in design, quality in construction and value for the traveling public. 

ATLANTA — Major transportation improvement projects all across the state have been initiated by the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT). Bids have been awarded for $73.7 million in new work, including significant, multi-million-dollar projects in Gordon, Hall, Fulton, and Dougherty counties. In all, 32 new projects will mean mobility improvements for dozens of Georgia communities.  

AMES, IOWA — The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) presented the Iowa Transportation Commission with the draft Fiscal Year 2013-2017 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program. The program reflects Iowa’s multimodal transportation system through inclusion of investments in aviation, transit, railroads, trails, and highways.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A decade ago, only a few states had ever heard of a Road Safety Audit (RSA) and now every state has some experience with the RSA process. A National Highway Institute webinar — May 17, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time — will showcase how states have developed RSA programs with a strong focus on implementation.  

LANHAM, MD. — The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) opened registration for its 2102 Midyear Meeting, being held July 16–18 at the historic Drake Hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. The theme for the 2012 meeting is “Magnificent Opportunities for Asphalt: Overcoming Challenges, Delivering Solutions,” which reflects the central messages of the event’s plenary sessions.  

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Communities will begin to see repair and rehabilitation take place on roadways used frequently by the energy industry after the Texas Transportation Commission gave approval for $40 million for maintenance and safety improvement projects relates to the industry's activities. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will begin the work this summer, as contracts are signed and executed to repair and widen some roads, and make intersection improvements to others. The funding will support projects located in north and south Texas.  

AUSTIN, TEXAS — In a unanimous decision, the Texas Transportation Commission voted to revise the 2012 Unified Transportation Plan (UTP), formally allocating approximately $1.6 billion to communities across the state using existing funding formulas. The remaining $400 million will be allocated to transportation projects selected by the Transportation Commission focusing on strategic partnerships and statewide connectivity.  

WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the first time, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is opening its Faces of Transportation photo contest to the general public, in addition to employees of state departments of transportation.   

NEW YORK — Fitch Ratings believes a thoughtful approach to the long-term implementation and support of managed lanes (MLs) is critical as state departments of transportation (DOTs) evaluate such projects. Revenue from these projects tends to be volatile, meaning a poorly planned strategy could have an adverse impact on budgets, particularly if the goal is for the project to be self-supporting.  

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Texas Transportation Commission authorized the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to advance two high-profile projects in the Houston area. The SH 288 project, from US 59 to the Harris/Brazoria county line, and the US 290/Hempstead corridor, from I-610 to SH 99 (Grand Parkway), will move forward through a partnership between TxDOT and Harris County.  

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Nearly 42 percent of Ohio’s heavy equipment is used only 5 percent of the time, according to preliminary results from the first-ever performance audit of an Ohio state agency under Senate Bill 4. A total of $6 million in potential savings was identified in the status update report to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) released by Auditor of State Dave Yost.  

 DOVER, DEL. — Citizens interested in knowing more about the performance of the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) can now scan an online dashboard on the agency's website that measures a variety of key service indicators in four general areas: condition, customer service, performance, and safety. Various gauges within each of the measurement areas show agency performance statewide, by agency division, by county, or by mode of transportation.  

ALBANY, N.Y. — In commemoration of Earth Day, New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald presented awards for staff initiatives — and for the first time work by New York City DOT staff — for incorporating environmental sustainability into project design and operations efforts through the first-in-the-nation Green Leadership in Transportation and Environmental Sustainability (GreenLITES) program.  

WASHINGTON D.C. — Earth Day goes hand in hand with raising environmental awareness — and this year the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) used the occasion to share the many ways its members are protecting the environment.  

RICHMOND, VA. — The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) released the state’s working draft of the Fiscal Years 2013-2018 Six-Year Improvement Program. The program allocates $10.6 billion in funding to transportation improvements over the next six fiscal years beginning July 1, 2012. The draft six-year program funding breakdown includes $8.3 billion for roads, highways, and bridges; and $2.3 billion for rail, transit, and other improvements.  

COLUMBUS, OHIO — Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Jerry Wray officially launched the 2012 road construction season and announced approximately 800 transportation preservation projects throughout the Buckeye State. Total cost is $1.8 billion. However, the state still needs more than $1.6 billion to finish additional phases of 35 major new expansion projects in communities throughout Ohio.  

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) Commissioner John Schroer released the three-year transportation program, featuring approximately $1.5 billion in infrastructure investments for 96 individual project phases in 55 counties, as well as 10 statewide programs. TDOT is one of only five state DOT’s that does not borrow money to fund projects, and the program continues TDOT’s “pay as you go” philosophy, carrying no debt for any transportation initiatives.  

DENVER — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) announced its plans for construction this summer in the Denver metro area, including the $310 million safety and capacity improvement project on US 36, which is the state’s largest road construction project of the year. In all, there will be more than 40 active construction projects in the Denver metro area this summer, totaling more than $600 million.  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is expanding its reach into social media. Since the department's first venture into the new media in 2009, RIDOT has used a variety of sites that provide real-time information that gives users what they want the instant they want it. Starting April 3, RIDOT will have boards up on a new social media site called Pinterest. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows users to post images much like an electronic scrapbook. The department will be using it to highlight and share images from its construction projects.  

PHOENIX — In a unique partnership with the city of Flagstaff, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) is soliciting public-private partnership (P3) proposals to relocate and consolidate ADOT offices in the city, reducing agency costs while vacating land for commercial development. According to the scope of work from ADOT's conceptual proposal documents, the plan is to relocate the ADOT offices with the collaboration of a private partner, who would then work with the city to redevelop the site of ADOT's current facilities.