National Association of County Engineers   ~ June 2019
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Update from NACE President Tim Hens  

Hopefully by now summer has started for most of you. I know many parts of the upper Midwest and Northeast have been plagued by colder than normal temperatures and heavy rain. Here in Western New York the farmers have yet to get into fields and there is a real sense of panic setting in. I suppose it could be worse through as many of our friends in the Mississippi and Missouri River basins have been underwater for some time with severe flooding. Poor weather definitely makes an already short construction season even more challenging.

Back in May I had the privilege of representing NACE during Infrastructure Week. I participated in a panel discussing the challenges of funding infrastructure. The panel was jointly hosted by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the National League of Cities (NLC). I was joined on the panel by Corina Lopez, Vice Mayor of San Leandro, CA; Carlos Gimènez, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County; and James McDonald, Councilman from Pinecrest, FL. The panel was kicked off by Senator Tom Carper (DE) and all of the panelists highlighted the increasing need for infrastructure funding and shared some ideas to improve the process. As your NACE representative, I highlighted our legislative priorities which include streamlining and the possibility of direct federal funding to counties. I was able to use one of my county's locally-funded bridge projects as an example of what could be done if we can get the red tape out of the way.

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Safety Data Forum 2.0 Update by Luke McGinty (Elmore County Deputy Chief Engineer)  
 
I was honored to represent NACE recently at the Safety Data Forum 2.0 (Forum) hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in Washington D.C. on April 9, 2019. The purpose of the Forum was to give an update to the Safety Data Initiative (SDI) and solicit input from stakeholders about opportunities to leverage and analyze data related to traffic crashes.

The DOT initiated the SDI, led by the Office of Under Sectary for Policy, to evolve from retrospective safety analysis to predictive safety analysis, using data visualizations. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Derek Kan stated SDI has 3 main focus areas: Visualization of Data, Integrating of Data and Advanced Analytics of Data. These focus areas intend to help create clear, compelling data visualizations to make new data analysis and insight available, help integrate existing DOT databases and new private sector databases, and use advanced analytics to identify risk patterns and develop insights that may anticipate and mitigate safety risks to reduce traffic fatalities and serious injuries.

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NACE Corporate Partner Update

NACE welcomes all Corporate Partners to submit press releases or other newsworthy items for the Corporate Member Spotlight. BioBased Spray Systems LLC is a NACE Bronze Corporate Member. They provided the following press release for the NACE News. 
 

BIORESTOR® Asphalt Rejuvenator Ranks Highest in NCAT Study

Results published in the 2019 issue of Asphalt Technology News ranked BIORESTOR® as the highest performing rejuvenating fog sealant against six other products in a recent test study.

"We were very excited to see BIORESTOR® come out on top," states Michael Freisthler, owner of Asphalt Systems Ohio, Inc. and BioBased Spray Systems LLC. "I know this product out performs our competitors in the field, so it's great to see validation from NCAT's study. Clearly, everyone needs to apply an asphalt rejuvenator as a proactive treatment for cracks and potholes by preserving the binder's flexibility. If you can do something for a low cost that extends the life of a very expensive product, you do it."


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What's New in Washington
 
Federal infrastructure package discussions stall

Trump tells Congress to ratify North American trade deal before dealing with infrastructure

House appropriators OK FY20 Spending Plan with $2.5B THUD Increase

FHWA Innovator May/June 2019

Congress clears $19.1 billion disaster aid package, includes short-term extension of NFIP

House appropriators approve FY 2020 Energy-Water funding measure
National Partner Update  

NACE welcomes our National Partners to submit press releases, event notices or other newsworthy items of interest to our members. The following  two announcements were submitted for publication in NACE News from National Partners.  
 

2019 NATIONAL ROADWAY SAFETY AWARDS
Applications are due by Friday, June 21st

The National Roadway Safety Awards program honors agencies and organizations in the transportation community that have made verifiable and significant strides toward improving the safety of our nation's highways through infrastructure improvements, operational improvements or program planning, development and evaluation.
Every two years, this prestigious awards program examines the "best of the best" using effectiveness, innovation, and efficient use of resources as criteria in determining which projects will receive this coveted award. Co-sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and Roadway Safety Foundation, this program has garnered winning entrants well-deserved top industry honors for more than two decades.
The competition acknowledges successful engineering solutions that agencies have integrated into their roadway safety programs. Selected projects are included in a noteworthy practices guide so they can be replicated nationwide.  Award winners are also honored at a ceremony in the fall on Capitol Hill.  Know of a groundbreaking, innovative road safety project? 

National Partner Update   
 
Safer Roads 2020 International Conference- Registration is Now Open 
 

The Safer Roads 2020 International Conference is a triennial event for roadway safety professionals and transportation officials from around the globe. The conference brings together industry leaders, government officials, corporate roadway department personnel, and others in the roadway safety, with a focus on working better together.

Every three years, our international community gathers to learn, network, and discover the latest industry best practices to improve roadway safety. This global conference is designed to facilitate communications and the sharing of ideas to stimulate creative problem solving.

This year's conference will be held in conjunction with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official's (AASHTO) Committee on Safety. The AASHTO group includes both policy and technical level within the state department of transportation (DOT), and represents the multidisciplinary approach to safety performance, including experience in engineering, enforcement, education, emergency medical service or incident response, and the use of data-driven safety evaluation, analysis, and diagnosis to identify and address the need to reduce crashes.

Click here for more information. 

Job Postings

 
California- Monterey County
Public Works Facilities Director: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/Home/ShowDocument?id=77232

Washington- Kittitas County 
County Engineer: https://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/hr/jobs/job.aspx?i=1442  

Washington- Mason County
Deputy Director- Public Works

California- Kings County
Road Superintendent
Check out the latest job postings from our members here.