Road Chatter

From the New York State LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program

August 2023

The purpose of a vacation is to have the time to rest. But many of us, even when we go on vacation, don't know how to rest. We may even come back more tired than before we left. -Thich Nhat Hanh

If your work requires you to travel, you will understand that there's no vacation destination like home. - Park Chan-wook

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?x=0&y=0&q=vacation

In movies, TV, and comics, the assignment to start the school year, "What I did on my summer vacation" is always treated with dread. I can only remember a couple of times having to do such an assignment and it was easy. Just write a couple of paragraphs (or sometimes pages) about what you did while you were not in school.

For the last two weeks, I have been on a work trip out of town with a couple of free "vacation" days mixed in. I have pages of ideas from the trip since I was actually at two conferences.

The first was in Columbus, Ohio, at a gathering of centers like ours from states and tribal areas from across the US. We shared ideas on how to help local agencies and each other. The second conference was the Transportation Research Board International Low-Volume Roads Conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Held once every four years, this practical conference has both ready-to-use and cutting-edge research aimed at lower-volume roads. At both conferences, I gave presentations to share our ideas and wrote down a bunch of ideas to bring home and share with you (in our newsletters and workshops).

I had a great time meeting with colleagues and friends at both events. We did stop and have some fun including visiting the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, and the curviest street in the US according to Ripley's Believe It or Not in Burlington, Iowa. We also drove by the AASHO Road Test site in Ottawa, Illinois which was where most road thickness design methods got their start in the late 1950s but could not stop as they did not have a rest area for curious engineers.

May your summer vacation be a good one even if the highlight was coming home.

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2023 Engineering Workshops

Federal Aid 101 - Virtual Workshop - 3 PDH credits

September 12, 2023 - register via Zoom

9:30 am - 3:00 pm
Workshop fee - Free
PDH fee - $20

Getting federal aid is only the first step in the process to complete a local project. To make a project successful, the local agency needs to understand the steps and the federal and state requirements. During this 4-hour online workshop, David will walk through a federal aid project from start to finish, discuss the steps to a successful project, and review issues that have led to problems in the past. Attendees will learn the roles and responsibilities of the various parties involved and ways to reduce stress for themselves and the agencies overseeing the work.

Fall workshop registration is now open!

The Foundational Webinars Series is still going strong every Tuesday!

Our free ongoing series focused on the important principles key to local highway agency operations and management. Focusing on why we do what we do - “Why do we put three signs in advance of a work zone?” - each webinar offers a convenient way to learn the basics of a particular topic. Taken together, they cover the foundation of local highway issues.

August 8 – MUTCD*

August 15 – Snow & Ice Control*

August 22 – Equipment

September 5 – Planning Process*

*1 Engineering PDH available

Bridge Conference registration

is now open!

Scheduled to be held on October 25 & 26, with the training session on October 24.

The 2023 conference will be held in Albany.

The 2023 conference is anticipated to be worth 7.5 PDHs, while each training is anticipated to be worth 4 PDHs.

View the conference agenda

Upcoming Events and Conferences

FHWA Construction and Project Management Series

8.10.2023 - Mainstream DABs: Statewide and Programmatic (1:30pm-3:00pm)
9.25.2023 - Digital As-Builts Forum City of Lincoln, NE, Mr. Marc Rosso, Senior Construction Engineer (3:30pm - 4:30pm)

Check out the full conference details here.

NHI Virtual Overview of Roadside Safety Course

Free Web-based training that illustrates the importance of roadside safety within the overall highway system. It focuses on avoiding roadside crashes to the extent possible, while also exploring methods and appurtenances to either recover from roadway departures or minimize the severity of crashes that occur on the roadside. This course includes fundamental-level explanations of the behavioral and physical aspects of roadway departure safety countermeasures.

New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, Fall Conference

Tuesday, September 26 - 29, 2023

at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino

Grant Writing - How to Get Started

Date: September 28, 2023

Time: 11:00 am - 12:00 pm ET

Writing a grant or funding application can seem like an impossible task if you have never completed one before. It can seem daunting even if you have completed one or more but weren’t given any guidance on how to approach the project. During this webinar, learn the basics of how to tackle and complete a grant or funding application.

Resources

Community Corners Infographics

These infographics were created to help the highway and DPW crews communicate effectively with the community on items of concern.

Click here to view our Community Corner Series.

On the road and have a question?

Check out our new question submission section! Send us a picture, or drop us a note! Let us know what we can do to help you.

We are one click away!

National Summit on Rural Road Safety

September 12-14, 2023, Oklahoma City

The National Summit on Rural Road Safety is being offered as a hybrid event with both virtual and in-person (onsite) audiences.

View the agenda

FHWA Online Training Library

The Center for Local Aid Support has developed a series of online training modules for transportation professionals. The online training courses are for professional development and to provide solutions for transportation related issues. Professional credits are available on a State by State basis. Your state's LTAP can assist you with this process.

Where can I find information pertaining to when a road should or should not be striped?

Centerlines can be placed on any paved road if there is a need to do so to improve safety. One of the critical issues is that markings need to be maintained once placed. As for when they are needed, here is the text from the NYSLTAP-CLRP Traffic Sign Handbook and the MUTCD, Chapter 3B.01.....

Read the full answer here.

New York State LTAP Center -

Cornell Local Roads Program nysltap.clrp.cornell.edu