NYS LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program

Road Chatter

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

June - Summer Plans

Too much work, too much vacation, too much of any one thing is unsound.

- Walter Annenberg

The 79th Highway School starts today. We hope those of you in attendance have a great time and take home one or two things to help your community or yourself. The school is also the start of summer for many of us. The summer road maintenance and construction season is relatively short in New York State. We can hope for a warm fall but cannot rely on it.

Summer is also the time many of us take a vacation. Everyone should take some time to recharge. It could be a vacation, a day off at the end of the week, or just a few hours away from the grind. Find what works for you. You certainly don’t want a vacation where you are ready for a vacation from the vacation.

We are going to have plenty to do this summer. Next week we are starting our summer webinar series. We are also preparing our work plan for 2027 and meeting with our Advisory Panel in late June. We are going to be reviewing the new NYS Supplement to the National MUTCD (see note below) and printing a new Traffic Sign Handbook. We will be out and about, so if you have an issue that needs a field visit, just let us know. And yes, we will take some time to recharge and get ready for the fall.

New York State Department of Transportation has published a draft NYS Supplement to the National MUTCD. Together, these two documents are the standards for traffic control devices in New York State.

The proposed revision is available online at: https://www.dot.ny.gov/mutcd. Look for NYS Supplement - 2026 Edition Draft Files for Review. Comments on the proposed NYS Supplement are due back to NYSDOT by July 10^th.

If you have technical questions about the changes, please contact Barbara Abrahamer at (518) 457-2095 (barbara.abrahamer@dot.ny.gov) or Dan Carey at (518) 457-7114 (danieLcarey@dot.ny.gov).

View from the Road

- David Orr, PE

Stay up to date with the NYS LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program.

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NYSLTAP-CLRP Summer Webinar Series

These webinar runs from 9:00 am - 10:00 am

*Anticipated to be worth 1 Engineering PDH credit.

June 9 - Road Alignment & Intersections*
June 16 - Purchasing & Financing*
June 23 - Surface & Subsurface Drainage*
June 30 - Gravel & Base Materials*
July 7 - Managing the Fleet
July 14 - Finding, Retaining, & Motivating Employees
July 21 - Emergency Preparedness
July 28 - Communication Tools
August 4 - Flagging*
August 11 - Ethics*
August 18 - Snow & Ice Strategy*

Please note: to participate in Q&A, you must use client version 5.17.0

or newer, or join via web browser.

For more information, please click here.

Upcoming Events and Conferences

New York State Association of Transportation Engineers

84^t^h Annual Conference

Rochester, NY

June 2-5, 2026

Free 6-Part Summer Webinar Series

- Steel Bridges: Beyond the Textbook -

Real Projects. Practical Tools.

Proven Solutions

June 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25

1-2 pm ET

NHI - Stream Stability and Scour at Highway Bridges (Virtual)

Running June 22 - June 25

from 9:00am - 4:00pm

This comprehensive online training provides preventive techniques for identifying, analyzing, and calculating various hydraulic factors that impact bridge stability. Public and private sector engineers responsible for maintaining the integrity of highway bridges will find it invaluable.

NYSCHSA Summer Conference

August 31 - September 2

Corning, NY

Save the Date!

NYSAOTSOH 97th Annual Conference

September 29 – October 2, 2026

Saratoga Springs, NY

NYS LTAP Center - CLRP Resources

Join our team!

We are looking for a Communications Specialist!

The ideal candidate is a creative, detail-oriented communications professional with the ability to translate complex technical content into clear and engaging materials across web, print, and multimedia platforms.

The Nuggets & Nibbles Newsletter

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Nuggets & Nibbles?

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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.

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Quick and Easy Social Media Posts

If you are looking for seasonally relevant topics to post, check out our carefully curated posts related to spring!

Flagger Tutorial

Looking for something to help your crew freshen up for flagging? Check out the revamped NYSLTAP-CLRP flagging tutorial. Broken down into 4 lessons; the MUTCD, Work Zone Safety Responsibility, the Work Zone and Flagging, Equipment and Procedures.

Check out the tutorial.

Community Corner Infographics

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

Click here to view our Community Corner Series.

Instructors needed!

The New York State LTAP Center - Cornell Local Roads Program is looking for seasonal or part-time instructors.

Do you have a passion for public works

or highway management, and want to pass on your knowledge and experience to others? Contact us!

Visit our website for more information!

Basic Math for Roadway Workers 3-Part Series

This is a recorded webinar and not eligible for engineering PDHs in New York State.

With math basics followed by lessons in calculating length, area, volume, and quantities, this interactive course presents how to estimate highway maintenance work in real world situations using the math you already know! Utilizing a step-by-step approach, complex situations encountered by highway and street departments will be broken down into simple pieces.

New York State LTAP Center -

Cornell Local Roads Program nysltap.clrp.cornell.edu