From the Director

by Matt Cate, P.E.

This would typically be the spring issue of RoadTalk, but the change of seasons sprang right past us this time. We’ve been working on a lot of improvements and new activities behind the scenes, and we look forward to sharing those with you soon. Looking back, the spring of 2019 wasn’t quite as wet as the end of winter. What we’ve seen of summer has been a mixed bag with some heat, some more rain, and even a handful of fall-like days in July. The basketball Vols didn’t go as far as we hoped in the NCAA tournament, but we had three names called in the NBA draft. I can hardly believe that it is already time to turn our attention to another college football season. I won’t even attempt to speculate on the outlook for the football Vols. Recent experience has taught me to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

We’re already seeing some action toward transportation reauthorization in Washington. The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act will remain in effect through the end of federal fiscal year 2020, but that is only 14 months away. At last check the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee appears ready to move its $287 billion America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA) to the floor for consideration by the full Senate. It’s too early to make big predictions as to how this may change the way we operate in the coming years, but we will do our best to keep you up to date as the process moves forward.

Here in Tennessee, the Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy Act, more commonly known as the IMPROVE Act, has been in place for more than two years. At the time of its passage the IMPROVE Act was projected to increase transportation funding for Tennessee cities and counties by more than $105 million per year. Additionally, 527 (54%) of the total 971 transportation projects specifically linked to passage of the act are for local bridge projects. So far, 14 local bridge projects have been completed, 23 are currently under construction, 7 are in the right of way phase, and 57 are in the preliminary engineering phase. That’s a great start toward meeting the state’s local infrastructure needs.

Finally, Airton Kohls and I will soon be attending the 2019 Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) conference in Stowe, VT. This annual gathering is a chance to meet with our peers from across the country, learn more about what they’ve been up to over the past year, and hopefully bring home some new ideas that we can put to use here in Tennessee. The LTAP centers will be joined this year by the members of the National Transportation Training Directors, or NTTD. NTTD primarily represents the training leaders of the state departments of transportation, but their members share many interests with the LTAP community. I had an opportunity to attend the 2018 NTTD conference in Chattanooga, and I am excited to see what happens when we bring the full membership of both groups together. You will probably see some of the new information that we pick up in Vermont beginning with the summer issue of RoadTalk.

That’s all I have for now. As always, please do not hesitate to give us a call or send an email if there is anything that TTAP can do for you.

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