Longest-serving USDOT deputy secretary passes away
November 14th, 2023
Mortimer Downey, the longest serving deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), passed away from pulmonary fibrosis on November 2, 2023 at the age of 87. Mortimer Downey. Photo courtesy of AASHTO. Downey served as USDOT deputy secretary from 1993 to 2001. He was originally appointed to the position at the beginning of […]
USDOT launches Project Delivery Center of Excellence
August 21st, 2023
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has launched the Project Delivery Center of Excellence to help recipients of federal infrastructure funds deliver projects more efficiently and effectively, from concept to completion. The center will serve as a central resource for innovative practices and will bring project managers together to enable knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning. “This USDOT […]
AASHTO offers cutting-edge research counsel to USDOT
August 11th, 2023
In a 10-page comment letter sent to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) offered a detailed list of research projects worthy of receiving Advanced Research Projects Agency-Infrastructure or ARPA-I grants. AASHTO noted in its letter that new infrastructure technologies and strategies “offer a pathway” to making the […]
Fall Lobby Day 2022 and GMA Leader of the Year
February 1st, 2023
GMA Chair Bryan Gee, left, and GMA Executive Director Fred Chuck, right, present House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio with the Geosynthetic Materials Association Leader of the Year Award. Photo courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Lobby Day 2022 took place on November 16, 2022, in Washington, D.C. […]
USDOT announces FHWA executive director
November 11th, 2022
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has selected Gloria Shepherd as the executive director of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the eleventh person to hold this position since FHWA’s founding in 1971. When she assumes her new role as executive director, she will be the first woman and the first African American in FHWA’s history […]
U.S. representatives pen letter encouraging use of geosynthetics
February 1st, 2018
On Nov. 17, 2017, 10 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao encouraging the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to consider including the benefits of geosynthetic materials in future infrastructure legislation. “Geosynthetic materials are a critical, innovative element of the transportation construction industry,” the representatives wrote, […]
FAA awards $527.8 million in grants to airports
June 6th, 2017
U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) secretary Elaine Chao announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $527.8 million in airport infrastructure grants to 584 airports across the United States as part of the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP). “The Airport Improvement Program helps to maintain our aviation infrastructure and supports safety, capacity, security, and environmental […]