Steudle Highlights Innovation & Asset Management During IRF Awards Luncheon

Moving innovative ideas, products, and techniques into mainstream department of transportation practices was among the priorities outlined Tuesday by Michigan Transportation Director Kirk Steudle, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials president, during the keynote speech at the International Road Federation Annual Awards Luncheon in Washington.”Research informs our decision-making processes. We use it every day to solve problems, large and small,” Steudle said. “The investment, once moved into practice, results in increased efficiencies; real products that states can use; cost savings to states and to the taxpayer; increased collaboration; and safer, smarter transportation options for users.”

Steudle said his priorities include supporting passage of a federal surface transportation reauthorization and increasing emphasis on asset-management practices.

“AASHTO has had a strong role, along with the [Federal Highway Administration], in encouraging greater pavement and bridge asset management — caring for our system — in order to keep our system in a state of good repair,” he said. “And now we are looking toward greater usage of the concepts for safety and traffic hardware, as well as for transit. The public expects us to care for what we already have and to keep it in good working condition with the resources we have.”

The IRF Annual Awards Luncheon recognized the 2011 winners of the Global Road Achievement Awards, a worldwide competition to recognize excellence, innovation, and exceptional achievement across the road industry. Two state departments of transportation — Texas and Rhode Island — received IRF awards.

“Much of what road builders do is lost or forgotten by the hundreds of millions of people who benefit so greatly from the work of the road development industry,” said IRF Chairman Abdullah Al-Mogbel. “This is precisely why IRF’s Global Road Achievement Awards provide a rare opportunity to celebrate our industry’s successes and highlight how our work helps achieve broader development goals.”

A detailed list of award winners is available from IRF at bit.ly/IRF-GRAA.