Kirk Steudle national transportation advisor with Steudle Executive Group and former director of Michigan DOT, looks at the ways in which transportation infrastructure planning can serve communities and highlights one recent project in particular that brought multiple agencies together for the common good
Traditionally, state and local infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs) approached the mobility challenge in their regional jurisdictions with the intent to reduce recurring traffic congestion and increase traffic flow. This was of course in support of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways that became the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.
While this act set into motion unprecedented highway planning and building of our nation’s interstate highway system, and established the modern state DOT, community planning unfortunately took a back seat to transportation. Today, we really need to focus on building communities through mobility, including through cooperative DOT projects.
“I advocate for more inclusion on the part of IOOs regarding actively pursuing non-traditional partnerships for planning to help connect communities, as well as public-private partnerships to accelerate the deployment of technologies”
Today, IOOs and state DOTs are under new jurisdictional pressures to overcome environmental, technology, social, demographic, and aging-infrastructure issues that directly impact not just roadways and traffic safety, but entire communities. They are facing these challenges and pressures with less federal intervention and funding.
You’ve read how I advocate for more inclusion on the part of IOOs regarding actively pursuing non-traditional partnerships for planning to help connect communities, as well as public-private partnerships to accelerate the deployment of technologies. I’ve highlighted the good strides we have made, but we must remain focused and continue working beyond the distractions.
The biggest advantage going for us is that no other organizations have the skillset and expertise to overcome these challenges and build communities than local IOOs and state DOTs. As former New Jersey DOT commissioner Frank J Wilson, once opined: “Transportation defines a civilization; it gives value to time, quality to life, and energy to the economy.” This certainly holds true today.
A sustainable and resilient transportation system that delivers regional and inter-regional accessibility, while serving community needs for social and economic exchange is really the goal of mobility.
The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor project (BSBC), linking Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio,
is a great example of cooperation between Ohio DOT (ODOT) and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC).
Addressing one of the largest traffic bottlenecks in the region, the two states and DOTs actively worked and partnered with local and regional entities, including traditional and non-traditional, as well as public and private, to develop a solution that improves traffic flow and safety while connecting communities on both sides of the Ohio River.
The BSBC community-based involvement throughout the planning process has been admirable. I commend ODOT and KYTC for their approach on building communities through enhanced mobility.
This article first appeared in the December 2024 edition of TTi magazine
