HARRISBURG, PA. — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s (PennDOT) efforts to modernize and improve the way it does business — ensuring the efficient use of taxpayer dollars — are detailed on a new webpage announced by Transportation Secretary Barry J. Schoch. These important efforts, outlined at www.dot.state.pa.us under the heading, "Modern PennDOT," will be updated regularly as progress continues.

   WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) released State Transportation Facts and Figures, an interactive web transportation mapping application that allows customers to find state-by-state transportation data, comparisons, and rankings as well as gives them the ability to download state transportation information.

  RALEIGH, N.C. — Karen E. Fussell, P.E., was named as the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) first female division engineer. She will oversee work in Division 3, which covers Brunswick, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, and Sampson counties.

   ATLANTA — Even though utility relocation and landscape removal have been underway on the projects for some time, actual construction on the Ashford Dunwoody/I-285 Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) and the Roswell Road Bridge over I-285 just recently began, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

  LANSING, MICH. — The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) recently updated information on the MDOT website at www.michigan.gov/highwaybridgereport about the safety of 4,396 state highway bridges. MDOT has posted bridge safety reports online since August 2007.

   BALTIMORE — The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) Board voted to approve an innovative 35-year agreement with Areas USA MDTP LLC to redevelop and operate the two aging travel plazas along the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95) in northeast Maryland. The agreement is the state’s newest public-private partnership (P3) following the award-winning P3 agreement with a private partner to improve and operate Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore.

  CHICAGO — The Illinois Tollway and Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced that Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur and Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider have been selected as “Women of the Year” by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) Greater Chicago Chapter. The award recognizes Lafleur and Schneider for their leadership and outstanding contributions to the Chicago-area transportation industry. It also takes into account their contributions to the advancement of women and minorities through programs or opportunities in transportation.

   EAGLE/SUMMIT COUNTIES, COLO. — The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), contractor American Civil Constructors, Inc. (ACC), and subcontractor LaFarge have won a National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) “Quality in Construction” (QIC) award for the resurfacing and safety improvement project completed last October on Vail Pass. The award will be formally presented to representatives from each organization at a ceremony in Palm Desert, Calif.

  WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a new two-minute state DOT update video produced by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Malcolm Dougherty, the acting director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), says the department is "building for the future" with about 770 projects worth approximately $10 billion under contract.

   COLUMBUS, OHIO — After a year of discussing the looming transportation financial crisis facing Ohio, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) released funding projections that could result in pushing back by decades some of the state’s largest construction projects.

   WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new Transportation TV video released by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Innovation in Motion, Utah DOT's I-15 CORE Project, showcases the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT) cutting-edge solutions to deliver a 24-mile, $1.725 billion interstate improvement faster, safer, and cheaper.

  SEATTLE — Seattle residents frequently ask the city who owns the trees along the street where they live, what kind of trees they are, and whose responsibility it is to maintain them. Residents can now obtain that information using a new web-based map showing most of Seattle’s street trees. This access to the city’s tree inventory is timely because the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is in the midst of drafting an ordinance that will aid in regulating and managing street trees.

   WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) launched a "Project of the Week" section in the AASHTO Journal to highlight excellent state transportation department projects that are completed on time, under budget, and/or using innovative management.

   JACKSON, MISS. — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) appointed Mark McConnell to the position of deputy executive director – chief engineer, according to MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath. As chief engineer, McConnell will oversee highway and bridge construction projects as well as MDOT’s maintenance program throughout Mississippi.

   JACKSON, MISS. — The Mississippi Transportation Commission unanimously voted to appoint Melinda L. McGrath as executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). Since February 2011, McGrath has served as interim executive director/chief engineer of MDOT. Prior to that, she served as deputy executive director/chief engineer since August 2008.

   PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The International Road Federation (IRF) announced the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) as one of the winners of the 2011 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) in the category of research. Eight countries and nine projects were represented this year. Awarded projects were chosen by an international panel of judges whose expertise lies in the industry of roadway development.

   WASHINGTON D.C. — Innovations in transportation are numerous, and beginning today, industry professionals and the general public can turn to Transportation TV to keep up with the very latest trends and developments. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials launched “News in Design” with Keith Platte, AASHTO's associate program director for project delivery. Platte's show will feature innovative transportation products and programs being tested and/or implemented by state departments of transportation across the country.

   WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a new Two-Minute State DOT Update video produced by AASHTO’s Transportation TV, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Terry Bellamy talks about the District of Columbia’s extraordinary responsibility of meeting the needs of a growing metropolitan region while also satisfying the unique responsibilities associated with being the nation’s capital.

  RICHMOND, VA. — The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) advertised more than $2 billion worth of construction and maintenance contracts during 2011. Contracts include repaving, bridge repairs and replacements, intersection and safety improvements, and road widenings, among several other transportation projects across the state.

  DOVER, DEL. — As the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) prepares to celebrate the opening of the new Indian River Inlet Bridge (IRIB) in January 2012, it announced that it is partnering with the Division of Cultural Affairs to create two displays that tell the story of Delaware's Indian River Inlet, including the archaeology, environmental impacts, history of bridges in this area, as well as attributes of the new bridge. These displays showcase the complex task of bridge building, as well as celebrating the near completion of one of Delaware's most iconic bridges.