Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP)

Vol 38 No 1.3

Welcome to a special series of digital newsletters during COVID-19. 

In this Issue  

  • Upcoming LTAP Events 
  • Rural Indiana Transportation Needs Study
  • Coming Soon to LTAP Direct: New Chain Saw and Bucket Truck Safety Videos
  • Other Events & Resources 

Welcome 

June in Indiana has become synonymous with road repairs and public works projects, and this June was no exception. Whether it is across the country on vacation or across town for ice cream, orange barrels and barricades greet you on almost every trip you take. Next time you make a trip, take a moment to realize what all these projects mean for our local communities. These are long-term investments in the future. In many cases, these projects are improving roads that have been in poor condition for a long time. In addition, projects are designed to improve traffic flow, making the facility more safe and efficient.

On the surface, we see upgrades to utilities, new bike paths, sidewalks, pedestrian safety, and drainage improvements. However, behind these improvements are the devoted men and women in our public works, street departments, and county highway departments, whose long hours and hard work make these projects possible. Always remember, the work does not end after the project is complete. Rather, it is just getting started. For the next thirty years, that road or bridge has to be kept in good condition. Think about it, build a road or bridge where nature had not intended it to be, keep it in good condition until you retire, and with an annual budget that could change by as much as 30% any given year. Now that is a challenging job! Still, we see this impossible job being done, and yet we complain that we have to drive around a detour, or wait for a flagger.

So, next time you go to get your ice cream treat and have to take detour around road construction, or wait for construction traffic at a bridge, try to enjoy the drive, and take solace in knowing the infrastructure is being upgraded and maintained, and that makes us all safer and more comfortable when we travel.

We wish you a wonderful July. 

Upcoming LTAP Events 

Due to the cancellation of our spring workshops along with many of the association events, Indiana LTAP will be transforming our 2020 scheduled core courses to an online forum, building a new platform, and relaunching the courses for later this fall. Course # 7, #8 and #10 will be some of the early courses to move online. 

Registration is LIVE for the following FREE Webinars

Rural Indiana Transportation Needs Study  

The Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) has been collaborating with the IU Public Policy Institute (PPI) and Purdue University to document rural transportation needs since 2014. More recently the PPI team also has been working with ISA to document grain cargo flows and issues. This new project continues both lines of work.

The current project has a task to perform Road and Bridge Data analysis collected through the LTAP Data Management System Portal.  Annual report data is available for the first time in a format that allows analysis. Pavement and pavement conditions data and data regarding Community Crossings grants also are available electronically.

The research team will analyze these data for the 91 county highway departments (all counties excluding Marion), looking for trends in road and bridge inventories, conditions, the proportion of work identified as construction, reconstruction, maintenance, etc., spending levels, and funding sources. The research team will prepare a data analysis focusing on rural counties.  Portal data access will be requested and must be approved by the county administrator.

Indiana LTAP is an active participant of the research team by providing oversight.  

Coming Soon to LTAP Direct: New Chain Saw and Bucket Truck Safety Videos

 

A special thanks to the City of Hobart Public Works, Arborist Skills Inc., and the camera crew from Purdue Media and Production, for two great days of filming for the next in our series of Chain Saw Safety and Bucket Truck Safety videos.
LTAP Direct, Indiana LTAP's new micro-learning app, is free and available to download on your iPhone or Android. This innovative app offers expert advice, training and troubleshooting tips right at your fingertips. To download the app, click here. 

Associations Upcoming Events 

  • ITE Webinar Series - July 22 @ 12 PM EDT -  INDOT’s Traffic Management Plan (TMP) and Interstate Highway Congestion Policy (IHCP) Processes 

Have an event? Email Ashley at watsonam@purdue.edu

Helpful Resources