KBT is pleased to announce that Bernie Arsenau of HDR will be speaking to attendees at the 2016 Kentucky Transportation Conference in January. Mr. Arsenau will be addressing the topic of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) during one of our general sessions.

ITS improves transportation safety and mobility and enhances American productivity through the integration of advanced communications technologies into the transportation infrastructure

and in vehicles. 

Bernie Arseneau is HDR's National Director for Traffic Management Systems and provides company wide strategic focus on positioning HDR as a preferred provider for traffic safety and traffic management solutions related to intelligent transportation systems.

He has been active nationally on a variety of committees and task groups throughout his career. Located in our Minneapolis, Minnesota, office, he currently leads the HDR Transportation Technology and Safety Practice Groups.

This past Tuesday, 25 KBT members traveled to Olmsted, Illinois to visit the Olmsted Locks and Dam Project, the largest infrastructure project in the nation. While on site, members were treated to a briefing by the Army Corps of Engineers who provided in depth information on the project.

The project, ranked as the number one priority for locks and dams construction projects by the Inland Waterways Users Board and the Inland Marine Transportation System, is amazing in scope and size. The project is so large it has also been designated as a USACE mega-project.

While on site, KBT members could certainly understand the need for the designation. The entire project employs more than 600 engineers, foremen, and craft workers.  The project was originally awarded in 2004 and now has an estimated completion date of late 2018.

The day was amazing for all those who attended. 

A special thank you to Ingram Barge for their generous sponsorship.

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2015) - Kentucky's automotive industry, for years one of the Commonwealth's greatest strengths, today grew even stronger as Gov. Steve Beshear joined Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) officials and community leaders in Georgetown to unveil the first Lexus  built in the United States.

TMMK's production of the luxury-model Lexus ES 350, the top-selling Lexus sedan worldwide, is creating 750 new Kentucky jobs with an investment of $360 million in the project. The expansion allows TMMK to produce about 50,000 Lexus vehicles per year.

"This is an important day for the Commonwealth," said Gov. Beshear. "For Lexus to have the confidence in our Kentucky workforce to build this magnificent car speaks volumes. These additional 50,000 vehicles are further proof that the state of Kentucky is a great place to do business for the automotive industry. This is why we are the third-largest producer of light vehicles in the U.S."

"To be chosen to build the Lexus ES 350 is a great honor for not only Toyota, but the state of Kentucky," said Wil James, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc. "It brings us full circle in that we were the first wholly owned plant for Toyota in North America, and, now, we are the first to build Lexus in the United States."

Seattle, WA - Because the future of our economy rests on a strong transportation system to move materials and products, today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx released the draft National Freight Strategic Plan, which offers specific policy proposals and solutions to address the growing challenges of moving freight in this country. Now open for public comment, the draft Plan is an essential step for continuing to support the nation's economy through the efficient movement of goods, while recognizing and responding to future infrastructure challenges. He was joined by Senator Maria Cantwell at Seattle Public School Headquarters. 

Lawmakers in the House and Senate have reached an agreement to extend for three years a federal deadline for a new automated train system, possibly avoiding a partial railway shutdown.

The agreement calls for moving a Dec. 31 deadline for railroads to install an automated train navigation system known as Positive Train Control (PTC) to the end of 2018 at the earliest. The system, which regulates the speed and track movements of trains, has been touted as a game changer for train safety, but railroads have complained it is difficult to implement.

Under the new agreement, railroads would have an extra three years to work on the automated train conversion. They will also have the option of requesting an extra two years to work on the installation if they submit plans for doing the work by Dec. 31, 2018. The requests would have to be approved by the Department of Transportation on a case-by-case basis. 

Critics have complained the agreement will result in a "blanket five-year" extension for railroads to install technology that has been touted as a life-saver that can prevent deadly train accidents.

The extension will be added to a highway funding bill that is being considered this week by the House, according to officials with the chamber's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"The #STRR Act includes language bridging the House & Senate approaches to extending #PTC implementation deadline," the panel tweeted about the highway bill, which is known as the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015.