During the American Public Works Association’s (APWA) Transportation Summit, April 16-18, 2012 in Washington, D.C., APWA President Diane Linderman, P.E., PWLF, and Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez signed a new partnering agreement promoting continued coordination and collaboration between APWA and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide quality, cost-effective and safe transportation systems.
Since 1997, APWA and FHWA have maintained ongoing partnering agreements. This new agreement builds upon the accomplishments of its predecessors in its commitment to create the tools to assist public works and transportation professionals in responding to the dynamic changes in all areas of transportation. Partnership activities will embrace innovation and new/emerging technologies and center on continued education, outreach, information exchange and proactive leadership, and will assist public works professionals to promote safety, enhance mobility, advance communities’ economic growth and development, as well as protect the environment.
“This week I had the honor of signing a new APWA-FHWA partnering agreement, and I’m proud to say that this represents our joint commitment to provide quality, cost effective and safe transportation systems,” said APWA President Diane Linderman, P.E., PWLF. “Under our partnering agreement, APWA and FHWA are working together, embracing innovation and capitalizing on opportunities to improve service at the federal, state and local levels of government into the future,” Linderman said.
To meet these goals and objectives, APWA and FHWA have agreed to:
• Cooperate in efforts to understand needs of public works officials and how they can best prepare for the future,
• Cooperate to educate the traveling public on the significance of irastructure investment, and the need to maintain this important national resource,
• Cooperate in efforts to streamline transportation project delivery,
• Provide mutual assistance in areas of education and training to increase the effectiveness and efficiencies of technologies available to meet present and future transportation needs,
• Serve the needs of mutual customers by providing programs and practices that employ public resources in a cost-effective, safe and environmentally sustainable manner,
• Build on previous years of cooperative efforts to include FHWA in APWA committees, meetings and conferences, and provide vital presence and interaction with APWA members through exhibits at meetings and conferences and supporting of other technology, meetings, research and training opportunities, as well as joint activities determined on a calendar basis.
For more information on the APWA/FHWA partnering agreement, contact APWA Professional Development Manager Carol Estes at: cestes@apwa.net. For APWA Media queries, contact APWA Media Relations and Communications Manager Laura Bynum at lbynum@apwa.net.
About APWA
The American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net) is a not-for-profit, international organization of more than 28,500 members involved in the field of public works. APWA serves its members by promoting professional excellence and public awareness through education, advocacy and the exchange of knowledge. APWA is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, has an office in Washington, D.C., along with 63 chapters across North America.