West Virginia’s roadway agencies will continue to have a key source of training, technical assistance and information on current technologies and research thanks to a $281,000 grant.

The grant from the West Virginia Division of Highways and the Federal Highway Administration will fund the West Virginia Local Technical Assistant Program for 2011. The center was established in 1984 and is housed within West Virginia University’s College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

“The West Virginia LTAP Center not only interacts with transportation personnel in municipalities but also with other agencies and firms that have an impact on the state’s highways, including the state Division of Highways, the Federal Highway Administration, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, and engineering and construction firms working in the state,” said Director John Zaniewski, a professor of civil and environmental engineering.

Andrew Morgan, professional engineer/program coordinator for the WV LTAP added, “We are also dedicated to raising awareness of roadway safety issues. One way we do this is by helping roadway managers recognize potential problems and learn measures they can take to implement proven techniques.”

The Center serves West Virginia’s municipalities by disseminating information on techniques for managing the roadway and street infrastructure.

The Center’s mission is to foster a safe, efficient and environmentally sound surface transportation system by improving skills and increasing knowledge of the transportation workforce and decision makers. One of its main focuses is to provide training to state and local roadway agencies. Topics cover a wide range, everything from worker and roadway safety to communication issues. The Center offers onsite and office technical assistance on various roadway issues, including traffic signage placement, drainage, intersection safety, software management and sidewalk safety assessments.

For every dollar LTAP centers spend on information and training, local transportation agencies save approximately $8.

“The WV LTAP knows how strained local and state roadway agency budgets are,” said Kim Carr, program coordinator. “We are dedicated to providing quality training and technical assistance that can help these agencies stretch their dollars and resources.”

The WV LTAP is part of the National Local Technical Assistance Program. The Local Technical Assistance Program and Tribal Technical Assistance Program comprises a network of 58 centers – one in every state, Puerto Rico and regional centers serving tribal governments.

-WVU-

md/02/21/11

CONTACT: Mary Dillon, College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304-293-4086; mary.dillon@mail.wvu.edu

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