Midwest Transportation Consortium annual progress report : October 2001.
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Midwest Transportation Consortium annual progress report : October 2001.

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English

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    From the Director: Transportation assets are tremendously important from the perspective the performance of our national,

    state, and regional economies. Few people comprehend the great impact it has on the overall economy.

    Literally trillions of dollars in transportation assets have been put in place throughout the United States.

    They one of the key means by which the economy functions and is tied into the global economy.

    American households spend over $6,000 each every year on transportation, or about 18 cents of every

    dollar they spend. This is more than they spend on food utilities, health care, apparel, and education. The

    only thing Americans spend more on than transportation is housing, and the two are very close in

    magnitude. What this means is that anything that improves the productivity of resources we spend on

    transportation will have enormous potential to provide economic benefits to Americans. Improving

    productivity is what asset management systems are intended to do by helping us to make better-informed

    decisions about what to build, rehabilitate, maintain, and operate.

    2002 appears to be the year that asset management systems and related techniques will gain widespread

    acceptance and use. There are several reasons for this.

    • Because of the slowdown in the national economy, state and local government transportation

    agencies are under tremendous budgetary pressure. Agencies that manage transportation

    infrastructure must do more with less. The public demand for efficient transportation remains

    high. Asset management systems and related systems (e.g. pavement management and bridge

    management systems) are helping agencies make the best possible use of their limited resources

    and make better decisions and tradeoffs.

    • The tragic events of last September 11 have placed an additional burden on the transportation

    sector to provide improved security for transportation users and critical assets. Asset management

    inventories have turned out to be exceedingly valuable in terms of developing security plans.

    Knowing what the most critical infrastructure assets are is the first step in providing a more

    secure and sure transportation system.

    • Implementation of the provisions of Government Accounting Standards Board Statement 34

    (“GASB 34”) begins in 2002. The largest government agencies (e.g. states and large cities and

    counties) must begin prospective financial reporting of their infrastructure assets this year.

    Development of an asset management system is an approach that a number of state DOTs and

    local governments have selected to meet the GASB mandate.

    The Midwest Transportation Consortium (MTC) is supporting the development of asset management

    systems in transportation on a number of fronts. The MTC’s main education and human capital goal

    involves the development of new leaders for the transportation industry, particularly in our four-state

    region. Asset management concepts have been incorporated into a number of courses at the six MTC

    consortium member schools. For example, the Spring Transportation Seminar offered within the region

    via Internet-based videoconferencing technology has been focused on asset management topics for the

    past several years. A new focus on transportation security (unfortunately needed after September 11) is

    planned for future years. More than 30 graduate students each year in five academic disciplines will

    complete their academic programs with an excellent understanding of the state of the practice of

    transportation asset management. They will become new leaders in transportation, whether in

    government, consulting, or academia.

    The MTC’s research program is ending its second year of operation and will be issuing its third request

    for research proposals in January 2002. One project, involving the integration of data collected with the

    assistance of global positioning systems (GPS) into asset management databases, has been published.

    Seven other projects, which mainly focus on developing tools and techniques that can assist in the

    adoption of asset management by state and local government highway and public transportation agencies,

    are in progress. About $400,000 in new research (including $200,000 in MTC funds and $200,000 in

    matching funds) will be approved during the first half of 2002. The MTC’s long-term research goal is to

    build a portfolio of projects involving several million dollars in Federal and matching funding that will

    make it easier for agencies and companies to implement asset management systems. One special area of

    emphasis at Iowa State University is the use of remote sensing and other spatial data for asset

    management. This effort effectively leverages Iowa State University’s roles as a University

    Transportation Center (UTC) and as a member of the National Consortium on Remote Sensing in

    Transportation Infrastructure. The latter consortium is an effort to commercialize developments from the

    space program and defense activities.

    The MTC also plays a role in terms of outreach and technology transfer activities related to asset

    management and GASB34 in our region. During 2001, the MTC sponsored or co-sponsored several

    workshops related to access management and GASB34. One of these was the 4th Annual National

    Transportation Asset Management Workshop in Madison, Wisconsin. This workshop brought together

    several hundred participants from the federal, state, local, private, and academic sectors to share

    information on asset management policy, goals, techniques, and data. MTC faculty, staff, and students

    from Iowa State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the University of Missouri-Kansas

    City played key roles in planning, financing, and conducting the workshop. The strong attendance at the

    event was a testament to interest in transportation asset management in that it was held immediately after

    September 11 and during a period when many states and the Federal government faced tight restrictions

    on travel. The program of the National Workshop had a strong MTC flavor, something that we are proud

    of as we end our second year of operation and begin our third.

    As transportation asset management moves into “production mode”, the Midwest Transportation

    Consortium strives to be of assistance at a regional and national level.

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