Shailen Bhatt, who led state transportation departments in Colorado and Delaware, was confirmed by the Senate to lead the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Bhatt’s confirmation by the full Senate on Thursday follows bipartisan support on Nov. 29 by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

As head of the FHWA, Bhatt will oversee implementation of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) passed into law in November 2021.

Finding and keeping talented people is more critical than ever and is increasingly important for gaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Scott Wozniak, who has advised companies of all sizes across six continents and spent eight years at Chick-fil-A headquarters designing leadership development programs, will address that workforce issue as keynote speaker during the Feb. 19 general session of ATSSA’s 2023 Convention & Traffic Expo in Phoenix.

In his message, “Great Brands Have Great Employees – The Engine Behind Legendary Companies,” Wozniak will explain how to build an “employee engagement engine,” including providing five systems to attract and empower great people.

One week after Election Day, we finally have a good idea of what the next two years will look like on Capitol Hill.

While long thought that this year’s midterm elections would bring a “red wave” across the country, in the end Democrats were able to hold their ground in several swing states and remain in control of the Senate, while narrowly losing the House of Representatives to Republicans.

Even with the Senate race in Georgia headed to a run-off next month, Democrats know they will be in control of the Senate at least until 2024. They currently control 50 votes, plus Vice President Kamala Harris would provide a 51^st vote in the event the Senate stays 50-50 as it was prior to the election.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will host an executive-level virtual rollout of the Every Day Counts (EDC) program round 7 innovations on Dec. 2. 

These innovations will build upon the already significant legacy of EDC and support FHWA’s efforts to drive innovation around three core priorities:

• Improving safety for all road users;
• Building sustainable infrastructure for the future; and
• Growing an inclusive workforce.

EDC is a state-based program that identifies and rapidly deploys proven, yet underutilized innovations that make our transportation system adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. Proven innovations promoted through EDC facilitate greater efficiency at the State, Local and Tribal levels, saving time, money and resources to ensure our infrastructure is built better, faster, and smarter.

Register now to attend on Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. ET. The Executive Session is open to everyone.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will not extend its current one-year implementation delay of Buy America changes for construction materials stemming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, the department announced.

USDOT will begin enforcing the new Buy America requirements for construction materials on Thursday, according to a "notice of expiration" posted online. The notice included several concurrent and related actions USDOT is taking related to implementation.