American Road and Transportation Builders Association

American Road & Transportation Builders Association

Type	Trade Association
Industry	Transportation
Founded	1902
Founder	Horatio Earle
Headquarters	Washington, D.C., USA
Area served	United States
Key people	T. Peter Ruane (President & CEO) William Toohey (Executive Vice President & COO) Larry Tate (2010 Chairman) William Cox (2010 Senior Vice Chairman)
Website	http://www.artba.org

Established in 1902, the Washington, D.C.-based American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) advocates strong investment in transportation infrastructure.

The association has more than 5,000 members from the public and private sectors. The U.S. transportation construction industry that ARTBA represents generates more than $200,000 million in annual economic activity and sustains 2.5 million American jobs. ARTBA membership divisions include: contractors, planning & design, transportation officials, traffic safety, materials & services, public-private partnerships, research & education, and equipment manufacturers. ARTBA’s members have extensive knowledge and experience in building the road, rail, air, port and waterway facilities of the United States.

Function

ARTBA is a federation whose primary goal is to "aggressively grow and protect transportation infrastructure investment to meet the public and business demand for safe and efficient travel". In support of this mission, ARTBA also provides programs and services designed to give its members a global competitive edge.^[1]

Legal & Regulatory Advocacy

ARTBA aggressively takes action to defend transportation construction industry market interests when threatened by regulation or litigation. ARTBA’s legal advocacy has allowed nearly $50 billion in approved, yet challenged, U.S. transportation projects and plans to move forward. In 2009, the association expanded its market protection activities for the future with the creation of the Transportation Development Legal Advocacy & Education Center.

ARTBA also actively represents the industry’s views before federal regulatory agencies, regularly submitting comments on issues like clean air and water, wetlands, stormwater, greenhouse gas emissions and work zone safety.^[2]

Economics and research

The ARTBA Economics and Research team develops reports, analyses, and other products.

ARTBA's subscription-based intelligence reports provide monthly and quarterly information covering the transportation design and construction market. The association also produces other studies and reports, which are available to its members and news journalists, on industry employment, the cost of construction materials, state gasoline taxes, an annual highway construction market forecast and much more.^[3]

Coalitions

ARTBA has been serving as founder, co-chair and managing day-to-day activities of the Transportation Construction Coalition, and vice chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Americans for Transportation Mobility. ARTBA also works with the Better Roads & Transportation Council of America, Small Business Legislative Council and The Road Information Program.^[4]

Transportation development foundation

In 2010, the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) celebrates 25 years of “promoting research, education and public awareness” on transportation development issues. The Foundation is one of the industry’s non-profit organizations, conducting work aimed at advancing the interests of the U.S. transportation design and construction industry. Major ARTBA-TDF initiatives include:^[5]

Hall of fame

The ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) established a Hall of Fame in 2010. The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to "honor individuals or families from the public and private sectors who have made extraordinary contributions to U.S. transportation development over their lifetime and demonstrated exceptional leadership." Inductees include Jim Oberstar, Othmar Ammann, Harry Heltzer and Wallace Hawkes.^[6]

Local Technical Assistance Program and Tribal Technical Assistance Program

Transfer of information between federal, state and local agencies is critical to ensuring the nation’s roadways are built, maintained and renovated in a safe and cost efficient manner. In summer 2006, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded a contract to the ARTBA-TDF to assist in providing this information through administration of the agency’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Clearinghouse.

More than 3 million road miles and nearly 300,000 bridges in the United States are maintained by counties, cities, and towns. Keeping them safe and navigable requires design, maintenance and rehabilitation. Limited funding for this local work created a significant need for technical assistance to 38,000 local communities across the United States. FHWA recognized this need in 1982 by creating the LTAP. The TTAP was created in 1993 to address similar needs for tribal governments.

The ARTBA-TDF provides technical support through development and distribution of publications, facilitation of communication and outreach to the 58 LTAP Centers nationwide. Each LTAP/TTAP Center director is a member of ARTBA’s Research and Education Division. ARTBA member, the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI), which is located at the North Dakota State University in Fargo, provides technical services and manages the LTAP/TTAP Web site: www.ltap.org.

LTAP/TTAP is composed of a national network of centers—one in every state, Puerto Rico, and regional centers serving tribal governments. The LTAP/TTAP Centers enable local communities to improve their roads and bridges by supplying them with:

• A variety of training programs;
• A library of resources;
• New and existing technology updates;
• Personalized technical assistance; and
• Newsletters and other timely communications on critical transportation issues.

Through these core services, LTAP/TTAP Centers provide access to training and information that may not have otherwise been accessible.^[7]

National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

The Clearinghouse has the world's largest online library of free information on these topics: accident and crash data, latest technologies and equipment, best practices, key safety engineer contact information, laws and regulations, worker safety training materials, research and publications, public education campaigns, Spanish language materials and educational materials for new drivers.

In fall 1997, after a competitive bid process, ARTBA was selected as the Clearinghouse project manager. In partnership with the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), and with financial support from Federal Highway Administration, the facility opened for business on February 17, 1998.

In 2000, Clearinghouse operations were privatized and managed by the ARTBA-Transportation Development Foundation with support from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, TTI, labor organizations and other safety groups. TTI manages the day-to-day operations, conducts the safety research and maintains the Clearinghouse website.

In 2006 ARTBA signed a new contract with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and began receiving federal support once again. In 2007, ARTBA-TDF led the complete redesign and launch of a state-of-the-art Clearinghouse website. New features include a video vault, online training sessions, a blog and a listserv, which has nearly 1,000 subscribers. Today, the Clearinghouse provides assistance to more than 500,000 users a year worldwide.

In 2009 more than 250 transportation professionals attended the Clearinghouse-hosted National Traffic Management & Work Zone Safety Conference at the "World of Asphalt". Also of note in 2009, the Clearinghouse added an international section to the website with work zone safety information in six foreign languages.^[8]

Scholarship and awards

The ARTBA Foundation endows a “Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship” fund to provide post-high school financial assistance to the children of highway workers killed or permanently disabled on the job, and features several award competitions to honor industry public relations, environmental protection and safety programs.^[9]

Safety training

The ARTBA-TDF regularly hosts several national and international forums on roadway and construction zone safety, and conducts safety training for thousands of industry workers and managers through several federal government contracts.^[10]

Transportation Builder Institute

Building transportation infrastructure—particularly projects financed by public agencies—demands complex leadership, management, specialized safety training and negotiation skills not required by general construction managers. That’s why the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF) created the “Transportation Builder Institute” (TBI). This first-of-its-kind industry institute includes project management academies and training programs designed exclusively to meet the professional development needs of transportation design and construction professionals.^[11]

Young Executive Development Program

The ARTBA Foundation Young Executive Development Program (YEDP)—is focused on developing future leaders of the transportation construction industry in the United States. The annual gathering provides industry "rising stars" an intensive three-day introduction to the legislative and regulatory processes that affect the industry in Washington, and ARTBA's role in shaping public policy.

For nearly two decades, nearly 350 YEDP fellows have come from 160 different companies, public agencies and state contractor organizations in 40 states and Washington, D.C. Several past participants are currently serving terms on the ARTBA Board of Directors, and many are involved in the ARTBA Young Executive Leadership Council (YELC).

The YEDP curriculum includes seminars on the congressional legislative, budget and appropriations processes. Fellows attend sessions on rulemaking by the federal regulatory agencies and receive an overview of federal environmental, health and safety regulations affecting the industry.

Participants have the opportunity to discuss current federal transportation development issues on Capitol Hill. Each fellow meets with his or her congressman or transportation legislative staff during the YEDP.

Volvo Road Machinery continues to be the principal sponsor of the program.^[12]

References

External links

• ARTBA Homepage