Talking Safety & Reauthorization with Garrett Eucalitto
This podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and it explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.In this podcast episode, Eucalitto delves into his family’s connection to the transportation industry, how his career path shifted from foreign relations to transportation policy, and why he’s made “centering safety” a key focal point not only for his AASHTO presidential emphasis areas but as the nucleus of his transportation career. He also discusses the critical importance of ongoing surface transportation funding reauthorization work by Congress and how that legislative effort impacts safety. He explains on the podcast that reauthorization “impacts everything we do” as state DOTs, especially in the safety arena. That’s why it is critical to ensure that the current reauthorization package maintains – if not expands – the current level of federal funding to fully support the nation’s transportation systems.Eucalitto is also AASHTO’s first openly gay president and discusses how this part of his identity has helped make him more empathetic about protecting people physically, mentally, and emotionally – especially in terms of fostering a level of comfort so people can live openly in the workplace. Finally, Eucalitto looks to the future as part of his podcast interview – examining the ways state DOTs are seeking to broaden their “non-traditional” partnerships, along with ways state DOTs are working to improve the exchange of information between one another for disaster response and other needs.
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24:07
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24:07
Gauging the Impact of Extreme Precipitation on Infrastructure
This podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.Ken Kunkel – principal research scholar at the North Carolina Institute of Climate Studies at North Carolina State University – offers a wealth of knowledge on all things meteorology and extreme precipitation, including over 40 years of climate and precipitation research. He is an author on the third and fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments. He is also the lead author of the 2020 North Carolina Climate Science Report. He has published around 170 scientific journal articles and book chapters, mostly on climate variability and change.In this episode Kunkel discusses the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration or NOAA tool known as Atlas 15. The purpose of Atlas 15 is to produce extreme precipitation values that are used in design in infrastructure. Atlas 15 is also able to incorporate changing climate models when producing future data. He dives into how effective and accurate Atlas 15 is and how its data can improve the resiliency of infrastructure, particularly in the transportation sector.
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21:42
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21:42
NEPA : What Lies Ahead?
This podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.In February 2025, the CEQ announced an Interim Final Rule that removes its longstanding NEPA implementing regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations. This shift places the responsibility for NEPA compliance directly on individual federal agencies, allowing them to follow their own procedures rather than a centralized set of rules.In this podcast episode, Boling delves into how, if NEPA is revoked, it removes a “universal framework” that will prevent federal agencies working in tandem on environmental reviews.Boling also outlines the potential impact of mass layoffs within the federal government, especially among senior leadership and recent hires, and how that could slow down decision-making regarding environmental reviews for infrastructure projects.
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19:48
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19:48
Who You Gonna Call?
This episode will cover the coordination of rapid response and resilience resources across states. As natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires increase in frequency and intensity, state DOTs face unprecedented challenges in constructing and maintaining a resilient transportation system. States also face a variety of devastating human caused incidents and compounding events that demand rapid response. The discussion includes cooperative strategies for rapid response and recovery, focusing on interstate resilience utilizing hazard mitigation planning, risk and vulnerability assessments, data sharing, and collaborative priority setting.
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20:09
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20:09
Working Together: Rethinking Arterials in the St. Louis Region
More information on AMPO can be found here: AMPO | Association of Metropolitan Planning OrganizationsA PDF version of the Blueprint can be found here: https://www.ewgateway.org/transportation-planning/blueprint-for-arterials/
USA