Statewide Podcasts

TxDOT produces a weekly Statewide Podcast to keep you updated on the latest transportation news and issues. New podcast episodes are produced every Friday and are posted here and are also available on iTunes.

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Date Description Format
05/11/12 AAA Foundation Study: Teen Drivers, Passengers a Deadly Combination - Study after study has illustrated the danger posed by teen drivers because of their inexperience behind the wheel. But the latest study, released earlier this week by the AAA Foundation and AAA Texas, takes a new perspective-the hazards posed by teen passengers riding with teen drivers. For more on the study, I spoke with Doug Shupe, Senior Public Affairs Specialist with AAA Texas. For more information, or to read the study, log on to the AAA Foundation website at www.aaafoundation.org. AAA Foundation Study: Teen Drivers, Passengers a Deadly Combination - Study after study has illustrated the danger posed by teen drivers because of their inexperience behind the wheel. But the latest study, released earlier this week by the AAA Foundation and AAA Texas, takes a new perspective-the hazards posed by teen passengers riding with teen drivers. For more on the study, I spoke with Doug Shupe, Senior Public Affairs Specialist with AAA Texas. For more information, or to read the study, log on to the AAA Foundation website at www.aaafoundation.org.
05/04/12 Texas Highways: Helping (Re)build Tourism in Texas - Texas Highways Magazine, the official travel magazine of Texas, has been helping grow tourism in Texas since 1974. Combined with award-winning photography, its coverage of major Texas tourist attractions as well as revealing some lesser-known nooks and crannies around the state makes the magazine a leader in its field. In the last few months, however, Texas Highways has taken on a new role in addition to its traditional roles. Quite accidentally, the magazine featured a story on Bastrop State Park that hit newsstands and mailboxes around the state and around the country the same week the park began to burn in last year's wildfires. The response from readers was not only touching, it was enlightening as well, prompting the magazine to follow Bastrop's recovery since the fire in an upcoming edition, chronicling not only the rebuilding of a community, but of a tourist destination as well. For more on this story, we talk with Texas Highways Magazine managing editor Charles Lohrmann. To subscribe to Texas Highways Magazine, or to its social media components, log on to the Texas Highways Magazine website, www.texashighways.com. Texas Highways: Helping (Re)build Tourism in Texas - Texas Highways Magazine, the official travel magazine of Texas, has been helping grow tourism in Texas since 1974. Combined with award-winning photography, its coverage of major Texas tourist attractions as well as revealing some lesser-known nooks and crannies around the state makes the magazine a leader in its field. In the last few months, however, Texas Highways has taken on a new role in addition to its traditional roles. Quite accidentally, the magazine featured a story on Bastrop State Park that hit newsstands and mailboxes around the state and around the country the same week the park began to burn in last year's wildfires. The response from readers was not only touching, it was enlightening as well, prompting the magazine to follow Bastrop's recovery since the fire in an upcoming edition, chronicling not only the rebuilding of a community, but of a tourist destination as well. For more on this story, we talk with Texas Highways Magazine managing editor Charles Lohrmann. To subscribe to Texas Highways Magazine, or to its social media components, log on to the Texas Highways Magazine website, www.texashighways.com.
04/27/12 Best of the TxDOT Podcast: "Talk To Us: MY35 Survey Looks to Tailor Project Information to Motorists Needs" - By now, just about every Texan knows that the I-35 corridor in Central Texas is the busiest in the state. It’s also in the greatest need of expansion. In the coming years, the Texas Department of Transportation has plans to do more than $1 billion of work expanding I-35, particularly in the 100-mile stretch between the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and Salado. But the projects aren’t only about improving I-35, they’re about improving communication as well. For more on that improvement, I spoke with Jim Dale, the I-35 Mobility Coordinator. This episode originally aired in December 2011. Best of the TxDOT Podcast: 'Talk To Us: MY35 Survey Looks to Tailor Project Information to Motorists Needs' - By now, just about every Texan knows that the I-35 corridor in Central Texas is the busiest in the state. It’s also in the greatest need of expansion. In the coming years, the Texas Department of Transportation has plans to do more than $1 billion of work expanding I-35, particularly in the 100-mile stretch between the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and Salado. But the projects aren’t only about improving I-35, they’re about improving communication as well. For more on that improvement, I spoke with Jim Dale, the I-35 Mobility Coordinator. This episode originally aired in December 2011.
04/20/12 Work zone crash survivor: "It was my ultimate nightmare" - On January 14, 2000, TxDOT special jobs crew supervisor Elgin Wendell was called to the scene of an accident where an oversize load had struck and damaged an overpass on I-35 in Austin. As his crews worked to first clear the debris and then assess the damage, an 18-wheeler drove unexpectedly into the coned-off work zone. In the blink of an eye, the speeding rig plowed through several TxDOT vehicles and pieces of equipment and ran over Wendell and his assistant before finally coming to a stop. Wendell survived, and even went back to work for TxDOT, but as he told me, he hasn't ever looked at work zones the same way. Work zone crash survivor: 'It was my ultimate nightmare' - On January 14, 2000, TxDOT special jobs crew supervisor Elgin Wendell was called to the scene of an accident where an oversize load had struck and damaged an overpass on I-35 in Austin. As his crews worked to first clear the debris and then assess the damage, an 18-wheeler drove unexpectedly into the coned-off work zone. In the blink of an eye, the speeding rig plowed through several TxDOT vehicles and pieces of equipment and ran over Wendell and his assistant before finally coming to a stop. Wendell survived, and even went back to work for TxDOT, but as he told me, he hasn't ever looked at work zones the same way.
04/13/12 Best of the TxDOT Podcast: Former SecTrans Norman Mineta: "We're Falling Behind" - Former United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta left office in 2006, and yet his legacy lives on today. Author of the first of several transportation reauthorization bills in his time in the U.S. Congress and as the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mineta was Secretary of Transportation when the most recent transportation authorization bill - the now - expired SAFETEA-LU was passed into law in 2005. In the meantime, instead of a writing new federal transportation reauthorization bill, Congress has reauthorized SAFETEA-LU ten times since it expired in 2009. For more on the impact of those temporary reauthorizations and how transportation has changed since SAFETEA-LU was passed into law, I spoke with the former Secretary and current Global Vice Chairman of Hill & Knowlton.
Note:This episode originally posted in July 2011.		 Best of the TxDOT Podcast: Former SecTrans Norman Mineta: 'We're Falling Behind' - Former United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta left office in 2006, and yet his legacy lives on today. Author of the first of several transportation reauthorization bills in his time in the U.S. Congress and as the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mineta was Secretary of Transportation when the most recent transportation authorization bill - the now - expired SAFETEA-LU was passed into law in 2005. In the meantime, instead of a writing new federal transportation reauthorization bill, Congress has reauthorized SAFETEA-LU ten times since it expired in 2009. For more on the impact of those temporary reauthorizations and how transportation has changed since SAFETEA-LU was passed into law, I spoke with the former Secretary and current Global Vice Chairman of Hill & Knowlton. <br>Note:This episode originally posted in July 2011.
04/05/12 Chase: Extensions Hurting Long-Term Transportation Planning - Do you remember where you were on September 30, 2009? If that date doesn't ring a bell, it should if you're interested in transportation. September 30, 2009 was the last day of the SAFETEA-LU Federal Surface Transportation bill, which in short sets the federal gas tax rate and distributes the proceeds across the country according to the formula in the bill. A little more than two-and-a-half years later, SAFETEA-LU, which was insolvent when it expired, has been extended nine times by dipping into other federal funding. The latest extension came on March 31, which kept SAFETEA-LU alive for another three months. The repeated extensions while Congress wrestles with the creation of a new bill begs two questions: first, what's the holdup, and second, why do we need a federal transportation bill? To help answer those questions, I spoke with Coby Chase, Director of TxDOT's Federal Legislative Affairs Section. Chase: Extensions Hurting Long-Term Transportation Planning - Do you remember where you were on September 30, 2009? If that date doesn't ring a bell, it should if you're interested in transportation. September 30, 2009 was the last day of the SAFETEA-LU Federal Surface Transportation bill, which in short sets the federal gas tax rate and distributes the proceeds across the country according to the formula in the bill. A little more than two-and-a-half years later, SAFETEA-LU, which was insolvent when it expired, has been extended nine times by dipping into other federal funding. The latest extension came on March 31, which kept SAFETEA-LU alive for another three months. The repeated extensions while Congress wrestles with the creation of a new bill begs two questions: first, what's the holdup, and second, why do we need a federal transportation bill? To help answer those questions, I spoke with Coby Chase, Director of TxDOT's Federal Legislative Affairs Section.
03/30/12 You're Getting Sleepy ... Pull Over and Check Out a Texas Safety Rest Area - We've all been there at one time or another: at the bitter end of a long road trip, eyes getting heavy as the miles click by, thinking it would be a good idea to pull over but fighting the urge because we want to get to our destination. While understandable, that decision can have deadly consequences, especially in a state as large as Texas, where the next exit, let alone the next town can be miles apart. From that need for rest behind the wheel has come TxDOT's Safety Rest Area program and with it, as TxDOT's Andy Keith told me, the ever-growing collection of unique-yet-functional roadside monuments to all things Texas. You're Getting Sleepy ... Pull Over and Check Out a Texas Safety Rest Area - We've all been there at one time or another: at the bitter end of a long road trip, eyes getting heavy as the miles click by, thinking it would be a good idea to pull over but fighting the urge because we want to get to our destination. While understandable, that decision can have deadly consequences, especially in a state as large as Texas, where the next exit, let alone the next town can be miles apart. From that need for rest behind the wheel has come TxDOT's Safety Rest Area program and with it, as TxDOT's Andy Keith told me, the ever-growing collection of unique-yet-functional roadside monuments to all things Texas.
03/23/12 Best of the TxDOT Podcast: Lomax: "When the Economy Comes Back, So Will Congestion" - We've all sat in traffic, and probably even wondered aloud where all of it seems to come from. According to the Texas Transportation Institutes 2011 Urban Mobility Report, while traffic congestion is irritating to everyone, its significance varies. For more on the study, I spoke with Dr. Tim Lomax, a research engineer at TTI. To read the 2011 Urban Mobility Report, log on to http://mobility.tamu.edu.
Note: This episode was originally recorded in September 2011.		 Best of the TxDOT Podcast: Lomax: 'When the Economy Comes Back, So Will Congestion' - We've all sat in traffic, and probably even wondered aloud where all of it seems to come from. According to the Texas Transportation Institutes 2011 Urban Mobility Report, while traffic congestion is irritating to everyone, its significance varies. For more on the study, I spoke with Dr. Tim Lomax, a research engineer at TTI. To read the 2011 Urban Mobility Report, log on to http://mobility.tamu.edu.<br>Note: This episode was originally recorded in September 2011.
03/16/12 "Concrete Planet: The Strange And Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made Material" - We've all made reference at one time or another to concrete and its inherent strength. Sayings like "hard as concrete" or "set in concrete" are our way of saying something is rock solid and always will be. It's possible that even the ancient Romans had such sayings. In his book, "Concrete Planet: The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-made Material," author Robert Courland looks back not only at the history of concrete, but forward to how concrete is still changing the way we shape the world we live in. 'Concrete Planet: The Strange And Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-Made Material' - We've all made reference at one time or another to concrete and its inherent strength. Sayings like 'hard as concrete' or 'set in concrete' are our way of saying something is rock solid and always will be. It's possible that even the ancient Romans had such sayings. In his book, 'Concrete Planet: The Strange and Fascinating Story of the World's Most Common Man-made Material,' author Robert Courland looks back not only at the history of concrete, but forward to how concrete is still changing the way we shape the world we live in.
03/09/12 Transportation Advocates of Texas: Building the Right Climate for Consensus - Throwing money at problems is rarely an effective solution to those problems, particularly when there is little or no money to be thrown around. That's where the group Transportation Advocates of Texas comes in. And as its chairman Jim Reed told me at this year's Texas Transportation Forum, Texans are much more willing to spend money on local solutions rather than throw money at statewide problems. Find out more about the Transportation Advocates of Texas at their website, www.transportationadvocatesoftexas.org. Transportation Advocates of Texas: Building the Right Climate for Consensus - Throwing money at problems is rarely an effective solution to those problems, particularly when there is little or no money to be thrown around. That's where the group Transportation Advocates of Texas comes in. And as its chairman Jim Reed told me at this year's Texas Transportation Forum, Texans are much more willing to spend money on local solutions rather than throw money at statewide problems. Find out more about the Transportation Advocates of Texas at their website, www.transportationadvocatesoftexas.org.