Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Victor M. Mendez will be in Rhode Island on Thursday, May 19, to discuss better, faster and smarter ways of completing transportation projects. These key elements are part of FHWA’s “Every Day Counts” (EDC) program.
As part of National Transportation Week (May 15 – 21, 2011) Mendez, along with Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Director Michael P. Lewis, will be available to talk about how EDC is being used in Rhode Island and how improving roadway safety, protecting our environment, and shortening project completion times are part of an effort to meet this State’s 21st Century transportation demands.
Mendez and Lewis will meet with the media on this issue on Thursday, May 19, from 10:30 – 11 a.m. at the Radisson Airport Hotel, 2081 Post Road, Warwick. Please check the hotel lobby’s informational board for the meeting room number.
EDC is designed to find ways to deliver projects as fast as possible so that the public can then enjoy the benefits. RIDOT is already using this in its Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems (by following this method for Burrillville’s Round Top Bridge replacement project, this bridge was built in just 41 days), Design Build (construction and design are combined providing significant time savings; this is being used in projects such as the Wickford Junction Train Station in North Kingstown and the Laurel Avenue Bridge in Coventry), and Warm Mix Asphalt (uses lower temperature asphalt than conventional hot mix methods thereby reducing costs and greenhouse gas emissions; already in use on Block Island).