KIPDA Staff Member Honored By Junior Achievement

Junior Achievement (JA) recently recognized Josh Suiter, Community Outreach Specialist at KIPDA, with the John L. Helm Starfish Flinger Award. The award is presented to JA volunteers for their service to the youth in our community and to JA.

Suiter, who has volunteered in area elementary and high schools, has been a volunteer since 2010. He has volunteered at Zachary Taylor, Middletown, Bowen and Grant Line elementary schools and Jeffersontown and Moore high schools. In the elementary schools, he has taught the "Our City" curriculum, which covers the planning process in our community with regarding to zoning laws.

The award includes a copy of the parable "The Starfish Flinger" and a starfish medallion.

East End Crossing of Bridges Project and Others Honored at Annual Conference

During the recent American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) Annual P3 Conference in Washington, D.C., the East End Crossing of The Ohio River Bridges Project, along with two individuals instrumental in creating the project’s public-private partnership (P3) finance and construction model were honored.

P3 refers to a contractual agreement between a public agency and a private sector entity that allows the private sector entity to have greater participation in the delivery of a transportation project.  Under a P3, the private partner takes on some or all of the project's risks and responsibilities.

During a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History the ARTBA named the East End Crossing P3 “Project of the Year.”  In addition, Kendra York, Indiana Public Finance Director, and Matt Walsh, CEO and co-chair of Chicago-based Walsh Group, were respectively named public sector and private sector “Entrepreneur of the Year.” 

York led IFA’s efficient eight-month P3 procurement process for the East End Crossing, which resulted in the selection of WVB East End Partners – a consortium of regional, national and international firms that will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the crossing. 

Walsh led his family-owned business through that procurement process, playing a key role in establishing the selected consortium of Walsh Investors LLC, Vinci Concessions, and Bilfinger Project Investments.

As Project of the Year, the East End Crossing was recognized for exemplifying the value of P3s in the United States.  The massive and nationally recognized project was initiated to help improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, connect highways and create new economic development opportunities.  The East End Crossing will connect southern Indiana and Louisville, and will include a 2,510-foot cable-stayed bridge across the Ohio River, a 1,700-foot twin-bore tunnel, 19 additional bridges and other infrastructure improvements.  The East End Crossing is “a prime example of P3s in practice,” according to an ARTBA news release. 

York, in guiding the East End Crossing procurement efforts, was saluted for her dedication to the P3 model as a way to provide high-quality transportation infrastructure options at a lower investment cost to taxpayers.  Under her leadership, the construction cost will be about $763 million – about $224 million or 23 percent less than the project estimate of $978 million.

The ARTBA, founded in 1902, is based in Washington, D.C., and represents the U.S. transportation design and construction industry.

KYTC Installing Rumble Strips on Area Highways

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Highways has announced that rumble strips will be installed this week on five highways in District 5, which includes Jefferson, Bullitt and Oldham counties.

The strips help reduce roadway departure crashes and are used across the county. A $500,000 contract was awarded this summer to install the strips along the centerlines or shoulders of highways in 14 central Kentucky counties.

The strips in the District 5 area include:

• Bullitt County: KY 44 from the Jefferson/Bullitt county line to Old Pitts Point Road.
• Franklin County: From KY 1900 to the Franklin/Owen County line.
• Jefferson County: From KY 148 to New Hopewell Road.
• Jefferson County: I-265 from mile points 30.0 to 35.0
• Spencer County: KY 55 to the Jefferson/Spencer County Line.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign Begins Friday, Press Conference Today

The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety and law enforcement across the state are combining forces to combat drunk driving.

 

The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign will begin August 16 and run through September 2. The nationwide impaired driving crackdown includes high-visibility enforcement supported by a federally-funded advertising campaign to curb impaired driving in August and through the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Last year, Kentucky recorded over 5,750 alcohol-related crashes, resulting in 146 deaths and over 3,000 injuries. During the Labor Day holiday weekend, nine people were killed and 388 were injured on our roadways.  Two of those deaths involved alcohol. 

To help with this effort, Brown-Forman, CityScoot and Yellow Cab are teaming up to offer more than 2,000 safe ride vouchers at select locations in the Louisville Metro during the campaign period. 

As a part of the campaign kick off,  there will be a press conference today at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville at 11 a.m.  The press conference will also include representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Transit Authority of River City (TARC).

 

Jeffboat Wins National Grant

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced $9.46 million to help improve 12 shipyards in 10 states. The grants, provided through the Small Shipyard Grant Program, work to foster efficiency and modernization to shipyards and help them compete more effectively in the global workplace. One of those grants was awarded to Jeffboat in Jeffersonville.

 

MARAD received 113 grant applications requesting $96 million in assistance, far exceeding the $9.46 million made available for the grants. The grants fund a variety of projects including infrastructure improvements and equipment upgrades to increase operational competitiveness and quality vessel construction.

 Shipyards across the nation continue to create new jobs and strengthen local economies. Since 2009, the Obama administration has provided more than $150 million to help U.S. shipyards and their workers reap the benefits of increased production capabilities delivered by emerging technologies and highly skilled workers.

 Jeffboat received an $845,817 grant. They have four production lines that are used to construct barges ranging in size from river hopper barges to 52,000 barrel tank barges. This grant will help them adjust the width and orientation of their vessel lines.

For a complete list of shipyards receiving grants go to

 http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/Grant_Awards.doc