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TxDOT-Statewide Podcast
TxDOT-Statewide Podcast

TxDOT-Statewide Podcast

The Texas Department of Transportation wants you to get the facts on transportation in Texas. Get them here with this weekly podcast.

Available Episodes 10

When country music artist Kevin Fowler was growing up in West Texas, he listened to the likes of George Strait, Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn. And while those names have become synonymous with greatness, Fowler recently joined their ranks with his selection as one of three artists promoting this year's Don't Mess With Texas campaign. I spoke with Kevin recently about his involvement with the iconic Texas program. For more information, visit http://dontmesswithtexas.org/.

Driving across the country takes planning and preparation, not the least of which involves figuring out where to get gas in some desolate places along the route. But for the University of Michigan's Solar Car Team, which recently rolled through Texas on a practice run, fuel is the least of their concerns. For more, I spoke with Allison Hogikyan, a freshman engineering student and team spokesperson. For more information about this unique project, visit www.umsolar.com.

Nearly everyone has an opinion about teen drivers. And while teen drivers are pretty much the same everywhere, in New Jersey, they're dying at a much lower rate than in Texas and much of the United States. For more on how New Jersey does it, I spoke with Pam Fischer, founder of the New Jersey Teen Safe Driving Coalition.

As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, also known as D-Day, what is often overlooked is not only the logistics of preparing for such an operation, but the logistics required after the invasion as the allies pushed east toward Paris, and then to Germany. The unsung heroes of the march to Berlin were a group of dedicated truck drivers, many of them African-American, who drove supplies from the French coast to the front lines in an unending circle called the Red Ball Express that, if broken, could have stopped the world's most powerful army in its tracks. For more, I spoke with Collin Makamson, Family Programs and Outreach Coordinator for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA. For more information about the National World War II Museum, visit www.nationalww2museum.org or call 504-528-1944.

Summer is the best time of year to travel Texas' highways. School is out and vacations beckon, as do the lazy afternoons spent pool side or at the beach. But summer is also the best time for TxDOT crews to work on the more than 80,000 centerline miles of roads across the state, meaning that our best time to work is when the most cars are on the road. It's no surprise then that accident rates between TxDOT and the traveling public go up between the beginning of May and the end of August, which prompted TxDOT to launch its 123 Safe Days of Summer campaign. For more, I spoke with Jerral Wyer, Director of TxDOT's Occupational Safety Division.

We've all heard the heartbreaking narrative of a family on vacation or out to dinner getting hit by a drunk driver. The crash kills at least one of the family's children though the drunk driver isn't injured. We all shake our heads and talk about how the drunk driver should meet some kind of special fate. And while children are killed that way in DWI crashes, a recent study directed by Dr. Kyran Quinlan shows the most common scenario hits a lot closer to home. To read more of Dr. Quinlan's results, visit pediatrics.org and search keywords "child passenger."

While Oil and Gas exploration gets the headlines, another industry in Texas is quietly booming to the tune of $67 billion annually - Tourism. As Texas Travel and Tourism Week comes to a close, I spoke with Brad Smyth, Tourism Director for the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism about the impact Texas tourism has on transportation, the economy and the nation. For more information on tourism in Texas, visit www.traveltex.com.

As the weather warms and April turns to May, more and more Texans are hitting the road on their bicycles. Cyclists, motorcycles and motor vehicles are all subject to the same traffic laws, but cyclists are the most vulnerable to driver inattention and aggression. To raise awareness of bicycles on the road in Texas and across the country, AAA Texas is supporting National Bike Month. For more I spoke with Doug Shupe with AAA Texas.

Over the years, the Texas Department of Transportation has purchased thousands of parcels of land to build highways. But sometimes those plans change, or technology improves, causing the original design of a project to change after the right of way has been purchased. Traditionally, TxDOT has largely held onto that property in the thought that once purchased, it might be used for a future need. But the department's recently formed Real Estate Management and Development Division is changing that tradition, with an eye toward stimulating local economies in the process. For more, I spoke with RMD's founding director, Roland Tilden.

Spring cleaning is happening everywhere, including on Texas roadsides as TxDOT and Keep Texas Beautiful launch the Don't mess with Texas Trash-Off on Saturday, April 5. This month-long event means that thousands of volunteers will be picking up litter on roadsides all across the state. For more, I spoke with KTB's Christine Chute Canul.