FHWA Plans 8th Annual Winter Symposium and Equipment Exposition |
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Federal Highway Administration
7 August 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 7, 2003
Contact: Jim Pinkelman, 202-366-0660
FHWA 26-03
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will join with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the University of New Hampshire's Technology Transfer Center to co-host the eighth annual "Eastern Winter Road Maintenance Symposium & Equipment Expo" on Sept. 3-4, 2003, at the Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn in Manchester, NH.
"Safety and mobility are top priorities at the Federal Highway Administration, and we recognize all too well that winter weather often affects both the safety and the efficiency of our nation's roads," FHWA Administrator Mary Peters said. "This annual symposium is a great opportunity for state and local officials who operate and maintain the region's transportation systems to learn about the latest winter maintenance techniques, new products and equipment, and ways to plan for and direct all aspects of storm management."
The symposium this year will feature more than 82 exhibitors and the display of 25 new snow-fighting vehicles such as snowplows, snow blowers, and anti-icing sprayers, as well as pothole patchers for maintenance work that inevitably comes in the spring. The symposium provides a forum for the exchange of information and technologies available to predict and combat the effects of winter on roads, bridges, and other transportation facilities.
The symposium is mainly for winter maintenance managers and other public works practitioners from cities, townships, counties and states, as well as other public agencies and private sector partners east of the Mississippi River. It also serves as a companion to the American Public Works Association's Western Snow & Ice Conference, held annually in Colorado in late September.
The event offers the latest in anti-icing and winter maintenance techniques; new products, equipment, and other tools; emergency communications with the public, the media, between jurisdictions, and within organizations; and tips on planning and directing all aspects of storm management. The symposium this year features, among others, sessions on the environmental effects of abrasives; environmental concerns over maintenance operations; the use of warning lights in winter; salt storage, fueling, and vehicle washing; and winter maintenance liability and storm insurance options.
The event has grown from the initial program held in 1996 in Washington DC and featured 81 exhibits, 19 pieces of equipment on display and 700 attendees, to the 2002 event in Charleston, WV, which included 134 exhibits, 25 pieces of equipment and 1,266 attendees.
The symposium is free, but those attending must pre-register. For more details and to register online, visit the web site at http://www.easternsnowexpo.org or call Deborah Vocke at FHWA's Resource Center, (410) 962-3744.