AASHTO Journal - ‘The Stream’ Podcast Talks State DOT Emergency Response

The latest episode of the “The Stream by AASHTO” podcast features Shawn Wilson (above) – vice president-national highway business line leader for transportation and infrastructure at WSP – discussing how state departments of transportation across the country are working on improving cooperative strategies for disaster response and recovery operations.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

This podcast series is part of the AASHTO Environmental Management technical service program operated by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. It explores a wide array of environmental topics that affect state departments of transportation and the infrastructure programs they oversee.

In this podcast episode, Wilson – previously secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and a former AASHTO president – discussed a recent workshop WSP held in Puerto Rico and a knowledge session he moderated at the 2025 AASHTO Washington Briefing held in Washington, D.C., which both focused on helping state DOTs develop better “mutual aid” frameworks.

“It’s about having prepared ‘mission packages’ so state DOTs can help each other respond to any number of disasters, man-made or natural, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, among others,” he said on the podcast.

Wilson noted such “mission package” requests could be used to address specific issues such as restoring water or electric service, debris cleanup, or evacuation – with those packages including detailed lists of the tools and equipment needed, the number of people required and their specifical skill sets, plus how to house and feed them.

Creating such packages “forces us to think through how to effectively manage staff and resources, develop response plans, and be fiscally responsible as well,” he explained. “And it is not just about state-to-state partnerships, but also how to work with the private sector quickly to get things done quickly – working with fabricators to accelerate delivery of materials, etc.”

Wilson added that the “beauty of AASHTO,” in relation to those efforts, is that the organization “allows us to take all the lessons learned from this process and spread them across the country. We can bring real life examples of what can happen and the best practices developed as a result to all state DOTs.”

To listen to the full podcast, click here.