AASHTO Journal - AASHTO, Austroads Partner for Transportation Innovations

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU with Austroads – the association of Australian and New Zealand transport agencies – during an event at its Washington, D.C., office; an agreement designed to help both organizations enhance safety, mobility, efficiency, sustainability, and innovation in the field of road transport.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

The AASHTO delegation was headed by President Garrett Eucalitto, and members of the Australian delegation included the following senior officials from the region:

Brett Gliddon, deputy chair of Austroads and the delegation lead and chief executive for the New Zealand Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi.
Jon Whelan, chief executive for South Australia’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport.
Amy Crawford, chief executive officer for the Australian Local Government Association.
Geoff Allan, chief executive of Austroads.
Paul Davies, general manager of research, guidance, and practice for Austroads.

Through this MOU – which updates a prior agreement signed in 2014 – AASHTO and Austroads agreed to collaborate on policy, research, and sharing of best practices.

The MOU will also help them jointly promote the continuous improvement of road networks, facilitate the adoption of emerging technologies, and contribute to global efforts in creating resilient and future-ready transportation systems.

“AASHTO and Austroads developed this MOU together as a means of reaffirming our longstanding relationship so we can achieve our shared priorities, which include roadway safety, asset management, plus connected and automated vehicles, among others,” explained Joung Lee, AASHTO’s deputy director-chief policy officer, at the signing event.

Under the MOU, the two organizations agreed to jointly work on achieving four goals:

Engage in research on topics of shared interest;
Promote and facilitate peer exchange of information though conferences, meetings, webinars or other events;
Identify professional development and networking opportunities for members of each organization to participate in the other’s activities, including two complimentary registrations for respective annual meetings (or equivalent); and
Explore additional collaborative initiatives as agreed upon periodically.